I'm Sorry, the comments here about Nadal are ridiculus

[cc0509]

So you don't buy the weak era mug opponent garbage? Good to hear!

What do you mean? What does that have to do with Wimbledon 2008 and the fact that Nadal had a mental advantage over Federer?

 

[cc0509]

As long as the Vamos Brigadiers continue to diminish the 2007 win on the grounds of Nadal being "way below his prime, much worse than in 2008", they deserve to have the 2008 win 'minimized'. Neither is (demonstrably) worse than the other one. They want to have their cake and eat it, too - don't let them.

I am happy enough to acknowledge that both finals were close in quality and importance, so we can consider them even.

Who cares what some of those wacko Vamos Brigaders say? I don't listen to any rabid fans.

 

[AnOctorokForDinner]

What do you mean? What does that have to do with Wimbledon 2008 and the fact that Nadal had a mental advantage over Federer?

If you credit Nadal for forcing a weakness from Federer, then Federer should also be credited when he exploits others' weaknesses on court, simple. So, to apply that principle in general, there are no weak eras and mug opponents, but strong players who make their opponents look weak and muggy by exploiting their weaknesses.

 

[cc0509]

Yeah what am I missing here?

What do you expect from rabid fans? Rabid fans of ALL fan groups are disgusting IMO. Every argument has to be skewed towards their favorite player. Reason doesn't count.

 

[cc0509]

If you credit Nadal for forcing a weakness from Federer, then Federer should also be credited when he exploits others' weaknesses on court, simple. So, to apply that principle in general, there are no weak eras and mug opponents, but strong players who make their opponents look weak and muggy by exploiting their weaknesses.

Ok. That sounds fair. But I do think 2014 to the present day has been pretty weak. Where the hell are these younger phenoms? They are letting old men dominate and are waiting for them to retire instead of taking it to them. It's unprecedented.

 

[mike danny]

Ok. That sounds fair. But I do think 2014 to the present day has been pretty weak. Where the hell are these younger phenoms? They are letting old men dominate and are waiting for them to retire instead of taking it to them. It's unprecedented.

Milos Raonic is the only 90's born player to reach a major final. Let that sink in.

 

[cc0509]

Federer didn't lose a set until the final and was playing well, but in the final he played very poorly in the first two sets, which turned out to be key, because Federer couldn't break Nadal's serve. I have said this before, and I'll say it again: Had Fed won that Wimbledon, he would have stolen it. He couldn't break Nadal and part of that is certainly to Nadal's credit for being rock solid on serve, although part of that is Federer just not being good enough on the return that match.

Haggling over the details of how well Fed was playing is missing the point.

It went down to the wire and Nadal won in a 9-7 tiebreak in the fifth. Obviously, Federer was holding his own. It can't get any closer than that. Nadal beat Federer on Federer's turf and Federer should have never let it happen. That's the bottom line IMO. He was insecure playing Nadal because of all those clay beatdowns. He let it get to him.

 

[AnOctorokForDinner]

Ok. That sounds fair. But I do think 2014 to the present day has been pretty weak. Where the hell are these younger phenoms? They are letting old men dominate and are waiting for them to retire instead of taking it to them. It's unprecedented.

Weaker than average, I suppose, but still the pretenders are good players, just not the stuff all-time greats are made of. The greatest of the greats comprise a very tiny portion of those who play professional tennis. It's not like Federer and Nadal are winning despite playing awful in a barren wasteland. No, they are demonstrating a great level when winning, even if we wish others were more up to it.

 

[cc0509]

Weaker than average, I suppose, but still the pretenders are good players, just not the stuff all-time greats are made of. The greatest of the greats comprise a very tiny portion of those who play professional tennis. It's not like Federer and Nadal are winning despite playing awful in a barren wasteland. No, they are demonstrating a great level when winning, even if we wish others were more up to it.

Federer and Nadal are two of the greatest players of all time and obviously, as long as they play and are motivated they will be tough to beat for most but as long as I have been watching tennis, there have always been younger players to come around to topple the ATGs and they became ATGs themselves. That is lacking right now and it's a problem. I wouldn't want to be the head of the ATP currently. How do you promote the future of tennis with these lackadaisical youngsters?

 

[the green god]

Are you that scared of the mighty clayqueen and octo?

Frankly, I would cross to the other side of the street if I saw them coming.

 

[fedtennisphan]

I am a Federer and Nadal fan, but the Nadal hate is ridiculus.

Lets do a fair analysis of what is going on.

Both Federer and Nadal are not even close to how they were at their prime. Federer isn't regarded greatest of all time because he won 2 slams in 2017 with no challengers from the current generation or new. Same with Nadal, he isn't generally regarded as the second greatest and greatest on clay because of 2017 against a weak clay court and over all court field.

They made their achievements because of what they done in their prime, they took tennis to a new level. And importantly, Nadal at his prime was beating Federer, especially that Federer has never beaten Nadal (and probably never will) at the French Open, whereas Nadal beat Federer at Wimbledon in 2008 when Federer was playing unbelievably well, didn't drop a set till the final.

Nadal is not even close to the player he was, Federer also. But Nadal's game is so much more dependent on his physical ability.

Normally at this stage, whilst the top players are nearing retirement, the new generation emerge, a few 22-23 year Federer/Nadal type players start dominating and become the main challengers. This obviously hasn't happened which is why we are seeing two players close to retirement battling for major competitions because there is no competition.

