Facing Thiem rather than Djokovic was better for Rafael Nadal - Uncle Toni
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Nadalgaenger
G.O.A.T.
Feels like a dig on Djokovic clan.
I guess Fedal don’t care for Marko and Pepe?
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
Rafa really seems to like Thiem and his family - has come up a few times before
Probably wouldn't like him so much if he ever gave Nadal trouble when it mattered. Easy to like a lapdog.
Meles
Bionic Poster
LOL. Never once mentions that Thiem was playing for his 4th day in a row at a slam while Nadal his 2nd match in 5 days.
Do agree that Djoko matches up very well with Rafa, but Thiem has so far and will continue to be a bigger RG threat than Novak or Fed for that matter.
duaneeo
Legend
You think if Nole and Thiem had said they wanted to complete the match, it would've been postponed anyway? Please.
The Blond Blur
G.O.A.T.
Have to disagree with Toni on this. Thiem has beaten Nadal more times on clay recently. He straight setted Rafa at Barcelona, while Novak got hammered in Rome. Nadal's confidence took a huge leap after that win. Not that it would have mattered. Nadal was winning FO19 no matter who he faced.
Omega_7000
Legend
Thiem is a better player on clay? How did you come to that conclusion? What has Thiem done on clay?
Oh and tennis is probably 60 % mental
clayqueen
Talk Tennis Guru
Rafa and Roger like each other.
clayqueen
Talk Tennis Guru
It's not to do with who can beat Rafa at RG or not. See what Toni Nadal said
"Let's not lie. The Novak Djokovic's loss in this year's French Open to Dominic Thiem made us a bit happy", wrote Toni. "And not because the Austrian's tennis gives less fear than the Serb's, but because a loss to Novak would have been more powerful for Rafael.
Omega_7000
Legend
So very true. Typical Nadal...Always gracious in victory but ready with injury excuses when losing.
Cupcake
Hall of Fame
Although he played very well, as a Rafa fan, I'd have to agree with this, and thought the same as the tournament progressed. Luck of the draw and all.
No doubt the weather was bad, and Novak did not get all the same breaks. But it was Novak himself on the court who did not step up to the challenge and play well early in the wind against Theim. In that match, Theim chose to play Nole as his opponent. Nole let the wind be his adversary, and the wind - and Theim- won.
Almost every tournament has 'unpredictables' - rain, wind, injury, personal drama, 'the roof', food poisoning.... It's all part of what makes watching tennis exciting. In the end the record books record not how it happened, but who won.
Does anyone recall the circumstances of Laver's wins? I doubt it. Just that he won X slams.
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WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
Yeah let's all pretend they don't both jump for joy when the other loses.
Cupcake
Hall of Fame
I think they do like and respect each other. But I also think they both jump for joy when the other loses. It can be both.
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
Roger off court is always in PR mode. His complaining about Nadal's grunting, etc. during their matches shows his true feelings.
Nadal has always seemed jealous of Federer. That's why he's trying so hard to break the slam record. He hasn't enjoyed always being in Federer's shadow and earning 1/3 of what Fed does.
clayqueen
Talk Tennis Guru
Rafa was asked this same question last week, this was his answer:
“Being honest, I am not very worried about this stuff, no?” Nadal told reporters.
“You can’t be frustrated all the time because the neighbor has a bigger house than you, or a bigger TV or better garden. That’s not the way that I see life, you know.”
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-obsessed-about-federers-record-idUSKCN1TA0RX
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
Yeah, I thought about that while writing my post. And he's full of it.
clayqueen
Talk Tennis Guru
It's Djokovic who says he wants to break Federer's record. Anyway, Federer's record is not unassailable, he's only got 2 more than Rafa.
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
Novak is by far the most honest of the Big 3 when speaking to the press.
Federer however always compliments Novak's game and you can tell he's genuine. He has compared Novak to himself and Nadal to... Murray. He said he couldn't have played any better when he lost to Novak at WTF 2012 and always says that the match is on his racquet against Nadal. So... yeah.
clayqueen
Talk Tennis Guru
Care to substantiate that? Why would Federer compare Rafa to Murray? Their game style is very different and Rafa has wopped Fedr far more than the other 2. I've NEVER heard Federer say anything of the sort. During this clay season, Federer said in answer to a question: Djokovic is no Rafa on clay. Rafa is the yardstick that everyone has to measure against.
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
"I guess Rafa [Nadal] and Andy have more the defensive DNA: they really don’t want to miss but today they’re great attacking players, some of the best in the game. And the same for me and Novak, we’re more attacking players but we’ve also gotten very good at defence.”
