Is Nadal a lock for Wimbledon 2013?

Nadal will win Wimbledon 2013

  • Yes

    Votes: 27 25.2%

  • No

    Votes: 80 74.8%
  • Total voters
    107
monfed said:
And the odds of getting Rosoled again are slim to none. Just saying.
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Nadal almost loses at wimbledon every year. The odds are high. Rafa lost like 3x as many sets during this clay season as he usually does and it isn't even over yet. His decline will show even more on the fast courts just like it did last year.
 
WhiskeyEE said:
Nadal almost loses at wimbledon every year. The odds are high. Rafa lost like 3x as many sets during this clay season as he usually does and it isn't even over yet. His decline will show even more on the fast courts just like it did last year.
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"Almost". Remember 2010? He almost lost to Petchzner and Haase,especially the former. Who won the tourny in the end? Almost doesn't count and that's ALWAYS the case with Ralph. Almost lost to Gulbis in IW AND Rome, Djokovic at RG.
 
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sbengte said:
Ah, good times. He defended his USO title playing three 5 setters back to back before the final. Went through Krajicek, Lendl, Chang and Sampras. It is bit of a blur what with it happening over 2 decades ago, but the good feeling stays :)
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That US Open was full of fun matches. It was the Best US Open ever IMO (1997 was close though). It had a hard act to follow after Jimmys historic 91 run but it surpassed it twice over.

Conners VS Lendl
Agassi VS Courier
Becker VS Lendl
McEnroe VS Courier
Courier VS Sampras

etc. etc. Edberg was the standout though

There was just an energy then in the early rounds that was always exciting (80s and 90s). Then they went to the 32 seed system and it has not been the same since.
 
monfed said:
"Almost". Remember 2010? He almost lost to Petchzner and Haase,especially the former. Who won the tourny in the end? Almost doesn't count and that's ALWAYS the case with Ralph. Almost lost to Gulbis in IW AND Rome, Djokovic at RG.
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He almost lost in his prime. Post-prime, all of those almost losses that he used to have will just be losses. We already saw that last year. We would've seen a lot more of them if he hadn't skipped the season.

He never almost lost during the clay season last year. This year he almost did several times. Next year he will lose. That's generally how decline works.
 
WhiskeyEE said:
He almost lost in his prime. Post-prime, all of those almost losses that he used to have will just be losses. We already saw that last year. We would've seen a lot more of them if he hadn't skipped the season.

He never almost lost during the clay season last year. This year he almost did several times. Next year he will lose. That's generally how decline works.
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This is all true. I dont think he will lose at the French though. 5 set format and his comfort there is unrivaled in the history of the sport IMO. I said it the other day....at some point we need to just call it the "Rafeal Nadal Challenge".
 
I don't think anybody is a lock in Wimbledon. And I am pretty sure, that more and more upsets will happen on this surface to the favourites the years to come. There are dangerous players from the beginning, where the grasscort is faster. Also in Wimbledon you never know, how the weather will affect the tournament. Playing under a closed roof is not the same as outdoors.
Nadal has played more than anybody else lately, it remains to be seen, how mentally and physically fit he will be and how the preparation for London turns out for him.
 
Surely that Rosol,Gulbis,Soderling,Berdych flat hitting bonanza a potential bogie for any of the top 4 at wimbledon?

By the way Nadal is not playing Halle citing fatigue which after playing one of the best clay matches in a decade would do, is Novak playing any grass court warmups?
 
Let's hope not but I'm concerned the Madrid winner won Wimbledon in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Nadal having as many Wimbledons as Becker and McEnroe would be weird. REALLY weird.....
 
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Nadal's preparation is going as smoothly as he could have hoped for - and the competition is looking exceedingly weak.

Murray and Federer - last year's finalists at Wimbledon have both won their warm-up tournaments, but both lost the opening sets in those matches against mug competition, so both are clearly vulnerable and low in confidence heading into Wimbledon.

Nadal usually doesn't have to worry about anyone until the semifinals of a Slam, but in this case, I don't think he needs to worry about anyone - period. He owns all his major rivals on grass, and he even owns Djokovic now - and grass is Djokovic's weakest surface.

Nadal will not draw Rosol again - there is no-one to threaten him.
 
tennis_hack said:
He even owns Djokovic now.
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LOL....'Owns' seems to have different meaning in your dictionary. A 9-7 victory in 5th set and Losing Monte Carlo on your favorite surface is owning? Remember, he has not defeated Djokovic on non-clay surface since 2010. He struggles against murray in the second half of year. And we have a 'hybrid aggressive' Murray now. Completely illogical argument.
 
How does he struggle against Murray? If you're speaking about slams, I'm pretty sure he has knocked Murray out at the semi final stages of consecutive slams before his big break. Certainly at the last two wimbys he competed in..
 
Not a lock, but a fave.


Wait, I literally already posted this a few days ago.


Spooky.
 
A lock?? I wish! But the last grass tournament he won was 3 years ago. So let's stay very Rafa-wise here and take it one match at a time.
 