As a Federer and Nadal fan, this is amazing for me because I feel lucky to still watch them, they may be half a step slower but they are my favorite players.

I just had a lovely conversation with pathetic YouTube Nadal fanboy that is heartbroken from Federer’s 5 set AO comeback win. It’s October and that loss still stings from January. But....But...But...Nadal was the big favorite going into that final. Loooooool!

 

[MichaelNadal]

Nadal and Federer may have both returned to form in 2017, but the dynamics of their direct matchup have flipped the other way. Whereas in the past, Nadal had the edge due to his relentlessness and his particular targeting of Federer's backhand with topspin high balls, now Federer is more lights out aggressive and Nadal isn't as relentless with his movement and intent. Federer now has the edge over Nadal in direct matchup.

Nadal hasn't beaten Federer now since the 2014 Australian semi finals. Whether this stays the case, we'll see, but Nadal has to change something.

 

[Druss]

Op posted only 27 times in 4 years? Hmmm.....

 

[Bartelby]

He's a sleeper agent obviously.

 

[-NN-]

I am a Federer and Nadal fan, but the Nadal hate is ridiculus.

Lets do a fair analysis of what is going on.

Both Federer and Nadal are not even close to how they were at their prime. Federer isn't regarded greatest of all time because he won 2 slams in 2017 with no challengers from the current generation or new. Same with Nadal, he isn't generally regarded as the second greatest and greatest on clay because of 2017 against a weak clay court and over all court field.

They made their achievements because of what they done in their prime, they took tennis to a new level. And importantly, Nadal at his prime was beating Federer, especially that Federer has never beaten Nadal (and probably never will) at the French Open, whereas Nadal beat Federer at Wimbledon in 2008 when Federer was playing unbelievably well, didn't drop a set till the final.

Nadal is not even close to the player he was, Federer also. But Nadal's game is so much more dependent on his physical ability.

Normally at this stage, whilst the top players are nearing retirement, the new generation emerge, a few 22-23 year Federer/Nadal type players start dominating and become the main challengers. This obviously hasn't happened which is why we are seeing two players close to retirement battling for major competitions because there is no competition.

As a Federer and Nadal fan, this is amazing for me because I feel lucky to still watch them, they may be half a step slower but they are my favorite players.

So the tour got worse and worse year on year for the past however many years then. Cool story "bro". Not every year is created equal but to try and undermine the importance of these matches - especially when several have decided the winner of big tournaments - is laughable.

 

[Fedforever]

Now I can say for sure this a troll thread brought up due to bitterness of how Federer has handled Nadal this year. Thanks for clarifying, some are coping by saying Nadal was injured, others are saying Nadal did not play well and others like you are coping by saying it doesn't matter. I hope you feel better soon.

You should follow it on Twitter. Best bit is the line that goes Fed should have said that Nadal was injured in his press conference. So, even though Nadal himself didn't make excuses for the loss it was somehow Fed's responsibility to do so.

In the end, the overall H2H is going to end up in Nadal's favour. So it seems rather petty of Nadal fanatics to get so worked up about one year.

 

[mike danny]

You should follow it on Twitter. Best bit is the line that goes Fed should have said that Nadal was injured in his press conference. So, even though Nadal himself didn't make excuses for the loss it was somehow Fed's responsibility to do so.

In the end, the overall H2H is going to end up in Nadal's favour. So it seems rather petty of Nadal fanatics to get so worked up about one year.

Can you blame them? They literally thought Fed would be a walkover for Nadal and it blew up right in their faces.

 

[King No1e]

Let's look at the top 5 players:
1. Nadal: the fact that he is losing to a 36 year old, especially one he had dominated, means that he is not at his best. However, he continues (at 30) to consolidate his dominance over the rest of the tour. (By the way let's put this to rest Nadal's weakest surface is NOT grass, it's indoor hard)
2. Federer: 36 years old. Requires long breaks to get back in shape. Missed half of 2016, all of clay season, and post-USO season.
3. Murray: Completely flamed out. He hasn't reached a big final since Dubai, and somehow he is STILL in the top 3. He is increasingly looking like a has-been similar to Ferrer or Haas now.
4. Zverev: Never even reached a major QF. End of story. Hopefully he can soon become a stronger player, but as of now he is nowhere near the form of the top 4 players of the Golden Age.
5. Marin Cilic: In the past your #5's used to be guys like Soderling, Del Potro, Tsonga, Ferrer, and recently Wawrinka. All of them are more consistent (even Stan) than Cilic.
What does this say about the tour? It's not really a "bad" thing, it just means that the Golden Age that we have grown accustomed to, has ended. For good. Djokovic is struggling with injury, Murray is in decline, Federer despite his miraculous health is feeling the effects of age, and Nadal, the only dominant player at the moment, has lost his aura of true invincibility - as illustrated by Federer's clinical takedown of his defenses in Shanghai - that he had during the Big 4 Age (2010-13)

 

[Deleted member 77403]

You should follow it on Twitter. Best bit is the line that goes Fed should have said that Nadal was injured in his press conference. So, even though Nadal himself didn't make excuses for the loss it was somehow Fed's responsibility to do so.

In the end, the overall H2H is going to end up in Nadal's favour. So it seems rather petty of Nadal fanatics to get so worked up about one year.

Follow it on twitter? I'd rather not.

Nadal is not going to get caught by Federer, we all know that. They probably will not even play that many times.