Nadal: 2019 AO vs 2022 AO

Do you think Nadal possibly played as good or better at 2019 AO than 2022 AO?

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AnOctorokForDinner

AnOctorokForDinner

Talk Tennis Guru
In 2019, Nadal dominantly stormed to the final over Tsitsipas and others, but got harshly massacred by in-form Djokovic for the title. In 2022, Nadal struggled through the draw losing six total sets, but ended up winning against some odds over the current world number one. Yet surely Medvedev was far from the high level Djokovic displayed in the 2019 final. So which of the two Nadals played better?
 
NatF said:
Pre-final 2019'dal was better, he was terrible in the final but against Medvedev he probably works his way into the match and wins lol.
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I think the same.2019 Nadal would be much more confident against Med, maybe he would even win the match in 4 :D
 
NatF said:
Pre-final 2019'dal was better, he was terrible in the final but against Medvedev he probably works his way into the match and wins lol.
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Worth mentioning that Nadal looked similarly "terrible" when Medvedev performed at his peak in the first set. Then Med's level dropped, and more. But even Peakdev was hardly as good as 2019 AO F Djokovic. So it's a great point of contention.
 
NatF said:
Pre-final 2019'dal was better, he was terrible in the final but against Medvedev he probably works his way into the match and wins lol.
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This, Med is a sure bet to snatch loss from the jaws of victory against Nadal. He's had plenty of practice.
 
AnOctorokForDinner said:
In 2019, Nadal dominantly stormed to the final over Tsitsipas and others, but got harshly massacred by in-form Djokovic for the title. In 2022, Nadal struggled through the draw losing six total sets, but ended up winning against some odds over the current world number one. Yet surely Medvedev was far from the high level Djokovic displayed in the 2019 final. So which of the two Nadals played better?
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don't matter, DCGS thanks to AUS 2022, nothing can take that away from Nadal. 21 slams, most in the history of men's tennis. GOAT.
 
Are we forgetting that Nadal was down two sets and facing multiple break points at 2-3 in the third set of this year's final? He was on the verge of receiving a beatdown comparable to the AO19 final against a significantly worse opponent. A guy who isn't a renowned choker playing at a respectable level for a slam finalist (let alone a guy playing at Djokovic's AO19 level) wouldn't have given Nadal a sniff from that position in the match and so Nadal would have never been able to demonstrate his famed fighting qualities in the first place in such a scenario.

It's also easy to keep fighting when you're facing a guy who has previously choked against you in the worst possible fashion on his best surface vs your worst surface (2019 ATP finals), who himself admitted that he was on the verge of cramping and total physical collapse in a slam final in which he was on the verge of winning in straight sets against a shot opponent (2021 USO), and who you have an almost perfect head to head record against. Pre-final 2019 was also better and it's not even remotely close. So yes, 2019 AO Nadal was certainly better than 2022 AO Nadal and its not actually particularly close.
 
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Mivic said:
Are we forgetting that Nadal was down two sets and facing multiple break points at 2-3 in the third set of this year's final? He was on the verge of receiving a beatdown comparable to the AO19 final against a significantly worse opponent. A guy who isn't a renowned choker playing at a respectable level for a slam finalist (let alone a guy playing at Djokovic's AO19 level) wouldn't have given Nadal a sniff from that position in the match and so Nadal would have never been able to demonstrate his famed fighting qualities in the first place in such a scenario.

It's also easy to keep fighting when you're facing a guy who has previously choked against you in the worst possible fashion on his best surface vs your worst surface (2019 ATP finals), who himself admitted that he was on the verge of cramping and total physical collapse in a slam final in which he was on the verge of winning in straight sets against a shot opponent (2022 USO), and who you have an almost perfect head to head record against. Pre-final 2019 also was better and it's not even remotely close. So yes, 2019 AO Nadal was certainly better than 2022 AO Nadal and its not actually particularly close.
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Now if only you applied such perceptive thinking equidirectionally... ;)
 
AnOctorokForDinner said:
Now if only you applied such perceptive thinking equidirectionally... ;)
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Determining whether 2019 AO Nadal is better than 2022 AO Nadal is a very simple exercise in logic. It's incredibly straightforward. In the majority of hypotheticals I would say there's significantly more nuance involved and confounding variables that have to be accounted for.
 
Not much difference. 2022 Nadal isn't better than 2020-2021 Nadal at the AO either. He was on the verge of losing in the QFs again from 2-0 up, but Shapo being Shapo saved him. Would have lost against a more stable opponent.
 
Mivic said:
Determining whether 2019 AO Nadal is better than 2022 AO Nadal is a very simple exercise in logic. It's incredibly straightforward. In the majority of hypotheticals I would say there's significantly more nuance involved and confounding variables that have to be accounted for.
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There is, but a lot of that is weaseling to avoid accepting the truth you wouldn't like to believe.
 
2019 Nadal, unlike 2022 Medvedev, wouldn’t have needed the Heimlich maneuver to bail his arse out against 2022 Nadal in the AO final.

2019 Nadal wins in 4 sets max.
 
AnOctorokForDinner said:
Can't bear to admit you're not interested in any tennis analysis at all, now can you?
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Give it up Ocky... you're about as interested in analysing Nadal's game as watching paint dry.

You should start a thread that analyses whether Fed RG08 was better than Fed RG09... I'd say for sure 08 given he was a year younger which in Fed fan boi terms is equivalent to about 10 years. There was just nothing he could do against THAT version of Rafa at RG...
 
