alexio
G.O.A.T.
sarcastic ofcNot sure if you're being sarcastic or not?
For those that missed it :)
- Thread starter MichaelNadal
- Start date
Djokovic2011
Bionic Poster
Well he really shouldn't be. American food might be more "epic" than British food but in terms of snacks like crisps, chocolate and biscuits the UK does it sooooo much better and it isn't even close.
NeutralFan
G.O.A.T.
Just finished watching highlights. My take on this
1-Rafa bh seems fine but he's hitting same short balls in the middle of the court off both wings , that won't help his cause if he's to win slams against best
2- his movement seems bit better than it was post Wimbledon 2022, can he improve it further? Will have to see
3- he looks lean and fresh.
1-Rafa bh seems fine but he's hitting same short balls in the middle of the court off both wings , that won't help his cause if he's to win slams against best
2- his movement seems bit better than it was post Wimbledon 2022, can he improve it further? Will have to see
3- he looks lean and fresh.
Kralingen
Talk Tennis Guru
How many Slams this year?
NeutralFan
G.O.A.T.
I don't know man anything can happen but Rafa didn't come to tour to just retire ( if his health permits)
Crocodile
G.O.A.T.
Obviously there are a lot of Nadal fans out there that want him to keep playing and winning and he probably doesn’t want to disappoint anyone. Unless you/we are related or connected to his family or network you/we don’t really know what he has gone through and what he will go through by competing again,
Most of you have probably had an illness or injury at some time that took you a year to come back - it’s a very challenging time. There are guys here in the NRL ( Rugby League ) who will do an ACL come back for 2 matches then do the same injury on the other leg and be out for another 9 to 12 months - it’s very hard.
With Nadal, his time off with his injuries ( and I think he definitely has more than 2 pathologies going on at the same time ) would not just affected his ability to play tennis but also to function pain free on a daily basis.
So he comes back again for supposedly one more year - what if he hurts himself again and has to go through the crap again and then be on anti inflammatories and pain killers for the rest of his life - I don’t think it’s worth it - especially when he gets older - it’s not going to get easier.
So my thoughts are that as long as he is fine, well fair enough go and play and after that he has enough money to look after himself and do what he wants to do - but he should only do it for himself.
As far as the match last night, I fell asleep after the first set, but to me both players looked a bit like how you would look after you had a break and then had your first hit out in the new year. A lot of guys like Rafa remind me of the athletes of the 1980’s where you rebuild and bulk your muscular physique as you get older to protect the joints that have been compromised in the past, whereas the young young guys like Korda and Singer look very lithe, lean and fresh. Nadal looks like a warrior bulldozer that continues to over come many battles.
Most of you have probably had an illness or injury at some time that took you a year to come back - it’s a very challenging time. There are guys here in the NRL ( Rugby League ) who will do an ACL come back for 2 matches then do the same injury on the other leg and be out for another 9 to 12 months - it’s very hard.
With Nadal, his time off with his injuries ( and I think he definitely has more than 2 pathologies going on at the same time ) would not just affected his ability to play tennis but also to function pain free on a daily basis.
So he comes back again for supposedly one more year - what if he hurts himself again and has to go through the crap again and then be on anti inflammatories and pain killers for the rest of his life - I don’t think it’s worth it - especially when he gets older - it’s not going to get easier.
So my thoughts are that as long as he is fine, well fair enough go and play and after that he has enough money to look after himself and do what he wants to do - but he should only do it for himself.
As far as the match last night, I fell asleep after the first set, but to me both players looked a bit like how you would look after you had a break and then had your first hit out in the new year. A lot of guys like Rafa remind me of the athletes of the 1980’s where you rebuild and bulk your muscular physique as you get older to protect the joints that have been compromised in the past, whereas the young young guys like Korda and Singer look very lithe, lean and fresh. Nadal looks like a warrior bulldozer that continues to over come many battles.
BeatlesFan
Bionic Poster
I love Britain, I love the British, but give me a break! Brit food is universally panned by everyone.
This is just one out of a million articles on this topic:
https://medium.com/@overtake/why-is-english-food-the-laughing-stock-of-the-entire-world-5ee784e336ea
Or...
nolefam_2024
Talk Tennis Guru
Is this true for ANY sports great? There is always such a rhetoric, what if he is injured for life etc. Why would modern medicine and 100+ million dollars not take care of these ailments.
If he can play competitive tennis today, then rest assured, he is not going to be injured for life.
Crocodile
G.O.A.T.
I think it depends - there is no way I would like to have to take anti inflammatory tablets at the best of times, imagine having cortisone injections into your back to block a nerve - No thanks - if you have made your money - enjoy your life and live in harmony and peace.
I do have contact with older retired athletes who suffer from degenerative arthritis and other inflammatory conditions and it’s not nice - in fact it’s quite nasty. A lot of former athletes put on weight, not always because they kept consuming the same amount of calories that they used to when they were playing, but because they couldn’t exercise for periods due to foot, ankle, knee and lower back pain. Guys like Cashy who is a superb manager of his diet and exercise had to have back surgery to remove warn out discs. Mark P ( The scud) probably has no meniscus left in his knees - he is bone on bone even in his younger knees. Then a guy like Nicky K, he has done his knee then wrist and he has a terrible gait when he walks and posture and he is a very tall man, so he has to be careful.
