Nadal only loses on clay, he does not get beat

Lleytonstation

Lleytonstation

Talk Tennis Guru
https://metro.co.uk/2019/05/12/rafa...sipas-defeat-madrid-open-semi-finals-9500257/

Nadal goes on to say that the match was about him not playing good and that he does not lose if he plays like he should. Now he is probably right, but he has responded this way on two out of his three losses this clay season.

I would love to hear someone just say the same thing when they lose to the big 3.

When Pella loses to Nadal: "well I would of won if I played my best. I am better than that, sure he played good, but on a good day? I don't lose that match."
 
Towser83

Towser83

G.O.A.T.
Hes entitled to say that and let's be honest, Nadal at his best would probably win that match, but maybe he just cant be his best at this point in his career. Also if Fed had said that after a match he'd get called a bad loser again. It's not the first time Nadal has said something like this but he seems immune to it, as everyone always says he's so humble
 
C

coupergear

Professional
It's denial. A guy in his decline is remembering past times when he could beat the other guy handily. Yes, peak Nadal never lost on clay. Those days are gone. Can a player in decline show flashes of his previous greatness? Win great matches? Make runs? Yes but consistency tournament after tournament lessens. more vulnerable to having those "off" days, eventually those "off" days become the new norm. Soon fans are cheering deep runs of the sentimental former champion (Connors agassi eg) just for making quarters and pulling off an upset along the way. "Turning back the clock" they'll say. "Vintage Nadal."
 
M

Mark Asher

Rookie
coupergear said:
Soon fans are cheering deep runs of the sentimental former champion (Connors agassi eg) just for making quarters and pulling off an upset along the way. "Turning back the clock" they'll say. "Vintage Nadal."
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Exactly. Early in his career Connors was a jerk out there. I was so happy to see Ashe beat him at Wimbledon. Up until then Connors seemed unbeatable. Later, especially when Connors made that historic run to the semis at the USO at 38 or 39, he was awesome and everyone was cheering for him.

Nadal was never a jerk so he always had the cheers, but if he plays another 3-4 years and makes a deep run at the FO, the place will be rocking. I think even now, this year, there will be sense at the FO that his time is drawing to a close. He will probably be the sentimental favorite if it's him vs. Djokovic.
 
M

Mark Asher

Rookie
Lleytonstation said:
Nadal goes on to say that the match was about him not playing good and that he does not lose if he plays like he should.
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So he should have played well enough to win. Why didn't he?

"If I hadn't thrown that interception we would have won." Don't throw the interception.

"If I had put the pitch where I had been putting it all day, he wouldn't have hit it out." Why didn't you put it there?

Anytime a pro tennis player gets a good swing at the ball, he's capable of striping the lines. These guys are pros. Nadal might as well have said he should have been painting the lines all day and then he would have won.

Nadal may be surprised to find that the bad days will occur more frequently going forward.
 
Tshooter

Tshooter

G.O.A.T.
Mark Asher said:
So he should have played well enough to win. Why didn't he?...Nadal may be surprised to find that the bad days will occur more frequently going forward.
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It’s a Bo5 that’s why. The idea is to peak at the Majors. Remember when Djoker was playing poorly pre W, 2018. Who cares. He won W and then the USO. Do I know what he did between the USO and AO ? No. Do I care ? No. Does he care ? No. He won the 2019 AO in memorable fashion.

At this point in their careers the only way to tell where Fedalvic is at is by their performance at the Majors. That’s why they are still playing. Not for another Bo3 title.

Yes, in any event I agree we can expect more spotty results from the Big 3.
 
M

Mark Asher

Rookie
Tshooter said:
The idea is to peak at the Majors.
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I have no problems with that. Their legacy is cemented. They are all GOATs. They have no need of money -- they might as well play for no prize money.

But don't whine after a loss. Give your opponent his due. Say you hope to play better in your next match but the guy who just beat you made a lot of great shots.

And while they are focused on the majors, don't tell me that adding to the stack of their ATP 1000 wins doesn't mean something to them. It does. And for Nadal especially losing on clay in Spain is anything but trivial.
 
guanzishou

guanzishou

G.O.A.T.
NO EXCUSES. Nuff said.
videotogif-2019-05-12-10-53-00.gif
 
Tshooter

Tshooter

G.O.A.T.
Mark Asher said:
I have no problems with that. Their legacy is cemented. They are all GOATs. They have no need of money -- they might as well play for no prize money.

But don't whine after a loss. Give your opponent his due. Say you hope to play better in your next match but the guy who just beat you made a lot of great shots.

