Nadal improving

[cc0509]

Not if he meets Novak in any match in any tournament. If Nole remains in his current form, Nadal is not beating him, regardless of surface. Yes, I mean Roland Garros as well.

Don't judge Nadal's form against a disinterested and clearly tired Stan. And read nothing into his demolition tomorrow of Jo Willy.

His true form will be revealed on Sunday, when his ass is handed to him on a plate by Nole, who is playing right now better than Nadal EVER has on a HC.

You should be careful about making sweeping statements when it comes to an all time great. I used to do it and I learned my lesson. After Djokovic defeated Nadal in seven straight finals in 2011 most people said the same thing, i.e. that Nadal would never beat 2011 form Djokovic again and guess what happened? Nadal turned the tables and gained momentum back for a little while. This is a sport where momentum shifts happen and things don't stay the same for long.

Do I think Nadal is ready to beat Djokovic if they meet in the Shanghai final? No, I highly doubt it but to say that Nadal will never beat Djokovic again in any big tournament at this stage is absurd. This guy Nadal is not going to lay down and die and he will keep working hard to make adjustments. If we know anything about him we should know that. Federer had a slump in 2013 due to his bad back and he came back. Murray had a slump and everybody said he was done and he made a comeback. Nadal will do the same, I'm pretty sure about that. And before a bunch of people come in here and tell me that Nadal has declined physically a great deal, I don't see it. For me what's been going on with him seems more mental for whatever reason.

 

[Deleted member 735320]

I will believe Rafa is coming back when he handles Joker in the final if they both make it as expected. Joker handled him last week in Beijing.

 

[Dolgopolov85]

Nadal in Beijing was nowhere near at the level he is now in Shanghai. Nadal looks alot quicker than he has all year and is improving. I dont expect him to be able to beat Murray or djokovic yet on a hard court (although on this form he would on clay) but for Rafa it is all about building for the AO and reaching his very peak level at FO for LE DECIMA

He may be able to beat Murray. Ultron is a different proposition. Don't hyphenate Murray-Nole. They may both be counterpunchers but their game is still very different in how it matches up against Fedal. Beating Murray =/= beating Noleo, we saw that at Wimbledon w.r.t Fed and Nadal too generally bosses Murray only to find it much tougher against Nole. Nadal didn't exactly decimate Wawrinka even if the scoreline suggests as much. He did come up with some great plays and played a very sensible match, but it was Wawrinka hitting everything out of the court, leaking errors almost uncontrollably. Early on in the match, though, I saw Nadal hit a shot deep into Wawrinka's forehand corner which would have been a winner against Karlovic/Raonic but Wawrinka got it back and with depth. He happened to win the point too. So I am not yet convinced Nadal has found that extra gear he needs to be able to beat the top four when they are in form. Ok, he might beat Fed just because Fed chokes at the sight of Nadal in a slam match. But the rest...I am not sure. If he keeps improving, he may start beating Wawrinka and Murray again. But Nole...well, he has to hope Nole declines while he still maintains his rediscovered form. Which means he is roughly in the same boat as Fed.

 

[Gary Duane]

Well he did fall off his chair under the table once!!!!!!!!!! I hate playing when its humid. I love the dry heat. I can imagine if i had any talent Indian Wells would be my fav tournament...Miami would be a nightmare.

Federer not a fan of humidity i dont think either. Murray seems to quite like it which is a bit odd given where he comes from.

I eventually quit playing because of where I live. I loathe South Florida heat. I put up with it when I was in my middle teens, then I spent my late teens and early 20s in Tallahassee, at FSU.

Right now it is 78, again, where I live, dew point just a little below that.

Tallahassee is in the mid 60s with a dew point of around 61 degrees, absolutely wonderful weather for tennis.

I LOATHE the weather in South Florida.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Not if he meets Novak in any match in any tournament. If Nole remains in his current form, Nadal is not beating him, regardless of surface. Yes, I mean Roland Garros as well.

Don't judge Nadal's form against a disinterested and clearly tired Stan. And read nothing into his demolition tomorrow of Jo Willy.

His true form will be revealed on Sunday, when his ass is handed to him on a plate by Nole, who is playing right now better than Nadal EVER has on a HC.

Have several seats.

 

[Doctor/Lawyer Red Devil]

I disagree. Djokovic normally declines the harder the competition. Ive lost count of the number of times in Majors he has swept all before him up to the SF then the FH has got less consistent and against Nadal in the final gone AWOL. Even this season Djokovic has not played that well in the final of the majors, he played much better in the earlier rounds.

That was not the case this year. Murray probably played better than Djoko prior to the AO final, Federer the same prior to Wimbledon and US Open finals. But Djokovic raised his game and beat them in 4 sets every time. Even bagelled once in a GS final.
Before Wimbledon 2014 though, I agree he was having a problem in finals.