I feel the same with Novak, he kept his body together in 2023 and I think that while he is still right he should exit before he wrecks himself against one of the young guys in a 5 setter, Roger kind of got out in time but I think he might have just decided that he had enough of all the shenanigans getting in and out of countries in the last few years. Some of the regulations out there are quite outrageous. Lucky he had his own jet.
Imagine all those players staying in shared hostels as they prepared to take play round 1 qualifiers at the AO. It’s even worse if you are a career tennis coach whose body has been hammered and bashed up hitting with juniors for hours, days, weeks and decades and you haven’t planned financially - not good.
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The Sinner
Semi-Pro
He’s old, well past his peak years.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
It really wasn't. Thiem was serving extremely well and painting lines hitting winners.
darthrafa
Hall of Fame
of course, i hope rafa returns to top fitness asap but thiem played quite badly to me in the second set, which made rafa's performance look much better.
it is quite strange why thiem is unable to get back to a better level in recent years. even though he may have major injuries (that should have fully recovered) or gets older, his ranking shows that he is a very average player now
-NN-
G.O.A.T.
Wasn't bad for a while from Thiem, but expected more.
More than 1 though, surely? I mean, look what he just did to Thiem.
More than 1 though, surely? I mean, look what he just did to Thiem.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Steve Tignor
www.tennis.com
Forehands, fist-pumps, water bottles: Rafael Nadal’s return in Brisbane felt like old times | Tennis.com
The 37-year-old gave tennis a New Year’s jolt with his first win in nearly a year, over Dominic Thiem.
weakera
Talk Tennis Guru
British food is absolutely disgusting
DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
Nadal has almost reached the limit of his mileage, while Djokovic, despite being a year younger than him, still has many more kilometers to go.
The quality of both is, practically, the same, although the wear between one and the other could not be so different.
Cabeza del Demonio
Professional
Highlights of Rafa's first match in a year. Man was the epicness missed
Watching with snacks is encouraged
This is the energy I'm looking for from Rafa
Djokovic_is_the_best#1
Bionic Poster
It’s good to see you believing in him again.
To be fair we all had doubts but was all speculation till we see him on court again.
It was just 1 match so none of us should get carried away but he did look pretty impressive considering he’s been out a year. We will see how he goes in next match.
NeutralFan
G.O.A.T.
I don't believe in him at all, never believed in him and i have been biggest critics of Rafa in many life. I am just stating obvious, if his health permits, he's not gonna retire. What I feel is his movement is gone long ago and any slams he won has been purely due to his grit and his desire to win. Will he succeed again ? I don't know but Rafa came with a belief that I know.
Djokovic_is_the_best#1
Bionic Poster
Good post! Well he’s a fighter so you can never count him out.
Antonio Puente
Hall of Fame
Nadal might be playing the 2028 Olympics.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Nadal moves on again
I love Britain, I love the British, but give me a break! Brit food is universally panned by everyone.
This is just one out of a million articles on this topic:
https://medium.com/@overtake/why-is-english-food-the-laughing-stock-of-the-entire-world-5ee784e336ea
Or...
Coming from Americans this is hilarious
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Looks brilliant.Highlights of Rafa's first match in a year. Man was the epicness missed
Watching with snacks is encouraged
E36BMWM3
Hall of Fame
Guess who's back... back again...Highlights of Rafa's first match in a year. Man was the epicness missed
Watching with snacks is encouraged
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
From the first 2 matches, how do we rate him so far as far as:
Serve:
FH:
BH:
Return:
Defense:
Movement:
Patters of play:
Serve:
FH:
BH:
Return:
Defense:
Movement:
Patters of play:
He looks ready to face Novak in Australia with a big chance to win.From the first 2 matches, how do we rate him so far as far as:
Serve:
FH:
BH:
Return:
Defense:
Movement:
Patters of play:
DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
No, aunque sería excelente que él se dé otra oportunidad y juegue en el centenario de los Internacionales de Francia en 2025, también sería el vigésimo aniversario de su primer título Major en Roland Garros.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Put it in the atmosphere, along with some eggs for me to smash that face with
Mivic
Hall of Fame
Favourite for the AO.From the first 2 matches, how do we rate him so far as far as:
Serve:
FH:
BH:
Return:
Defense:
Movement:
Patters of play:
RS
Bionic Poster
Eating onion rings now. It's pretty tasty.Fresh, crispy highlights
Please
Rosstour
G.O.A.T.
I believe it was mostly the "haters" who predicted this while the fans wrung their hands wondering if his career was really over this time
At this point he's got to be considered one of the favorites.
NeutralFan
G.O.A.T.
Agree with everything but the last line, he's far from favourite and will be lucky to make a qf
NeutralFan
G.O.A.T.
RS
Bionic Poster
As you probably know UK is very multicultural so it's pretty easy to avoid those English foods lol
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
NeutralFan
G.O.A.T.
RS
Bionic Poster
Obviously don't eat that stuff anymore but I wasn't a fussy eater
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
junior74
Talk Tennis Guru
The era was too tough for him, then he won a lucky slam and then he got depressed. Strange story, really.
Azure
G.O.A.T.
Icarus - flew too close to the sun!
Fabresque
Legend
He beat 2/3 at slams and had winning H2H vs Fed. Don't think the era was too tough for him.
junior74
Talk Tennis Guru
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