I mean he is complementing them, but we both know what he really means. "They really don't want to miss." He has never complimented Nadal's game the way he has Novak sometimes. Stating the obvious about Nadal on clay doesn't count. He has said that playing Nadal on clay so much affected how he played him off clay and that's why he used to lose to him.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/t...he-secrets-behind-his-incredible-success.html
clayqueen
Talk Tennis Guru
Federer on Nadal:
Federer, a champion in these parts in 2009, will no doubt take confidence from his recent winning record but knows that Nadal on clay is an entirely different beast. That said, the third seed insists their match is no foregone conclusion. ‘Like against any player, there is always a chance,’ Federer said after beating Stan Wawrinka in the quarter-finals. ‘Otherwise nobody will be in the stadium to watch because everybody already knows the result in advance. And I think sport does that to you, that every match needs to be played before it’s decided. ‘And that’s exactly what everybody believes by facing Rafa. They know it’s going to be tough. But you just never know. He might have a problem. He might be sick. You never know. Can Federer spring a shock? (Picture: Getty Images) ‘You might be playing great or for some reason he’s struggling. Maybe there’s incredible wind, rain, 10 rain delays. You just don’t know. That’s why you need to put yourself in that position. ‘For me to get to Rafa is not simple. It took five matches here for me to win to get there. That’s why I’m very happy to play Rafa, because if you want to do or achieve something on the clay, inevitably, at some stage, you will go through Rafa, because he’s that strong and he will be there. ‘I knew that when I signed up for the clay that hopefully that’s gonna happen. If I would have had a different mindset to avoid him, then I should not have played the clay. So I think by that mindset, I think it helped me to play so well so far this tournament.’
Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2019/06/05/roge...nce-beating-rafael-nadal-9826113/?ito=cbshare
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetroUK | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetroUK/
clayqueen
Talk Tennis Guru
Give me one quote where he complimented Djokovic's game.
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
I don't really care to dig up the quote. I watched the interview. He said after the WTF in 2012 that he couldn't have played any better against Novak and he still lost. He also called him an attacking player and compared him to himself in the quote above. There are others that I recall more vaguely.
clayqueen
Talk Tennis Guru
Sorry, you'll have to do better than that. Players often compliment the winner at a presentation ceremony. That's just platitudes. When Rafa beat Roger to win AO 2009, Roger cried and said "it's killing me" because Rafa can beat him on any surface.
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
Yes and players often say they like their rivals, especially in a gentleman's sport like tennis. Especially when they earn tens of millions in endorsements every year. Doesn't make it true and it isn't difficult to read between the lines here, even though that isn't good enough for you.
GabeT
G.O.A.T.
That folder is full. Time to create a new one.
GabeT
G.O.A.T.
Rafa has whopped Federer more than Nole???
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Cupcake
Hall of Fame
You know these guys personally to really know what they think or feel? I seriously doubt that.
Don't believe all you read, or even think. Not everyone has a heart filled with envy, hate and jealousy. A clue for you: Life is so much more pleasant without constant bitterness.
There actually are nice people in the world - some of whom are top-notch athletes. Considering all that these guys have been surrounded with for the past couple decades, I think Rafa and Roger have emerged as two nice guys. Do they have to put on a public face for the cameras sometimes? You betcha. But so do many others in the public eye. Life is not perfect.
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
I did not say everyone has a heart filled with envy. I said I think Nadal is jealous of Federer. And I literally advocated for the only coherent point you made - "don't believe all you read."
As for being bitter - I'm not really. But I'm no fruitcake; sorry, cupcake, either. I'm just a realist.
chimneysweep
Semi-Pro
That doesnt mean he is saying Nadal would have lost, which he almost 100% would not have. It might have been a closer match than the actual final with Thiem (still probably a 4 setter max) without two 6-1 sets. Or maybe not. The best Djokovic who Nadal has ever beaten at RG is the 2015 one which is the worst ever, and Djokovic is nowhere near atleast his clay level of 2015-2016 (or 2011, 2013). And Djokovic wasnt even really playing as well as Rome where he lost pretty easily to Nadal, despite winning the 2nd the set; while Nadal was atleast on par with Rome.
Also Toni says a lot of weird things, like how Federer's best on clay is better than Nadal's, and how Federer is the favorite whenever they play even on clay.
Also Toni says a lot of weird things, like how Federer's best on clay is better than Nadal's, and how Federer is the favorite whenever they play even on clay.
chimneysweep
Semi-Pro
He said since 2017. That is certainly possible. Thiem has much better RG results and more clay titles and overall better performance on clay since 2017 easily. Djokovic's only clay edge in that period results wise is winning 1 Masters while Thiem has just fallen short numerous times of a clay Masters.