Not a lock but a favorite indeed!

- Federer's form is crap right now even though he won Halle. He's moving too slow and making too many errors off his forehand.
- Who knows what kinda damage the FO match has done to Djokovic. Will have to wait and see how/if he bounces back.
- I just don't see Murray beating Nadal at Wimbledon no matter what the wimby organizers do to help him. I mean what are they going to do, slow the grass even further to help Murray against Fed or speed it up to help Murray against Nadal? :D

Apart from the big four, the rest of them are extremely inconsistent players who show up only so many times a year.
 
Omega_7000 said:
Not a lock but a favorite indeed!

- Federer's form is crap right now even though he won Halle. He's moving too slow and making too many errors off his forehand.
- Who knows what kinda damage the FO match has done to Djokovic. Will have to wait and see how/if he bounces back.
- I just don't see Murray beating Nadal at Wimbledon no matter what the wimby organizers do to help him. I mean what are they going to do, slow the grass even further to help Murray against Fed or speed it up to help Murray against Nadal? :D

Apart from the big four, the rest of them are extremely inconsistent players who show up only so many times a year.
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murray wont lose to nadal on grass again..murrays forehand will r@pe nadals bh side.
 
Goosehead said:
murray wont lose to nadal on grass again..murrays forehand will r@pe nadals bh side.
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With Murray it's still more mental than a match up issue.People call Fed mentally weak because he has such a huge match-up disadvantage against Nadal...But Murray doesn't and still loses on the big stage against him...Just imagine how bad it would've been if he had a one-hander like Fed :shock:
 
Omega_7000 said:
With Murray it's still more mental than a match up issue.People call Fed mentally weak because he has such a huge match-up disadvantage against Nadal...But Murray doesn't and still loses on the big stage against him...Just imagine how bad it would've been if he had a one-hander like Fed :shock:
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you are living in the past.
 
People thinking the Djokovic plough train is damaged because of the FO are showing wishful thinking.

The same kind of thinking when people though Nadal was mentally scarred after the AO 2012 and would never beat Nole again.
 
Legend of Borg said:
People thinking the Djokovic plough train is damaged because of the FO are showing wishful thinking.

The same kind of thinking when people though Nadal was mentally scarred after the AO 2012 and would never beat Nole again.
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You know for a fact that it's not going to affect him? Unless you know something the rest of us don't, we have to see how he performs on court to make that conclusion.

Just because Nadal bounced back, does not mean Djokovic will too.
 
tennis_hack said:
He's easily the greatest grass court player in present form - and he mentally he owns Federer and Murray (especially these two), as well as Djokovic. He is much superior than Djokovic on grass anyway.

His confidence will be soaring right now, and the green clay of Wimbledon won't take much transitioning to.

I can't see anyone that can even take a set off Nadal - he has to be the easy favorite (by a huge margin[/b] ) for Wimbledon 2013, right?
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EASILY the best?...despite not having bothered to play a grass tournament in prep for Wimbledon?
 
Dedans Penthouse said:
EASILY the best?...despite not having bothered to play a grass tournament in prep for Wimbledon?
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Yeah, it's a bit counter intuitive isn't it? Technically Nadal is "easily" the WORST grass court player in present form since the last form we saw him in on grass, he was losing to Lukas Rosol.
 
Omega_7000 said:
I just noticed your location :) Ok good luck to him and hope he proves me wrong but I personally would be very surprised if he pulls it off against Nadal
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i'd go the other way, nadal could win possibly, but i'd be very surprised if murray wasn't victorious if they met at Wimbledon.
 
Mike Sams said:
Nadal is one of the best grass court players on the tour obviously but he's no lock to win Wimbledon going by the last 3 years that he's performed on grass. He's been having more and more difficulty transitioning from clay to grass as he's gotten older.
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He is not a lock , but not based on that poorly thought out premise .

The last 3 of Nadal in Wimbledon are , one win , reached a final losing to an on fire Djokovic , and last year a second round exit .

I hope you can base your arguments on better premises , otherwise they are not really worthy .
 
tennis_hack said:
He's easily the greatest grass court player in present form - and he mentally he owns Federer and Murray (especially these two), as well as Djokovic. He is much superior than Djokovic on grass anyway.

His confidence will be soaring right now, and the green clay of Wimbledon won't take much transitioning to.

I can't see anyone that can even take a set off Nadal - he has to be the easy favorite (by a huge margin) for Wimbledon 2013, right?
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Not if he has to face Rosol in the 1st round. Then he's done! :shock:
 
He is one of the favorites unfortunately, but the draw will very important and the speed of the courts as well, many have what it takes to take him out, specially in the first week when the gras is slippery and fast.
 
big ted said:
i think djokovic might have the edge at wimbledon, nadal barely squeaked by him on his favorite surface and djokovic is probably better on grass than clay. i also think its possible for an inspired murray or maybe federer to beat him too, depending on court conditions
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Someone sensible! Yes, people are conveniently forgetting that Rafa DID drop sets on his favorite surface at his favorite slam, and Joker was a few botched overheads, and running into the damn net away from completing his career slam.

