Nadal: If I don't go to Italy, it doesn't guarantee that I will be better shape in Roland Garros

Rafa the King

Rafa the King

Hall of Fame
Interesting thought

Q. (Translated from Spanish) Do you have some injury on your left knee? It seemed you were not walking very well because of your left leg. Moya said you had made sacrifices out of the court. Can you say something about what he said?
RAFAEL NADAL: (Translated from Spanish) No, physically I'm feeling fit. It's logical that after a hard week, I've been playing a lot of matches, a lot of hours out there on the court, I feel like it's sore, a little bit tired.

Because I'm not walking perfectly doesn't mean I have an injury. I'm just a little bit sore, tight. I'm 31 years old. That's all.

As far as sacrifices out of the court. I think I've been working well. I've done things the way they should be done, the way I think they should have been done. I try to do things the best possible way, on the court or off the court, without doing anything crazy. When I care about is being happy. I try to do things that make me happy.

But I think that I'm working in the right way for quite a long time. Right now the results are there, and that gives me more capacity to keep on doing things. Tomorrow I'll wake up with joy, and I will want to do things even better. That's the joy that keeps you going, that keeps you alive.

At the end of the day, training for training is dull. You don't want to do that. But you need the motivation to do things better, to change some small details. That's what keeps you motivated to keep on going day after day.

Q. (Translated from Spanish) You spoke about going to Rome, about being 31 years old. Does it ever enter your head to not go to Italy?
RAFAEL NADAL: (Translated from Spanish) Well, it's difficult, whether to choose one option or another, either going to Italy or not.

If I don't go to Italy, it doesn't guarantee that I will be better shape in Roland Garros. Not going doesn't mean that I'm not going to be in good shape in Roland Garros. No matter what you choose, no matter what you do...

I try to go day by day. Last year perhaps I made a few mistakes. I made a mistake going to Rome. But I think I wasn't wrong last year because my wrist was injured here, then I went to Barcelona to have a checkup. They said everything was fine, my wrist was fine. They said I could go to Rome. After that, I think it was a bad decision.

I think today the decision is completely different, the situation is different. I don't have any problems, any injuries. It's a very important clay tournament. I'm playing with a lot of joy.

I think what is logical is to go to Rome, try to give 100%. After that, I think I have a few days to rest. I mean, it's difficult to think about all these things right now.

I just finished a great match. I've been talking with my team, with some people that are here to see me. The only thing I care about today was to win this trophy. I was really happy about it. I really wanted to go for it. Tomorrow I'll think about something else. Today I'm not going to think about that.

Today I'm very happy for what I achieved. I think it's did I to win three different trophies in a row on clay. They are all important championships. Tomorrow we'll think about what happens in Rome. I'll think about Rome.
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Nadal can win FO with eyes closed and totally tired and sore. (Not that he will get tired or sore since there is no opposition I can see).
 
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Although it am not a Rafa fan, now that rogie is out, I love to see Rafa do a clay clean sweep. Has he done that before? Or anyone else for that matter?
 
Nadal has a rally Good shot of adding Another slam to hos tally yet he is willing to risk so much. This guy can't feel well.
 
Steve0904 said:
He did it in 2010. The only person to ever do it I think, unless Borg did some kind of equivalent.
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He won the 3 Masters and RG in 2010, but skipped Barcelona. So if he wins everything this year, it would even be a little bit more impressive.

Do I want it? No, because I still have a slight hope that Federer becomes year-end #1. But who should win RG instead and for whom should I root? I really have no idea.
 
Whatever Nadal is having , I would like the same.

How does he never ever get tired at RG after playing 4 clay tournaments before ? And add Acapulco to the mix this year.
 
ChrisRF said:
He won the 3 Masters and RG in 2010, but skipped Barcelona. So if he wins everything this year, it would even be a little bit more impressive.

Do I want it? No, because I still have a slight hope that Federer becomes year-end #1. But who should win RG instead and for whom should I root? I really have no idea.
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Tournaments in Montre Carlo, Barcelona and Rome were back-to-back events in 2010, that's why Rafa skipped Barcelona.
 