And while they are focused on the majors, don't tell me that adding to the stack of their ATP 1000 wins doesn't mean something to them. It does. And for Nadal especially losing on clay in Spain is anything but trivial.
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On the whining scale it seems mild to me. I feel like he's earned the right to whine a bit after a loss if he wants to. Also, I have no problem if the GOAT clay court player thinks a clay match against some journeyman is always in his hands.

Nadal is a good guy. He'd have to try to run me over to change my opinion. Check that. He'd have to successfully run me over.

I admit I do find @vive le beau jeu ! Nadal posts usually funny though.
 
Lleytonstation

Lleytonstation

Talk Tennis Guru
Tshooter said:
On the whining scale it seems mild to me. I feel like he's earned the right to whine a bit after a loss if he wants to. Also, I have no problem if the GOAT clay court player thinks a clay match against some journeyman is always in his hands.

Nadal is a good guy. He'd have to try to run me over to change my opinion. Check that. He'd have to successfully run me over.

I admit I do find @vive le beau jeu ! Nadal posts usually funny though.
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I agree with everything you said, except for the part where your calling Tsits a journeyman. Maybe I miss-read your quote.
 
Tshooter

Tshooter

G.O.A.T.
Lleytonstation said:
I agree with everything you said, except for the part where your calling Tsits a journeyman. Maybe I miss-read your quote.
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I was referring back to OP: "When Pella loses to Nadal: "well I would of won if I played my best. I am better than that, sure he played good, but on a good day? I don't lose that match." And I got confused. Very confused. :giggle:

Also, who's Pella ?

https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/public-service-announcement.643277/#post-13330850
 
Azure

Azure

G.O.A.T.
Tshooter said:
On the whining scale it seems mild to me. I feel like he's earned the right to whine a bit after a loss if he wants to. Also, I have no problem if the GOAT clay court player thinks a clay match against some journeyman is always in his hands.

Nadal is a good guy. He'd have to try to run me over to change my opinion. Check that. He'd have to successfully run me over.

I admit I do find @vive le beau jeu ! Nadal posts usually funny though.
Click to expand...
@vive le beau jeu ! is my fav Rafa troll.
 
Lleytonstation

Lleytonstation

Talk Tennis Guru
Terenigma

Terenigma

G.O.A.T.
I don't know why anyone should be surprised by this, this is the real Nadal. He has made excuses his whole career with losses like this and and it's especially true when he's losing to someone who's not a "big name" globally. Look at his attitude in any of his famous non-Big 4 losses in the past and find me one that he didn't make some excuse afterwards and gave full credit to his opponent. You will struggle.

Nadal might be one of the best players to ever play on clay but have some respect to your opponent when you get fairly beaten. You were not injured and you wanna claim your 3 losses on clay this year are because you are not as good as you were at some random previous time? Give me a break, every match is how you are on the day and you were not good enough this time. Swallow your damn pride, praise your opponent on their victory and move on.

Also i'm sorry if this post is not as good as the one i made 4 years and 3 months ago. I was not as good today as then but if i was, this post would have 100+ likes already.
 
MichaelNadal

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
Tshooter said:
On the whining scale it seems mild to me. I feel like he's earned the right to whine a bit after a loss if he wants to. Also, I have no problem if the GOAT clay court player thinks a clay match against some journeyman is always in his hands.

Nadal is a good guy. He'd have to try to run me over to change my opinion. Check that. He'd have to successfully run me over.

I admit I do find @vive le beau jeu ! Nadal posts usually funny though.
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Exactly, but their Satan is on an 11.
 
P

papertank

Hall of Fame
If anyone has the right to say this about their matches, it’s Nadal on clay. I can’t think of a single player in history that could beat Nadal on clay when he is playing his best.
 
Lleytonstation

Lleytonstation

Talk Tennis Guru
papertank said:
If anyone has the right to say this about their matches, it’s Nadal on clay. I can’t think of a single player in history that could beat Nadal on clay when he is playing his best.
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That's not how sports works, of course you can lose on days your not at your best. But it seems like he is not at his best a lot now. Maybe his best is not where it used to be and he has not accepted it yet.
 
Backspin1183

Backspin1183

Talk Tennis Guru
Terenigma said:
I don't know why anyone should be surprised by this, this is the real Nadal. He has made excuses his whole career with losses like this and and it's especially true when he's losing to someone who's not a "big name" globally. Look at his attitude in any of his famous non-Big 4 losses in the past and find me one that he didn't make some excuse afterwards and gave full credit to his opponent. You will struggle.

Nadal might be one of the best players to ever play on clay but have some respect to your opponent when you get fairly beaten. You were not injured and you wanna claim your 3 losses on clay this year are because you are not as good as you were at some random previous time? Give me a break, every match is how you are on the day and you were not good enough this time. Swallow your damn pride, praise your opponent on their victory and move on.

