Nadal is looking ominous

Gary20

Gary20

Banned
Watching Nadal against Sock and Fogini there are definite signs his movement is gettin back to near his best and as a result the FH starting to look more potent. Win or lose against Djokovic the signs are definitely lookin good for 2016. He also is looking less tired than he did in previous matches this year and im really optimisitc about 2016 providing he keeps improving.

Rafa's house is RG and Flushing Meadows, tomorrow he is well and truly a guest at Djokovic's house and if he can get a set that will be huge for his confidnce and part of the rebuilding process.
 
Who are you watching exactly? Even in the highlights I found it easier to count the times that Nadal hit past the service line than before it and he seemed very slow by his standards. His forehand was a sitting duck way too often.

A far cry from the Nadal we know and love (or hate for some).
 
SpinToWin said:
Who are you watching exactly? Even in the highlights I found it easier to count the times that Nadal hit past the service line than before it and he seemed very slow by his standards. His forehand was a sitting duck way too often.

A far cry from the Nadal we know and love (or hate for some).
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You missed my point. Im saying he is improving. Still not near his legendry best, but it is the best ive seen him this year which is encouraging.
 
Gary20 said:
You missed my point. Im saying he is improving. Still not near his legendry best, but it is the best ive seen him this year which is encouraging.
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I don't quite agree... He still is dropping the ball way too short, it's just that his opponents didn't make use of that as well as others (or during other occasions) throughout the year. Sock nearly did it, but then he started making too many errors and backing off his game plan.

Nadal's current problem is that he is not playing his game, rather he is at the mercy of his opponent's game. Until that changes I will not be happy with his performances.
 
Gary20 said:
Watching Nadal against Sock and Fogini there are definite signs his movement is gettin back to near his best and as a result the FH starting to look more potent. Win or lose against Djokovic the signs are definitely lookin good for 2016. He also is looking less tired than he did in previous matches this year and im really optimisitc about 2016 providing he keeps improving.

Rafa's house is RG and Flushing Meadows, tomorrow he is well and truly a guest at Djokovic's house and if he can get a set that will be huge for his confidnce and part of the rebuilding process.
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He's reflexes are way too slow still. Am not sure if he's able to get them back, tbh
 
SpinToWin said:
I don't quite agree... He still is dropping the ball way too short, it's just that his opponents didn't make use of that as well as others (or during other occasions) throughout the year. Sock nearly did it, but then he started making too many errors and backing off his game plan.

Nadal's current problem is that he is not playing his game, rather he is at the mercy of his opponent's game. Until that changes I will not be happy with his performances.
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So you dont see any signs of improvement?
 
SpinToWin said:
I don't quite agree... He still is dropping the ball way too short, it's just that his opponents didn't make use of that as well as others (or during other occasions) throughout the year. Sock nearly did it, but then he started making too many errors and backing off his game plan.

Nadal's current problem is that he is not playing his game, rather he is at the mercy of his opponent's game. Until that changes I will not be happy with his performances.
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I agree. Even against Fognini (where he played decent) he still didn't dictate play. He should be able to do that against a player like Fognini. At this level I don't think Nadal will get to the SF in Shanghai. He's done that a lot this year. He'll fake a bunch of people into believing his level is decent enough by winning a few matches at a 250 or a 500, but he's in trouble once he gets to anything a 1000 or above.
 
Steve0904 said:
I agree. Even against Fognini (where he played decent) he still didn't dictate play. He should be able to do that against a player like Fognini. At this level I don't think Nadal will get to the SF in Shanghai. He's done that a lot this year. He'll fake a bunch of people into believing his level is decent enough by winning a few matches at a 250 or a 500, but he's in trouble once he gets to anything a 1000 or above.
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Interesting guys, maybe it wishful thinking on my part. Ive only watched brief highlights so im happy to be wrong on this point.
 
Gary20 said:
Interesting guys, maybe it wishful thinking on my part. Ive only watched brief highlights so im happy to be wrong on this point.
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The sign that he is back would be a 3 and 3 thumping of a top 10 player like Stan, Nishikori or Ferrer.

The good thing is he taking baby steps towards getting there.
 
Gary20 said:
If he doesnt win a title for rest of this year or beat a top 10 player, do you think he should retire to protect his legacy rather than make the mistake Federer has done?
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Federer has not done any mistake. He has done excellent to be honest. I'd say if a player wants to keep on playing, carry on. Legacy protection ? Those are for fan girls, not for the genuine tennis fans. I'm not into GOAThood, who is better than who in which decade etc, etc., type of fan. Haha, I do stir things up sometimes, I must admit....:)
 
Gary20 said:
If he doesnt win a title for rest of this year or beat a top 10 player, do you think he should retire to protect his legacy rather than make the mistake Federer has done?
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Who said Federer made a mistake? I don't think he made a mistake. He's actually enhanced his legacy in the last couple years even without winning a slam. Just by making 2 Wimbledon Finals and a USO final at the ages he did he's improved his legacy, IMO.
 
Gary20 said:
Interesting guys, maybe it wishful thinking on my part. Ive only watched brief highlights so im happy to be wrong on this point.
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It's ok to be a fan as you are and clearly I'm not his biggest fan, ;) but I'd still have to see more. At this point, people are actively looking for the smallest signs of improvement that may be gone the next day. If I'm going to say Nadal is seriously getting back near the top of the sport I'd need to see him keep his consistency and make a good run at a Masters 1000 and/or a slam. As a by product he'll beat a few top 10 players and then he'll get some of his old aura back. I think we'll know more by the way he ends this year and if/when he carries it over into next year.
 