Nadal sounds like he watched Bear Bryant press conferences..."We're banged up..." "We're not a very good team" "We don't belong on the field with them" Lots of bravo sierra I say
 
Sentinel said:
Nadal can win FO with eyes closed and totally tired and sore. (Not that he will get tired or sore since there is no opposition I can see).
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If Stanimal in utterly ruthless BEAST mode shows up, then he can beat anyone on clay, including Nadal. This is not 2008 or even 2013 Nadal out there, who nobody could beat. He's now 31 years old and has ridiculously overplayed leading into RG. He has to feel fatigue in his legs, which can be exploited if the opponent is mentally strong and plays brilliantly on that given day.

It's also possible that someone like Fognini goes out there totally fearless and plays the match of his life. He also could beat Nadal at RG (don't laugh).
 
it's entertaining to see people think that nadal is a shoe in for RG. more matches (needs to win 7), longer matches (best of 5 instead of best of 3) and anything can happen. he has ALOT of miles in those legs. if he does win then all the more credit to him but it will still take a herculean effort to do so.

If i was a Nadal fan, i would want him to pull out of Rome. But even so, I would want Nadal to lose early in Rome just so that he would have all the strength needed for RG. if he goes on to win Rome then great but at what cost?
 
Nadal is thinking in YE#1, even if he disappears after RG, and taking in consideration that he has played tons of tennis in recent weeks, I dont think it is a clever idea at almost 31 to play even the married vs single matches in clay.
Anyway, he knows better than us, but it is a risk
 
tennisaddict said:
Whatever Nadal is having , I would like the same.

How does he never ever get tired at RG after playing 4 clay tournaments before ? And add Acapulco to the mix this year.
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Well he does get a week off, it's not like you have to sit at home for 2 weeks after winning a title. It's like winning IW/Miami then playing MC.
 
MichaelNadal said:
Well he does get a week off, it's not like you have to sit at home for 2 weeks after winning a title. It's like winning IW/Miami then playing MC.
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27 matches on clay between MC and RG in a 8 week span is crazy.

To do it in peak when you are 24-26 is one thing but to do it for 12-14 years defies any logical reasoning

He is a freak of a human being.
 
tennisaddict said:
27 matches on clay between MC and RG in a 8 week span is crazy.

To do it in peak when you are 24-26 is one thing but to do it for 12-14 years defies any logical reasoning

He is a freak of a human being.
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He's just epic ;)

skysports-rafael-nadal-tennis-madrid_3953862.jpg



Transplant kicking in, hair thick again, titles rolling in, it's so great :D
 
BeatlesFan said:
If Stanimal in utterly ruthless BEAST mode shows up, then he can beat anyone on clay, including Nadal. This is not 2008 or even 2013 Nadal out there, who nobody could beat. He's now 31 years old and has ridiculously overplayed leading into RG. He has to feel fatigue in his legs, which can be exploited if the opponent is mentally strong and plays brilliantly on that given day.

It's also possible that someone like Fognini goes out there totally fearless and plays the match of his life. He also could beat Nadal at RG (don't laugh).
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Stan can show up in beast mode but he very likely won't take three sets off Nadal who is also in beat mode on clay. You're confusing the match-ups between Stan and Novak and Stan and Nadal. They are two completely different challenges for Stan on clay.

Why are you fighting Nadal being in great clay form so much and trying to find reasons that he will lose at the FO? I don't think you really believe it. I think it's the Fed fanatic in you coming up with all of this stuff. He's actually improved areas of his game on clay, i.e. his backhand, serve, court positioning. He also looks almost as fast as ever to my eyes.
 
No but he could be in worse shape, people will have their own opinion of whether the chances of being in worse shape are greater than being in better shape. In the unlikely event he doesn't win the FO due specifically to tiredness then excusing the loss on those grounds carries little weight when by choice he's chosen not to player less.
 
Roger made a mistake not entering RG. Nadal is king of clay, but at 31 and having played so much, it was the perfect opportunity for Roger to finally get a win against him at RG. Even if he lost, Roger would still have gotten 750 points minimum out of it.
 
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