Nadal drops to #4

roysid

Legend
Roger stays at #1 and Nadal drops to #4 after AO with 7680 points.
If Murray wins, Murray goes to #2, else Djoko becomes #2.


Man, what a drop. Before Madrid last year he was at more than 15000 points.
 

kishnabe

Talk Tennis Guru
At least he is not Number 3 which would mean he has potential to face Roger Federer in the Semi's!
 

Gaudio2004

Semi-Pro
With his touch schedule coming up - having to defend Indian Wells and such, he will most likely drop even further. 5, 6 or even 7 isn't too far for Nadal.
 
Usually 1 is placed against 4 and 2 plays 3. But lately it has become the luck of the draw.

In tennis, it hasn't been that "1 is placed against 4 and 2 plays 3". It's always been the luck of the draw, at least within the past decade (I did not pay attention to draw procedures before then.)
 

World Beater

Hall of Fame
nadal will roar back like a lion. just watch..and will be the one to break federer's sf streak.
nadal puts an end to all things federer.
 

LafayetteHitter

Hall of Fame
Nadal will drop out of the top 5 by years end. Early prediction of some serious crybaby fans in our horizon here especially with Fed about to take another slam home.
 

namelessone

Legend
And unless things turn around for him he could have no Masters Series titles either by the time we get to RG.

If Nadal doesn't win anything in the clay stretch(and maybe has another stupid injury in the process), I think he retires because if he loses clay,he loses everything,regardless of ranking.
I put myself in his situation. He has 6 GS,15 MS has battered his knees on tour since he was 16 and gets beat around by the top10 on HC since last summer. If this were to happen on clay and grass too,retiring would be very tempting. Once the **** keeps pilling up and it doesn't stop you feel like you wanna quit. It's human nature. Plus,every athlete needs something to hold on to mentally. For Federer it was the olympics medal&USO 08'. Nadal hasn't had anything good happen to him in over 8 months,he has nothing to hang on to.
 

Dimension

Professional
If Nadal doesn't win anything in the clay stretch(and maybe has another stupid injury in the process), I think he retires because if he loses clay,he loses everything,regardless of ranking.
I put myself in his situation. He has 6 GS,15 MS has battered his knees on tour since he was 16 and gets beat around by the top10 on HC since last summer. If this were to happen on clay and grass too,retiring would be very tempting. Once the **** keeps pilling up and it doesn't stop you feel like you wanna quit. It's human nature. Plus,every athlete needs something to hold on to mentally. For Federer it was the olympics medal&USO 08'. Nadal hasn't had anything good happen to him in over 8 months,he has nothing to hang on to.

That would be sad. :( So the clay season and RG will be a make or break situation for Nadal. I don't think he can afford losing anymore confidence. Just hope that he will be able to bounce back.
 

matchmaker

Hall of Fame
I believe the end of Nadal's carreer is nigh.

Although for this year, he might lose a lot of points now, but he can gain a lot a RG and Wimbledon, so if his body holds out a little, he might be in the top 4 by the end of the year.
 

batz

G.O.A.T.
Not very much to defend. He lost in 4th round at RG and lost to Federer in Madrid. He only has to defend Monte Carlo an Hamburg. They are no "tons" to defend.

He's defending Monte Carlo, Rome, Barcelona and Runner up in Madrid. That's 3100 points, around 40% of his post AO total. I'd call that tons,.
 

malakas

Banned
If Nadal doesn't win anything in the clay stretch(and maybe has another stupid injury in the process), I think he retires because if he loses clay,he loses everything,regardless of ranking.
I put myself in his situation. He has 6 GS,15 MS has battered his knees on tour since he was 16 and gets beat around by the top10 on HC since last summer. If this were to happen on clay and grass too,retiring would be very tempting. Once the **** keeps pilling up and it doesn't stop you feel like you wanna quit. It's human nature. Plus,every athlete needs something to hold on to mentally. For Federer it was the olympics medal&USO 08'. Nadal hasn't had anything good happen to him in over 8 months,he has nothing to hang on to.

:roll:

that's why you're not a professional athlete and he IS.Winning titles isn't ALL and there's always hope you will win something in the next tournament.Unless you really think your idol is a quitter and a wimp.i disagree.
 

