Maybe this is really the time for Nadal to retire?

What Nadal might achieve from now on?


  • Total voters
    78

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
Not joking here. After all, there should be some point when you realize you just should stop playing. IMO the correct moment is when you simply can't deal with the younger players anymore. A year ago Nadal was still the best of the big 3 against the young generation. But this year we saw another huge decline in his mentality, and he totally lost that advantage. Right now Nadal is one of the mentally weakest players.

1. He lost to Thiem in AO after being up a break in both the first and second set and losing them. Lost all 3 tie breaks in this match.
2. In Rome he lost to the first decent opponent he faced.
3. He got fully outplayed by Zverev in Paris, no chances there. Played extremely bad on big points.
4. WTF was some of the worst mental performances of his career. He against lost two tiebreaks to Thiem, when in one of them he was up with 4 minibreaks. Also was up a break in the second set and choked. Then he choked a set against Tsitsipas after hitting a double fault on a setpoint, the third set was also full of choking. Finally, today he was serving for the match against Medvedev and choked again. Once again lost a tiebreak. This time he couldn't get away with it, he lost the match.

That looks like a short list, but the season itself was short. Nadal just can't deal with the young players mentally anymore, he is clearly bad on the big points. Moreover, he might be done physically. Today he looked totally gassed in the third set, and that was after a short season. What can we expect in BO5 then, if he can't even stay fit in BO3 after such a short season?

So yeah, maybe it is time to think about retirement. He won his 20th slam this year, this is more than anyone could expect from him. He might not be the GOAT, but he is one of the greatest of all time. But from now on the younger players will only get better, and as we see Nadal is not good enough physically and mentally to stop them anymore. So maybe it would be smart to retire while being at the top, instead of waiting until you fall even harder.

Added a poll, interesting to see the opinions about what Nadal can realistically achieve from now on, with the younger players only becoming better.
 

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
Maybe it’s time for you to retire. Not joking here. You should either retire from watching and talking about tennis, or see some sort of doctor to help you with whatever problem it is pretty clear that you have.
Right, the easiest thing to do is simply ignore the clearly existent problems which I mentioned in the thread. Nadal right now is nothing but a big choker. Today was the cherry on the pie when he was serving for the match in the second set and lost.
 
He will continue to dominate on clay, and get dominated everywhere else. The most common trend since the start of his career. Nothing changed this year. No need for retirement. ;)
 

The Blond Blur

G.O.A.T.
This thread brought to you by a "Nadal fan" ladies and gentlemen.

giphy.gif
 

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
The big choker just won the last slam without dropping a set and bagelled his biggest rival in the final in the process....
Right, the matches were not close enough for him to choke something. And he also avoided Zverev and Thiem who were in his draw. Given his recent record against younger players he could have easily lost to them. Also, he started choking in the third set of the final. Mentally he wasn't there, but the difference in the level of play was so big that his mental problems against Djokovic didn't matter this time.
 

Hitman

Bionic Poster
Right, the matches were not close enough for him to choke something. And he also avoided Zverev and Thiem who were in his draw. Given his recent record against younger players he could have easily lost to them. Also, he started choking in the third set of the final. Mentally he wasn't there, but the difference in the level of play was so big that his mental problems against Djokovic didn't matter this time.

Why do matches have to be close to define if some chokes or not. Suppose Rafa lost the lead, wouldn't that be considered a choke?
 

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
Why do matches have to be close to define if some chokes or not. Suppose Rafa lost the lead, wouldn't that be considered a choke?
Nadal was clearly choking in the third set of RG final, but in the end it didn't matter. He got away with it. But today he did not.
 

ibbi

G.O.A.T.
Right, the easiest thing to do is simply ignore the clearly existent problems which I mentioned in the thread. Nadal right now is nothing but a big choker. Today was the cherry on the pie when he was serving for the match in the second set and lost.
He lost that game because Medvedev played a return game that Djokovic at his peak would be proud of. He hit 3 out of 4 first serves, that was not a choke. Give credit where credit is due.

You are talking like this is his 10th first round exit in a row. Who won the last major they played? Oh right, he did. This was the end of season finals and all things considered he was probably the third best player of the week. I don’t think that deserves serious consideration of retirement, but then I don’t suffer from the same mental illness that you do.
 

Bumbaliceps

Professional
Yes, Nadal is not nearly as strong mentally as he used to be. So he should retire ? You seem to think Nadal is not even worthy of playing if he isn't the ultimate alpha male player.
You have so much insecurities that you can't even appreciate how entertaining Nadal's game has become. You are definitely the most overly emotional fan that could ever exist. Tonight I'm disappointed but I still had some good time watching him this tournament, and you seriously have a problem if you can't enjoy the crazy tennis he can still play at 34 years old.
 

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
He lost that game because Medvedev played a return game that Djokovic at his peak would be proud of. He hit 3 out of 4 first serves, that was not a choke. Give credit where credit is due.