Is he a contender...ALWAYS...favorite...Hardly!
 
Dedans Penthouse said:
EASILY the best?...despite not having bothered to play a grass tournament in prep for Wimbledon?
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It helps to play a few matches on grass before Wimbledon , but is not really necessary .

Bjorn Borg won it 5 times , and he didn't play any tourny between RG and Wimbledon . He'd just go to England a few days before Wimbledon , rent a grass court for a few days , train hard , that was all . It worked for him , it can work for Nadal as well .
 
The draw has come out - and Nadal has a great draw.

QF: He owns Federer on all surfaces pretty much, and Federer is quickly becoming less and less challenging to the top 3, even Berdych and Tsonga nowadays.

SF: After Federer he has Murray who he has consistently beat at Wimbledon, three times now, for the loss of only one set. I'm sure Nadal will be delighted to have Murray in his half of the draw.

F: He then doesn't have to worry about Djokovic all the way until the final, and let's not forget that grass is easily Djokovic's worst surface, and it's one of Nadal's best surfaces. Djokovic may be prone to getting upset by a good fast-court player such as an in-form Haas. But even if Djokovic is in the final, Nadal has the mental edge having beaten Djokovic in a Slam just a few weeks ago.

In short, even if it plays out that Nadal will face Federer, Murray and then Djokovic in a row - I do not think it would be much of a challenge for him, and, honestly, I would be surprised if he dropped a set.

The first week of Wimbledon is historically tougher for Nadal, but he has a great draw this time around.

I think Nadal is a lock for Wimbledon 2013.
 
tennis_hack said:
I think Nadal is a lock for Wimbledon 2013.
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I thought it was between Nadal and Murray (clarky, get over the jinxing please). But I think it's going to be between Nadal and Djokovic now. Djokovic has a dream draw and Nadal imo has nothing to fear from Roger anymore. Andy is only a hurdle if he keeps his head. And if past records are anything to go by, I don't see it happening at W. The only way Nadal doesn't make the final is if he doesn't reach second week. But somehow, i highly doubt he's going to back one second round with another. So it's between the two grinders. Ugh. Tennis is dead.
 
Dedans Penthouse said:
EASILY the best?...despite not having bothered to play a grass tournament in prep for Wimbledon?
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He didn't play a grass warmup tournament precisely because he is the best and is confident of his abilities, duh. Besides what better warmup is needed other than the first week of wimbledon ?
 
tennis_hack said:
He's easily the greatest grass court player in present form - and he mentally he owns Federer and Murray (especially these two), as well as Djokovic. He is much superior than Djokovic on grass anyway.

His confidence will be soaring right now, and the green clay of Wimbledon won't take much transitioning to.

I can't see anyone that can even take a set off Nadal - he has to be the easy favorite (by a huge margin) for Wimbledon 2013, right?
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tennis_hack knows his tennis. Great prediction man!
 
tennis_hack said:
The draw has come out - and Nadal has a great draw.

QF: He owns Federer on all surfaces pretty much, and Federer is quickly becoming less and less challenging to the top 3, even Berdych and Tsonga nowadays.

SF: After Federer he has Murray who he has consistently beat at Wimbledon, three times now, for the loss of only one set. I'm sure Nadal will be delighted to have Murray in his half of the draw.

F: He then doesn't have to worry about Djokovic all the way until the final, and let's not forget that grass is easily Djokovic's worst surface, and it's one of Nadal's best surfaces. Djokovic may be prone to getting upset by a good fast-court player such as an in-form Haas. But even if Djokovic is in the final, Nadal has the mental edge having beaten Djokovic in a Slam just a few weeks ago.

In short, even if it plays out that Nadal will face Federer, Murray and then Djokovic in a row - I do not think it would be much of a challenge for him, and, honestly, I would be surprised if he dropped a set.

The first week of Wimbledon is historically tougher for Nadal, but he has a great draw this time around.

I think Nadal is a lock for Wimbledon 2013.
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crying-laughter-smiley-emoticon.gif
 
Mike Sams said:
I have a suspicion Nadal just may not be ready for grass this year. He's looked like he's peaked at RG after the numerous clay court events he's played. And the draws at Wimbledon have far higher upset potential with all the power hitters who can pull a surprise.
Players aren't intimidated by Nadal on grass as they are on clay.
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I applaud you, sir!
 
Lol don't you wish you could delete a thread?

This thread and OP got owned in a severe way. Not his fault but still embarassing.
 
He's not done yet, the tournament organizers will wait until the quarterfinals, and then move Nadal to Ferrer's quarter so he can get another shot at Djokovic.
 
tennis_hack said:
He's not done yet, the tournament organizers will wait until the quarterfinals, and then move Nadal to Ferrer's quarter so he can get another shot at Djokovic.
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Well, Nadal will have to wait until the new clay court season starting jn Vina del Mar before he gets a shot at Djokovic.

Oh wait ... Nole doesn't play those crappy tournaments.
 
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