Of course career wise Djokovic is way over Thiem on clay at this point, also Federer.
chimneysweep
Semi-Pro
Yes as Djokovic's stellar 1-6 record vs Nadal at Roland Garros shows, LOL! And the version of Nadal which Djokovic actually beat is just
That makes as much sense as saying Soderling, Tsonga, and Gulbis did the dirty work by taking out Federer for lucky Nadal in 2010, 2013, 2014.
Here's a quote from Federer's post match press conference. Transcript at ASAP Sports
Gary Duane
Talk Tennis Guru
Too bad more people don't see it that way. When any of the Big Three beat another of the Big Three, it's a huge thing. No matter how they do or do not celebrate publicly, I'll bet the feeling is the same.
Isn't it strange that all of them show so much more respect to each other than their fans shows each other?
Makes you wonder...
As for the rewards/drawback of any Djodal match, a win is huge because it's such a confidence builder, and a loss is huge because it means the other player is in the loser's head. Novak's beat-down of Nadal at the AO this year was huge and will make it much harder for Nadal to win the next time on a fast surface, and Fed's recent victories over Nadal off clay are huge.
But I see no signs that Novak's clay level was anywhere near it was at his peak, and Nadal's level from Rome on was near peak. Beating Novak would have been harder than beating Thiem, but I would not have picked Novak to win a final if it had occurred.
Would that be in the same way that Federer was lucky with the scheduling, weather etc., at Wimbledon in 2007? Nadal still managed to take Federer to five sets, on his favourite surface, in the final, even though he had played for five consecutive days.
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
Djoko is Nadal's 1st rival and toughest matchup, so of course it's always better for Nadal to face someone else.
Although a few of Nadal's best wins have come vs Djoko: Olympics 2008, RG 2013 and USO 2013 come to mind.
Although a few of Nadal's best wins have come vs Djoko: Olympics 2008, RG 2013 and USO 2013 come to mind.
D
Deleted member 763024
Guest
So they feel Nole doesn't come from a good family.
And of course the tactical bathroom break, lol.
**** recognizes ****.
Cupcake
Hall of Fame
I find it also strange that their fans are constantly saying their guy is the greatest, but that his rivals only 'got that far' because of luck or a weak draw or they cheated.... But if these rivals are so bad, where is the glory in beating them?
It seems pretty obvious that the top players do value and respect each other. The better and more 'gloried' your opponent, the better you seem when stepping up to beat them.
D
Deleted member 688153
Guest
Where's the link for this? It's from the Express isn't it
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
Unless there is something changed in translation, or quoted out of context, does seem like a slight on Djokovic.
However, i really doubt that someone of Nadal's class would ever say such a thing like this openly.
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
Sorry but you are attributing your thoughts as the truth. You really don't know what he was thinking, unless he explained it very clearly. And since you are as far from a Fed fan as one can be, it's hardly likely you'll be fair in guessing what he was thinking.
titoelcolombiano
Legend
Breaking News! Rafa would rather face Thiem in a slam final than the world number 1, 15 time slam winner that has just won the last three slams in a row. Stop the press!!
kevaninho
Hall of Fame
This is where the contradiction is then. Because according to people on here, Nadal is only hot favourite when its baking hot and the sun is shining. Yet Paris weather was **** most of the tournament and he still destroyed the competition...
Make up your minds.
clayqueen
Talk Tennis Guru
Djokovic was saved by Thiem from getting some more bakery products from Rafa in the final.
clayqueen
Talk Tennis Guru
Crisstti
Legend
Yeah. He probably just means a loss to Novak at RG would hurt his conofidenece more.
Always the optimist, Toni, lol.
Is he? remember his "lagued for 10 minutes" after Rafa's loss to Rosol at Wimbledon?. Not to mention his salty comments in pressers quite a few times. He's really not as PR as many seem to think.
Him wanting to break the record doesn't mean he's jealous.
Remember Fed's comments in the presser after the 2011 USO semi? Not exactl complimenting Novak's game.
GabeT
G.O.A.T.
That’s a strange way of measuring it.Percentage-wise yes.
Head to head
Federer v
If you look at who has beaten Fed more times it’s Nole (although by only one more match)
And if you are trying to gauge who is more likely to beat Fed this year then, yes, percentage won makes sense but in that case I would distinguish by surface and look at relatively recent results, not the whole career.
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