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
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.
Click to expand...

HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA
 
No one is a lock for any tournament - especially on grass.

(Closest would be Nadal or Borg at the French, but even then, they didn't win them all.)
 
blue steel said:
i guess this what happens when you make grass court predictions based on clay court results
Click to expand...

Lot of delusional predictions here. Nadal has been completely unpredictable on grass since the beginning of his career. The ONLY time he showed consistent progress was between 2006-2008, with him eventually beating Federer in a very tight match in 2008. No, Nadal does not own Federer on grass. In fact, I think Federer could still spank Nadal on the surface because he's much more of a natural on it. His record is 1-2 against Federer on this surface. The one match he won, even if it was the greatest match of all time, was won by the slimmest of margins.

Year after year people make predictions on Nadal's grass prospects based on his clay court results and it almost never works. Nadal's grass court career is over. He knows he just has to lose one or two matches on the surface before he can move back to a surface he is more comfortable on. Nadal lost 100% of the grass court matches he played this year and is still going to have a great season, which I think is completely ridiculous and one of the reasons why I have always supported an extended grass court season or at least one masters tournament on grass.

Nadal has made the decision to put his heart and soul into the first half of the season and throw the second half away. He's getting older, and it's his call to make. I would be surprised if he makes another grass court quarterfinal in his career. He is not known for his ability to succeed consistently on all surfaces and his early losses at Wimbledon this year and in 2012 further establish the fact that he is a clay court specialist with a little extra pizzazz.
 
This is what happens when a clay court specialist goes to play on grass. Nadal has always been vulnerable on grass and this is obvious the 1st week.

Week 2 is when Wimby turns into moderately fast clay with all the grass on the show courts gone, so its no wonder Nadal has some success with his style.
 
Last year Rafa exited in round 2 to 100th ranked Rosol, this year he ''improved'' by losring in the first round to 135th ranked Steve Darcis.:???: So it is always a chore for Rafa to tough it out the first week, then it gets easier on the second week. First week players are those he is not familiar with (style of play or experience playing with) then comes the second week wherein all the top 10 players he can beat handily due to familiarity given the number of head-to-heads as an indicative factor. The slower bounce helps too in the second week.
 
tennis_pro said:
Could you throw in a vid or pic, please?
Click to expand...

I'll see what I can do. It was probably around the 3 game mark into the third set, he was drinking at the time and the crowd saw first so the atmosphere changed, he looked up at the board and raised his eyebrows before trying to look like he hadn't noticed :)

It doesn't really change much for him though I don't think, if it's not Nadal, it will be Federer in the semis. Both incredibly tough.
 
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?
Click to expand...

Beautiful observations. But more to the point, Is Nadal a lock for Wimbledon 2014. Get your money on now.
 
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