 

[Gary20]

You should be careful about making sweeping statements when it comes to an all time great. I used to do it and I learned my lesson. After Djokovic defeated Nadal in seven straight finals in 2011 most people said the same thing, i.e. that Nadal would never beat 2011 form Djokovic again and guess what happened? Nadal turned the tables and gained momentum back for a little while. This is a sport where momentum shifts happen and things don't stay the same for long.

Do I think Nadal is ready to beat Djokovic if they meet in the Shanghai final? No, I highly doubt it but to say that Nadal will never beat Djokovic again in any big tournament at this stage is absurd. This guy Nadal is not going to lay down and die and he will keep working hard to make adjustments. If we know anything about him we should know that. Federer had a slump in 2013 due to his bad back and he came back. Murray had a slump and everybody said he was done and he made a comeback. Nadal will do the same, I'm pretty sure about that. And before a bunch of people come in here and tell me that Nadal has declined physically a great deal, I don't see it. For me what's been going on with him seems more mental for whatever reason.

Proven today. Great post

 

[booson]

There is nothing wrong with Nadal's lungs, or his legs, or his body right now. He's had a far more healthy year than many other years in which he won slams.

He has stated several times he gets tired faster (not anymore, though). Despite not being injured, his physical form has looked worse than in any other 'injury-plagued' year. How do you explain that? He stopped trusting his blood O2 levels?

You guys just keep repeating what some eloquent sport journalist writes in his inspirational (but sadly ignorant) articles.

 

[cc0509]

Proven today. Great post

The problem with Nadal is that he takes two steps forward and then three steps back. He isn't able to gain any traction to make it over the finish line. It's a good thing he didn't reach Djokovic (I don't think Tsonga has much of a chance against Djokovic) because Djokovic would have demolished Nadal again. The difference in the level between Djokovic and Nadal is like the size of the grand canyon at the moment. Nadal still has a lot of work to do if he wants to entertain the idea of competing with current form Djokovic. Sad but true.

 

[MichaelNadal]

The problem with Nadal is that he takes two steps forward and then three steps back. He isn't able to gain any traction to make it over the finish line. It's a good thing he didn't reach Djokovic (I don't think Tsonga has much of a chance against Djokovic) because Djokovic would have demolished Nadal again. The difference in the level between Djokovic and Nadal is like the size of the grand canyon at the moment. Nadal still has a lot of work to do if he wants to entertain the idea of competing with current form Djokovic. Sad but true.

Do you think he should switch racquets at the end of the sesson?

 

[cc0509]

Do you think he should switch racquets at the end of the sesson?

Who knows. His biggest problem is his forehand, which has always been so reliable, has let him down and is inconsistent. If he can't fix that (new racket or not) he won't get back to the next level. Will a different and more powerful racket combat that problem?

 

[MichaelNadal]

Who knows. His biggest problem is his forehand, which has always been so reliable, has let him down and is inconsistent. If he can't fix that (new racket or not) he won't get back to the next level. Will a different and more powerful racket combat that problem?

Well it has looked much better the past week at least. This is really a match he should have won though.

 

[cc0509]

Well it has looked much better the past week at least. This is really a match he should have won though.

It has looked better but it's still not at his past level or good enough for him to compete with gasp, The Robot.

What happened at the very end of the Tsonga-Nadal match, I missed it. How did Nadal screw it up after coming so far?

 

[MichaelNadal]

It has looked better but it's still not at his past level or good enough for him to compete with gasp, The Robot.

What happened at the very end of the Tsonga-Nadal match, I missed it. How did Nadal screw it up after coming so far?

I was at work and at that point was running behind so focusing more on my paperwork than the match.

 

[Gary20]

It has looked better but it's still not at his past level or good enough for him to compete with gasp, The Robot.

What happened at the very end of the Tsonga-Nadal match, I missed it. How did Nadal screw it up after coming so far?

Simply choked. FH kept being dumped in the net. That does concern me.

 

[Murrayfan31]

Nadal just can't consistently play at a high level on a fast surface. He was extremely sharp this week. But as soon as his form dipped, he was in for the taking.

 

[Gary20]

Nadal just can't consistently play at a high level on a fast surface. He was extremely sharp this week. But as soon as his form dipped, he was in for the taking.

I dont think it is fast surfaces that bother him. He is a two time USO champion. But it is the height of bounce that is an issue. At his best he can win on any surface, but as you say when his level drops depending on conditions he can be very vulnerable.

 

[Deleted member 77403]

Nadal just can't consistently play at a high level on a fast surface. He was extremely sharp this week. But as soon as his form dipped, he was in for the taking.

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't your avatar Nadal's loss in Shanghai to Mayer in 2011?