Ledigs

Legend
He'll move back up. Top players will not like facing him in early rounds just like Murray. Fed and nadal do prefer having each other to take out Murray dp roddick and such though. Makes winning easier. Fed must not be too happy about facing Murray in the finals. Interesting that Murray could rake out both nadal and fed but nadal in qf and fed in finals.
 

namelessone

Legend
:roll:

that's why you're not a professional athlete and he IS.Winning titles isn't ALL and there's always hope you will win something in the next tournament.Unless you really think your idol is a quitter and a wimp.i disagree.

It is when you are at the upper echelon of the sport. Roger cried cause he lost in AO 09'. Nadal cried after WB 07'. If you haven't amounted to much,you can tour until you are in your 30's and enjoy the sport you are playing in. But for the top guys it is all about winning and for a guy so competitive as Nadal,not winning any titles in one whole year(if he doesn't win anything on clay) would be very tough mentally,as if he doesn't have enough to deal with already. Nadal isn't a guy who will play for pure enjoyment a la Santoro,he always tries to win cause he is so competitive. He has said that he doesn't see himself playing into his 30's.

Getting injured,failing to defend WB,losing nr.1 position,getting beat around all over the HC in summer,getting injured again(abs this time),getting beat around again in other tourneys and bulldozed at WTF,getting injured again in AO,dropping massively in the ranking(nr.4 right now,possibly nr.6 or 7 in a couple of weeks) AND a failure to win anything on clay would really do him in mentally. Every player needs a mental anchor. For Federer it was the olympics medal and USO 08'. Nadal doesn't have anything to hold on to in the last 8 months since nothing good happened(except DC,which is a team effort).

It's not that I don't have faith in him but he needs to get a break to regain some confidence.
 

Mustard

Bionic Poster
Talk about going over the top. Nadal is my pick to win 2 of the clay-court masters series if he's fit enough. You wouldn't think so with the reactions in this thread. Let me remind everyone that Nadal is 141-4 in clay-court matches since the 11th April 2005.
 

sheq

Professional
He's defending Monte Carlo, Rome, Barcelona and Runner up in Madrid. That's 3100 points, around 40% of his post AO total. I'd call that tons,.

You missed indian wells. He has exactly 4580 points to defend untill RG
 

namelessone

Legend
Talk about going over the top. Nadal is my pick to win 2 of the clay-court masters series if he's fit enough. You wouldn't think so with the reactions in this thread. Let me remind everyone that Nadal is 141-4 in clay-court matches since the 11th April 2005.

I realize it is very unlikely that Rafa doesn't win a clay masters title this year but we haven't really seen him in action on clay against top10 players since last year so right now it is anyone's guess. And he needs to arrive healthy on clay cause while it is friendlier for knees it is the most physically demanding surface in terms of fitness.
 

roysid

Legend
I think Uncle Toni will change strategy.
- Don't bother about Indian Wells
- Don't exhaust yourself in clay season. Just defend Monte Carlo and Barcelona. pull out of madrid.

Be fresh for French Open. Doesn't matter what ranking he is 7, 8? He can just win. If he meets Fed before semis, semi streak gone :(
 

valiant

Hall of Fame
I think Uncle Toni will change strategy.
- Don't bother about Indian Wells
- Don't exhaust yourself in clay season. Just defend Monte Carlo and Barcelona. pull out of madrid.

Be fresh for French Open. Doesn't matter what ranking he is 7, 8? He can just win. If he meets Fed before semis, semi streak gone :(

Yeah for Nadal ranking wont matter in french open. He just has to remain healthy, fresh and importantly free of injuries.
 

Talker

Hall of Fame
If Nadal can manage his knees properly he can still stay very competitive.
He may have to skip a few events through the year but it's better than always being injured.
 

TheMusicLover

G.O.A.T.
You missed indian wells. He has exactly 4580 points to defend untill RG

Well I surely call that TONS of points to defend...
Fortunately he might well pick up quite a bit at RG and Wimbledon this year.

Oh and btw, I don't see him retire earlier than in three years or so, if of course he manages to stay healthy on a regular base. If so, he'll still have a shot at some extra GS titles (RG, Wimbledon and maybe an extra AO) and therefore I don't think he'll retire 'just' because of dropping in the rankings. That is bound to happen to every player at a given time, and Rafa seems to much of a fighter to just 'give up' on his beloved sport as soon as he gets a rough ride. Unless of course he completely loses interest and decides he rather spends time alongside Xisca and his fishing rods. ;)
 

R_Federer

Professional
He's done. I said it on this site in the past that even though he is younger than Federer, he will finish before him because the toll his body takes.
 

canuckfan

Semi-Pro
You missed indian wells. He has exactly 4580 points to defend untill RG

Hilarious math and analysis fail from darthmaul. He has a huge amount of points to defend. The first 5 months of 2009 was one of the most productive periods of nadal's career.
 