The_Order said:
Give it up Ocky... you're about as interested in analysing Nadal's game as watching paint dry.

You should start a thread that analyses whether Fed RG08 was better than Fed RG09... I'd say for sure 08 given he was a year younger which in Fed fan boi terms is equivalent to about 10 years. There was just nothing he could do against THAT version of Rafa at RG...
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Haha good one.
 
The_Order said:
Give it up Ocky... you're about as interested in analysing Nadal's game as watching paint dry.

You should start a thread that analyses whether Fed RG08 was better than Fed RG09... I'd say for sure 08 given he was a year younger which in Fed fan boi terms is equivalent to about 10 years. There was just nothing he could do against THAT version of Rafa at RG...
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Nah I'm fine, just that any decent discussion requires proper participants rather than narrow-minded agendabots like yourself, lel.

RG 08/09 are close, think 09 has a bit higher upside due to serving. Surely Federer would play a good final against anyone but Peakdal who instilled desperation.
 
AnOctorokForDinner said:
Nah I'm fine, just that any decent discussion requires proper participants rather than narrow-minded agendabots like yourself, lel.

RG 08/09 are close, think 09 has a bit higher upside due to serving. Surely Federer would play a good final against anyone but Peakdal who instilled desperation.
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What's my agenda?
 
AnOctorokForDinner said:
In 2019, Nadal dominantly stormed to the final over Tsitsipas and others, but got harshly massacred by in-form Djokovic for the title. In 2022, Nadal struggled through the draw losing six total sets, but ended up winning against some odds over the current world number one. Yet surely Medvedev was far from the high level Djokovic displayed in the 2019 final. So which of the two Nadals played better?
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Pre-final, obviously.
in final, I don't think the result would change if we replace 2019 nadal with 2022 nadal against Djokovic playing his 2nd best HC slam match of all time. And I do think the 2019 nadal wins in 4 over med, he was ruthless against everyone bar Djokovic that AO. Even in 22 final, Nadal should have won in 4.
 
Nadal was better pre-final in 2019 even though his draw was very cushy. He was pretty terrible in the final though. Some of that's a product of Novak just playing really well but make no mistake, he was hardly in-form and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

He was worse before the final in 2022 but better in the actual championship match. Not by a significant distance though imo.

Ultimately neither were particularly high-level performances.
 
How can you guys be serious? AO 2019 Nadal by a country mile.

Nadal was imperious in AO 2019 until the final. He basically collapsed against a God Mod Novak and just mentally got spooked. On another day, the same 2019 AO Nadal gives Novak a better fight.

AO 2022 - huffed and puffed his way to the final. Was on the brink of losing to a mug such as Shapo and in the final was about to lose in straight sets to Med.

AO 2019 Nadal was FASTER, more explosive, had more endurance, had a bigger forehand, more consistent backhand and had less MENTAL lapses.

AO 2022 Nadal just has more tactical acumen and experience. Put it simply the AO 2019 Nadal beats AO 2022 Nadal in 3 (at most 4 ) sets.
 
This year was probably the worst of Rafa among his 6 finals appearances at AO if I'm being totally honest. But because of how many heartbreakers he's had at AO, the tennis gods couldn't let Rafa retire with just 1 AO that would be injustice
 
2019 was better pre-F and 2022 was better in the F. Joker was in ridiculous form in 2019 (I’d say the last time he truly look that good at a schlem) and would likely beat 2022 in straights too (though it’d be closer). But 2019dal was just so bad in the F. I mean he was hitting warmup balls into the net :sick:
 
The Blond Blur said:
2019 was better pre-F and 2022 was better in the F. Joker was in ridiculous form in 2019 (I’d say the last time he truly look that good at a schlem) and would likely beat 2022 in straights too (though it’d be closer). But 2019dal was just so bad in the F. I mean he was hitting warmup balls into the net :sick:
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2019 AOdal or 2007 AOzalez? Who was better? :P
 
mike danny said:
2019 AOdal or 2007 AOzalez? Who was better? :p
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fernando-gonzalez-target-practice.gif
 
Bumbaliceps said:
He was better in 2019, but once he had to face Djokovic, he instantly pooped in his pants.
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His form in 2019 flattered to deceive anyway. He had a cakewalk draw and wet the pants against the first good opponent he met.

To me, 2019dal wasn't better at the AO than 2007 AO Gonzalez. Gonzo was probably a little better actually.
 
NatF said:
It was a clearly better final lol.
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True, compared to 2019dal it was a much better final performance from Gonzo.

In the context of the 2007 AO however, I feel like Gonzo could have played a better final than he did still. Should have at least won the first set.
 
mike danny said:
True, compared to 2019dal it was a much better final performance from Gonzo.

In the context of the 2007 AO however, I feel like Gonzo could have played a better final than he did still. Should have at least won the first set.
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Sure but he was up a break in the first at least, 2007 Fed just too good.
 
mike danny said:
2019 AOdal or 2007 AOzalez? Who was better? :p
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Gonzo was a scary player when he was on his game, dude made a living mashing tennis balls. At the moment, he's a better version of Shapovalov as they both crushes balls, have a one-hander, inconsistency is their middle name, and are giant hotheads
 
Nadal was terrible in the first two sets of the 22 AO also. The difference is that Djokovic kept the foot on the throttle and was able to prevent Nadal from working his way into the match at all. Medvedev wasn't able to prevent Nadal working his way back into the match.
 
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