Also i'm sorry if this post is not as good as the one i made 4 years and 3 months ago. I was not as good today as then but if i was, this post would have 100+ likes already.
Click to expand...

Haha I'm always looking for your comments on Nadal threads.
 
A

ANDYbhGENIUS

Professional
Terenigma said:
I don't know why anyone should be surprised by this, this is the real Nadal. He has made excuses his whole career with losses like this and and it's especially true when he's losing to someone who's not a "big name" globally. Look at his attitude in any of his famous non-Big 4 losses in the past and find me one that he didn't make some excuse afterwards and gave full credit to his opponent. You will struggle.

Nadal might be one of the best players to ever play on clay but have some respect to your opponent when you get fairly beaten. You were not injured and you wanna claim your 3 losses on clay this year are because you are not as good as you were at some random previous time? Give me a break, every match is how you are on the day and you were not good enough this time. Swallow your damn pride, praise your opponent on their victory and move on.

Also i'm sorry if this post is not as good as the one i made 4 years and 3 months ago. I was not as good today as then but if i was, this post would have 100+ likes already.
Click to expand...

I agree with you, but Nadal's bad loser behaviour does have an explanation. Nadal was brainwashed from an early age that he would become UNBEATABLE on Clay, there is footage of Moya saying that when little Rafa was barely 16 years of age.

Rafa will remain on this cloud until he drops dead on the red dirt.
 
Tshooter

Tshooter

G.O.A.T.
ANDYbhGENIUS said:
...Nadal was brainwashed from an early age that he would become UNBEATABLE on Clay, there is footage of Moya saying that when little Rafa was barely 16 years of age...
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It worked.

And he’s been throughout his career about as unbeatable on clay as humanely possible. His stats make him GOAT clay court player and no one else comes close.

giphy.gif
 
A

ANDYbhGENIUS

Professional
Tshooter said:
It worked.

And he’s been throughout his career about as unbeatable on clay as humanely possible. His stats make him GOAT clay court player and no one else comes close.

giphy.gif
Click to expand...

"as unbeatable as humanly possible" -- that does not work

Dream on, as you make stuff up as you go along.
 
A

ANDYbhGENIUS

Professional
Moya didn't say "unbeatable forever", which is what some of his fans and people surrounding him are severely struggling with.
 
S

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
Terenigma said:
I don't know why anyone should be surprised by this, this is the real Nadal. He has made excuses his whole career with losses like this and and it's especially true when he's losing to someone who's not a "big name" globally. Look at his attitude in any of his famous non-Big 4 losses in the past and find me one that he didn't make some excuse afterwards and gave full credit to his opponent. You will struggle.

Nadal might be one of the best players to ever play on clay but have some respect to your opponent when you get fairly beaten. You were not injured and you wanna claim your 3 losses on clay this year are because you are not as good as you were at some random previous time? Give me a break, every match is how you are on the day and you were not good enough this time. Swallow your damn pride, praise your opponent on their victory and move on.

Also i'm sorry if this post is not as good as the one i made 4 years and 3 months ago. I was not as good today as then but if i was, this post would have 100+ likes already.
Click to expand...
So according to your opinion Nadal never declined but Fognini, Thiem and Tsitsipas are simply better players on clay than him? Alright, so then Stakhovsky is the better player than Federer in Wimbledon while Istomin and Chung are better than Djokovic in AO. You agree with that?
 
ForehandRF

ForehandRF

Legend
Nadal now is at the same age Fed was back in 2014 and it's obvious that he is declining.But yeah, Roger was at his peak in 2014, I know the story :cool:
 
M

Mark Asher

Rookie
So Fed changed rackets and started hitting his backhand more aggressively after he started to decline. I wonder if there's something Rafa can do? He's always had great hands at the net, despite some weak volleys in the third yesterday. Maybe he gets a bit more aggressive and tries to shorten points.
 
Lleytonstation

Lleytonstation

Talk Tennis Guru
Mark Asher said:
So Fed changed rackets and started hitting his backhand more aggressively after he started to decline. I wonder if there's something Rafa can do? He's always had great hands at the net, despite some weak volleys in the third yesterday. Maybe he gets a bit more aggressive and tries to shorten points.
Click to expand...

I honestly think he should be more aggressive, not to shorten points because he is getting old, cause he can still out muscle almost any player, just not like he used to.

I think if he is aggressive, and goes for his shots, I find it hard to believe he wouldn't have beat Tsits yesterday. I feel it is confidence right now, but maybe the age is creeping up on him too.
 
ChaelAZ

ChaelAZ

G.O.A.T.
If anyone could say the lose over someone just outright beating them, it would be Nadal on clay. But yeah, at some point you are past your prime and you start getting beat becuase you will never be at that highest level for every match.
 
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