Gary20 said:
So you dont see any signs of improvement?
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You are not really getting it. Yes, Nadal is improving, but from the "Horrible" state of 2015. What is been said is that the improvements is yet not relevant to challenge the upper echelon players. So in that case, He needs to improve 'far' more.

No he is not close to his earlier self
 
Nadal was broken multiple times in the first set, Djokovic is going to be a nightmare for him.
 
When a player like Nadal sinks this low, every win seems to be an improvement.
Though he will probably be better in 2016, he is not getting to the top of the rankings or winning any Slam again for sure, with the lone exception being FO where you always have to give him chance.
 
Yep I unfortunately don't see much from Rafa, as much as im willing him on every match he plays. He literally wins with opponents unforced errors and lack of consistency. He isn't destroying anyone anymore. Its all about getting the ball back and hoping opponent makes mistakes. Against Novak he is going to be hammered. I hope im wrong of course...
 
kevaninho said:
Yep I unfortunately don't see much from Rafa, as much as im willing him on every match he plays. He literally wins with opponents unforced errors and lack of consistency. He isn't destroying anyone anymore. Its all about getting the ball back and hoping opponent makes mistakes. Against Novak he is going to be hammered. I hope im wrong of course...
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You are right. It's not impossible tho'. Miracles do happen :)
 
He made a few vintage monster forehand winners and a few aces but I saw no monster backhands against Fognini. He is slow to his forehand side but more consistent. There is improvement so there is hope.
 
clayqueen said:
Rafa won Olympic Gold in Beijing beating Djoko in the SF so he's got a good chance.
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Rafa is not in his 2008 form and Novak is better now than he was back in 2008.

He's got a chance, but not a good one. Most likely Novak will win in straights. Maybe one of those sets will be tight.
 
Rafa's house is RG and Flushing Meadows
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Definite "yes" to the former and a definite "no" to the latter. Let's refresh your obviously tragically poor memory: Pete, Jimbo and Rog all have five USO's titles.

Nadal has two.

Using your asinine logic, if Rafa's "house" is the USO, then Jimbo, Pete and Roger's continents are the USO.
 
Nadal's current level of play is much better than how it was in the first half of the season. It is still not good enough to beat the top guys but if he can consistently play at this level for a while he would be able to build on it next year.
 
BeatlesFan said:
Definite "yes" to the former and a definite "no" to the latter. Let's refresh your obviously tragically poor memory: Pete, Jimbo and Rog all have five USO's titles.

Nadal has two.

Using your asinine logic, if Rafa's "house" is the USO, then Jimbo, Pete and Roger's continents are the USO.
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And the beatlesfan still refuses to acknowledge users, by not posting user names on quotes.
 
His backhand was looking reliable against Fog. But the pace, against both Fog and Sock, was way off how fast Nole was playing against Isner/Ferrer. Nole all but blew them both of the court and the scary thing is he did it without even a lot of huffing/puffing, just very smooth, effortless hitting on both sides (but especially the backhand). Depth looked a bit better on the forehand against Fog but will he still be able to do that when Nole plays much harder than Fog? Ferrer played better than Nadal and still lost 6-2 6-3. Only 6-3 because Nole, as usual, got broken serving for the match. Also don't think Nadal's level is good enough to beat Wawrinka either at the moment. Fed, maybe given the past baggage. Murray, maybe because Murray can lose to Anderson in a grand slam match. But again, if either player played their best game on the day, I can't see this version of Nadal beating them. He isn't yet trusting his forehand and in such a situation, becoming a major force at the slams again is an uphill task.
 
JohnnyMac Fan! said:
Can't figure the cause of it. I was watching some 2006 Nadal matches and he was hitting deep to the baseline constantly.
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Loss of confidence. Just wants to get the ball in play. Just rolling the ball over. Using even more buggy whip than before :D. Because of this he is losing power and momemtum than if he has hitting through the ball and moving forward
 
JohnnyMac Fan! said:
Nah, I think more like "Rafa WTF?!"
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or more like this?

throw_pillow_wtf_welcome_to_finland.jpg


;)
 
JohnnyMac Fan! said:
Check Berdych vs Nadal, Toronto. Also check Coria vs Nadal
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Already did. I was watching your first suggestion while posting. You think he was hitting the ball better in that match against Berdych than he did against say Fognini yesterday?

I don't agree, and am not sure 2006 HC Nadal is such a good comparison.
 
Nathaniel_Near said:
Already did. I was watching your first suggestion while posting. You think he was hitting the ball better in that match against Berdych than he did against say Fognini yesterday?

I don't agree, and am not sure 2006 HC Nadal is such a good comparison.
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I will say, more consistent. Granted, that match was not a good one for Nadal, but it does show some technical differences
 
JohnnyMac Fan! said:
I will say, more consistent.
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I can't judge consistency from the youtube highlights. Perhaps you have a link to the whole match? I have the whole Fognini match fresh in the memory. Nadal hit so many attackable balls in 2006 and so many of his shots lost almost all their pace by the time they reached the opponent. His hitting on HC just wasn't that good, but he moved like lightning and mentally he was on his game in 2006.

It's bothersome to me that there are so many instances of his meagre hitting in those highlights considering that highlights typically show best play... He got away with it somewhat back then but still got destroyed frequently on HC anyway. Obviously, 2015 Nadal is a far cry from 2013 Nadal on HC, as that's when he produced his best stretch of form on HC.

In terms of results, 2006 and 2015 are quite similar on HC up to this point with one key difference, which is that Nadal roasted Federer in the 2006 Dubai final by this stage. Neither year showcases anything remotely close to peak HC Nadal.
 
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