You are talking like this is his 10th first round exit in a row. Who won the last major they played? Oh right, he did. This was the end of season finals and all things considered he was probably the third best player of the week. I don’t think that deserves serious consideration of retirement, but then I don’t suffer from the same mental illness that you do.
So Nadal didn't decline mentally, just suddenly ALL of his opponents turned into mental beasts? That makes no sense, don't you think? Nadal is totally irrelevant in tiebreaks now. And he lost EVERY BIG POINT he played in the last 3 matches of this tournament. So Thiem, Tsitsipas and Medvedev are all mental beasts?
 

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
Yes, Nadal is not nearly as strong mentally as he used to be. So he should retire ? You seem to think Nadal is not even worthy of playing if he isn't the ultimate alpha male player.
You have so much insecurities that you can't even appreciate how entertaining Nadal's game has become. You are definitely the most overly emotional fan that could ever exist. Tonight I'm disappointed but I still had some good time watching him this tournament, and you seriously have a problem if you can't enjoy the crazy tennis he can still play at 34 years old.

Don't take him seriously lol, for the millionth time, he's CLEARLY an in-character troll.
 

ibbi

G.O.A.T.
So Nadal didn't decline mentally, just suddenly ALL of his opponents turned into mental beasts? That makes no sense, don't you think? Nadal is totally irrelevant in tiebreaks now. And he lost EVERY BIG POINT he played in the last 3 matches of this tournament. So Thiem, Tsitsipas and Medvedev are all mental beasts?
Nadal is old. His best days are behind him, and he is in decline. Time is undefeated, the younger players in their physical prime and at their hungriest for success were obviously going to take over eventually. If you can’t handle that then stop watching, don’t implore someone to retire.

Also, how did he win 3 sets in those three matches without winning ANY BIG POINTS? That was a rhetorical question, I have no interest in your answer.
 

Bumbaliceps

Professional
Nadal was clearly choking in the third set of RG final, but in the end it didn't matter. He got away with it. But today he did not.
What you call choking is having a short lapse of concentration. Something all of the players have, but when it is Nadal, you **** in your pants.

Nadal was actually super strong mentally in that final, it was one of the most impressive performances you could ever see on a tennis court when it comes to focus, which is arguably Nadal's greatest strength. The guy had ONE small blip of concentration in the whole final.
 

Towny

Hall of Fame
Basing your assertion Nadal should retire predominantly off 3 tournaments (AO, Paris, WTF) in which he has one title combined in his entire career is useless. Nadal failed to win Paris and the WTF and lost a close match in the AO. What else is new? The only one of the OPs points that carries any weight at all is the loss in Rome. But any idea that Nadal is slipping on clay was dispelled with his dominant RG win.

Nadal has just matched Federer's 20 and is absolutely the favourite to surpass it at RG next year. Retiring now would be like a marathon runner stopping 100m before the finishing line saying he's too tired. When Nadal goes slamless for a couple of years or just personally wants to move on from tennis, then would be a good time to retire. Certainly not now.
 

Newballs

Professional
Today was the cherry on the pie when he was serving for the match in the second set and lost.
What kind of pie was it?

Now that I'm done being an A-hole, no, I don't think it's time for him to retire.
Let's see what next years RG brings.
 

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
Basing your assertion Nadal should retire predominantly off 3 tournaments (AO, Paris, WTF) in which he has one title combined in his entire career is useless. Nadal failed to win Paris and the WTF and lost a close match in the AO. What else is new? The only one of the OPs points that carries any weight at all is the loss in Rome. But any idea that Nadal is slipping on clay was dispelled with his dominant RG win.

Nadal has just matched Federer's 20 and is absolutely the favourite to surpass it at RG next year. Retiring now would be like a marathon runner stopping 100m before the finishing line saying he's too tired. When Nadal goes slamless for a couple of years or just personally wants to move on from tennis, then would be a good time to retire. Certainly not now.
It's not about the losses, it's about HOW he lose. Nadal is clearly a mentally weak player these days. He can't win any tiebreaks anymore, he chokes without stop on big points. Just in this tournament he lost 3 tiebreaks (one from a very big lead), hit a double fault on setpoint, failed to serve for the match...
 
He can still win RG. Won't matter much, but it's a fat check anyway. Might as well stick around. Add some more weeks at #2.
 

Amritia

Hall of Fame
Was feeling a bit unhappy after the loss but this thread made me laugh haha

He played well this week, probably better than most of his WTF performances.
He didn’t play well in the key moments, but he had chances to win against both Thiem and Med. That’s sport, move on.
 

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
Was feeling a bit unhappy after the loss but this thread made me laugh haha

He played well this week, probably better than most of his WTF performances.
He didn’t play well in the key moments, but he had chances to win against both Thiem and Med. That’s sport, move on.
If you lose all the big points then no, you don't play well. Playing well is playing well when it really matters.
 
D

Deleted member 771911

Guest
No. He's going to reach 22 and seal the deal before saying see ya.
 

Amritia

Hall of Fame
If you lose all the big points then no, you don't play well. Playing well is playing well when it really matters.
Okay, that’s why he didn’t win this event.
But that’s not necessarily a permanent state of affairs. People extrapolate too much from the past.
 
Top