From where does the idea of Nadal being anywhere near being done on grass come from?

ForehandCross

ForehandCross

G.O.A.T.
In his last two WB he played he was in the semis. 2018 he was merely points away from winning against Djokovic and the tournament as a whole. 2019 it took an inspired Federer to knock him out. Even in 2017 servebotting Muller played the match of his life on first week grass and the match went on so deep.


There's no Federer around. Zed Or Med who might have sprung up a surprise aren't playing. Nadal can't meet Djokovic till the final, so who is gonna beat him?


I love how people are convincing themselves that Nadal won't go deep.
 
Kralingen

Kralingen

G.O.A.T.
Nadal fans seem to be the main force behind the pessimism over Wimby though, not opposing fans. At least on TTW. It's bizarre.

The only reason I can think of is Rafa's constant doomer interviews about his foot. His rhetoric is that of a man who feels he could keel over at any minute.

The bookies seem to view him as a man held together by glue and string, prone to falling apart at any second now. And of course, maybe Nadal's foot will give out. It's happened before.

But the ONLY and I mean ONLY reservation you should have about Rafa winning Wimbledon is an injury. His game is perfect, and he owns Djokovic mentally now.
 
holy tennis

holy tennis

Semi-Pro
ForehandCross said:
In his last two WB he played he was in the semis. 2018 he was merely points away from winning against Djokovic and the tournament as a whole. 2019 it took an inspired Federer to knock him out. Even in 2017 servebotting Muller played the match of his life on first week grass and the match went on so deep.


There's no Federer around. Zed Or Med who might have sprung up a surprise aren't playing. Nadal can't meet Djokovic till the final, so who is gonna beat him?


I love how people are convincing themselves that Nadal won't go deep.
Click to expand...
Good topic. Have quite a bit to say in that regard.

When compared to every other Slam in 2017-2022, Nadal clearly underperformed on grass. Part of it is obviously not being able to play in 2020 and 21. (Cancellation and injury) I’d say had he played in 20-21-22 he’d won one, as he was definitely going in this direction in terms of gamestyle.

The tricky part for Nadal on low bouncing surfaces has been the return. In 2018 he tried to stand close and against Djokovic it was a disaster. Then in 2019 he tried to stay ultra deep and again it was a disaster in SF. In Paris 2020 against Zverev he stood suuuuper close and couldn’t even touch Zverev’s serve, then he moved back and broke immediately. This will have to be solved somehow this year if he is going to play.

Btw, Zverev and Medvedev are not the scariest players on grass.
 
prosperned

prosperned

Professional
Listen Nadal is a great grass player despite the lack of recent success. He effectively lost WC18 barely in that semi against Djoko in 18, lost to Fed 19. Last two years one was cancelled and one he wasn’t fit for.

But Nadal is far more vulnerable to a big server on grass then on hard or clay. A Muller like performance can come from anyone on their day. So I judge with this in mind.
 
Last edited:
holy tennis

holy tennis

Semi-Pro
holy tennis said:
Good topic. Have quite a bit to say in that regard.

When compared to every other Slam in 2017-2022, Nadal clearly underperformed on grass. Part of it is obviously not being able to play in 2020 and 21. (Cancellation and injury) I’d say had he played in 20-21-22 he’d won one, as he was definitely going in this direction in terms of gamestyle.

The tricky part for Nadal on low bouncing surfaces has been the return. In 2018 he tried to stand close and against Djokovic it was a disaster. Then in 2019 he tried to stay ultra deep and again it was a disaster in SF. In Paris 2020 against Zverev he stood suuuuper close and couldn’t even touch Zverev’s serve, then he moved back and broke immediately. This will have to be solved somehow this year if he is going to play.

Btw, Zverev and Medvedev are not the scariest players on grass.
Click to expand...
Nadal’s serve-return genius is rarely discussed and underrated. I’ve never seen anyone other than Nadal freely change between service motions twice a year (from hard to clay, then from clay to grass/hard) and have different return position for every Slam (moderate at AO, deep at RG, ultra deep at USO and fluid at WB). This takes a special skill.
 
King No1e

King No1e

G.O.A.T.
I think it's because he's being judged against his prime when he was being compared to Borg with his ability to win on clay and grass consistently
 
Kralingen

Kralingen

G.O.A.T.
holy tennis said:
Nadal’s serve-return genius is rarely discussed and underrated. I’ve never seen anyone other than Nadal freely change between service motions twice a year (from hard to clay, then from clay to grass/hard) and have different return position for every Slam (moderate at AO, deep at RG, ultra deep at USO and fluid at WB). This takes a special skill.
Click to expand...
Do you feel that this means Nadal is the best of the Big 3 at serve-return complex combined?
 
ForehandCross

ForehandCross

G.O.A.T.
holy tennis said:
Good topic. Have quite a bit to say in that regard.

When compared to every other Slam in 2017-2022, Nadal clearly underperformed on grass. Part of it is obviously not being able to play in 2020 and 21. (Cancellation and injury) I’d say had he played in 20-21-22 he’d won one, as he was definitely going in this direction in terms of gamestyle.

The tricky part for Nadal on low bouncing surfaces has been the return. In 2018 he tried to stand close and against Djokovic it was a disaster. Then in 2019 he tried to stay ultra deep and again it was a disaster in SF. In Paris 2020 against Zverev he stood suuuuper close and couldn’t even touch Zverev’s serve, then he moved back and broke immediately. This will have to be solved somehow this year if he is going to play.

Btw, Zverev and Medvedev are not the scariest players on grass.
Click to expand...
Hmm very interesting point about returning. Nadal surely should be closer to baseline on a second serve than first.I believe this new Nadal who looks to take control of the rally through his FH more eagerly than before, should focus on balls back on first serve no matter the second shot that he will face. Nadal is always able to run down balls, once the rally is reverted back to neutral, Nadal can try to run the opponent ragged with his FH to open the court and then CC BH to kill the point.


I didn't mean Z and Med as some grass giants just that they have a little more experience and are generally more competitive against Big 2.


Now that they are gone, I suspected FAA would be a challenge, but FAA lost in semis to an unknown guy in an unknown tournament just yesterday.
 
beast of mallorca

beast of mallorca

G.O.A.T.
ForehandCross said:
In his last two WB he played he was in the semis. 2018 he was merely points away from winning against Djokovic and the tournament as a whole. 2019 it took an inspired Federer to knock him out. Even in 2017 servebotting Muller played the match of his life on first week grass and the match went on so deep.


There's no Federer around. Zed Or Med who might have sprung up a surprise aren't playing. Nadal can't meet Djokovic till the final, so who is gonna beat him?


I love how people are convincing themselves that Nadal won't go deep.
Click to expand...
It's not new. People have ruled him out from winning anything outside of clay since 2004.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top