Buckethead

Banned
#6 by FO. Kolya at 4 delPo at 5 (off-chance of being other way)

Agreed,Rafa will be 5 by FO,since he will not win a tournament in this early HC season,Djokovis will win a couple of the Clay Tourn ,he is in being pulled by gravity and is in deep fall,and pretending he is injuried,while he just can't reach this level of Top 10 anymore.
 

JennyS

Hall of Fame
I think Uncle Toni will change strategy.
- Don't bother about Indian Wells
- Don't exhaust yourself in clay season. Just defend Monte Carlo and Barcelona. pull out of madrid.

Be fresh for French Open. Doesn't matter what ranking he is 7, 8? He can just win. If he meets Fed before semis, semi streak gone :(

Or he could drop Barcelona and play Madrid, since there's more points to earn there.
 

edmondsm

Legend
Not very much to defend. He lost in 4th round at RG and lost to Federer in Madrid. He only has to defend Monte Carlo an Hamburg. They are no "tons" to defend.

Did you fall asleep in 2008 and just wake up?:)

He's got titles in Indian Wells, Monte Carlo, Barcalona, and Rome to defend along with a final in Madrid and a quarter in Miami. I have a very hard time seeing him defend all that but it shouldn't matter to him at this point. When he is healthy he can beat anyone at RG and Wimbledon so he should just be shooting for that.
 
I think people are being far too critical of Nadal. He's a fantastic player, mentally superior than anyone apart from Federer. He'll be back - trust me.
 

crazylevity

Hall of Fame
Or he could drop Barcelona and play Madrid, since there's more points to earn there.

Although that makes sense, Nadal has shown more of an affinity for Barcelona than Madrid. He practically NEVER skips Barcelona.

Besides, when it comes to scheduling, when has Nadal made much sense? :(
 

JennyS

Hall of Fame
Although that makes sense, Nadal has shown more of an affinity for Barcelona than Madrid. He practically NEVER skips Barcelona.

Besides, when it comes to scheduling, when has Nadal made much sense? :(

True. Plus, I don't think he likes the conditions in Madrid as much. Then again, he could always drop Monte Carlo (the only non mandatory Masters) and do Barcelona, Rome and Madrid or just Barcelona and Rome.
 

Rjtennis

Hall of Fame
If Nadal is healthy he will be tough to beat on clay, I don't think his carreer is over. He has a few good years left for sure.
 
If Nadal's ranking drops further (as it probably will) before RG, it would REALLY suck if he meets Fed in the QF of the French or Wimby. That would be really bad for the tourney, and for Fed's semi streak.
 

dropserve

Rookie
Forget About Rankings-focus On Slams

Just like Fed.
Rafa has reached No1.
Who cares if he regained No1 position and stays there instead of around 50 weeks, 100 or 150?
He will never threatened the record of at least 300 weeks Federer reach.
People's first thing come in mind when thinking a players career is the slams.

FOCUS ON SLAMS.

Im not saying skip all the masters etc. ,or dont give a sh*t, but dont give your soul to win tournaments like barca,clay masters and all those secondary things.
His ranking may fall a little.
So what?
Being No2 or No5 will not make any difference on winning slams.
After all he has to win anyway the best.
Who cares if that is in QF, SF or F?

FOLLOW FEDERER'S TACTIC DESPITE BEING 5 YEARS YOUNGER

Your athletic age is not 5 years younger than Fed's.
It's less.
 

World Beater

Hall of Fame
did anyone actually see the way he played at the AO. he played at a very high level at the AO against murray. If he can recover from this minor injury, he will be back to that level and again be a major threat.
 

LafayetteHitter

Hall of Fame
did anyone actually see the way he played at the AO. he played at a very high level at the AO against murray. If he can recover from this minor injury, he will be back to that level and again be a major threat.

He's been trying to recover from injuries for a year now. We are waiting though. Better luck next time.
 
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