Nadal to Reporters: "I need something else, will try to find (it)"
- Thread starter JohnnyMac Fan!
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VaporDude95
Banned
He needs to stop picking his butt and seek advice from other coaches.
JohnnyMac Fan!
Legend
YUP!
It certainly wouldn't hurt any to try a new coach. Rafa has kept things private and in the family for a long time and an outsider could help. Maybe he isn't interested in a bunch of change at this point in his career though. He's done so much that you couldn't blame him for that.
ruerooo
Legend
I'd say he has to stop feeling like he needs to overcompensate for time lost.
He was out on court yesterday practicing for three hours.
I think I understand why he did it, because he felt like he missed so much tennis.
But dude - you just spent 19 hours on court during the Olympics.
I know he's an obsessive perfectionist, but he has to learn there's such a word as "enough".
I think he didn't have enough in the tank for winners that wouldn't get past just anybody, but past Pouille playing at this level.
That dude was motivated. Yannick Noah was here to watch him. Tsonga, after his post-match interview, didn't leave the press box - just stayed there to watch the match on Ashe till the changeover, when he came in to sit next to Yannick Noah.
Some of those banana shots that get past even Novak -- Pouille got those back.
And I think Rafa would've had the extra punch for those shots if he'd called "enough" at somewhere between 1.5 and 2 hours of practice yesterday.
Of course, I'm not the one who was out there; I'm just guessing.
But I do also know that usually the whole family -- we're talking Dad, both coaches, everybody -- doesn't show up in Rafa's box til the final. Not even in 2010.
And they were here from 1R, so I'm sure they were as confident as he was that he was going to win the whole thing.
Sometimes less is more.
He was out on court yesterday practicing for three hours.
I think I understand why he did it, because he felt like he missed so much tennis.
But dude - you just spent 19 hours on court during the Olympics.
I know he's an obsessive perfectionist, but he has to learn there's such a word as "enough".
I think he didn't have enough in the tank for winners that wouldn't get past just anybody, but past Pouille playing at this level.
That dude was motivated. Yannick Noah was here to watch him. Tsonga, after his post-match interview, didn't leave the press box - just stayed there to watch the match on Ashe till the changeover, when he came in to sit next to Yannick Noah.
Some of those banana shots that get past even Novak -- Pouille got those back.
And I think Rafa would've had the extra punch for those shots if he'd called "enough" at somewhere between 1.5 and 2 hours of practice yesterday.
Of course, I'm not the one who was out there; I'm just guessing.
But I do also know that usually the whole family -- we're talking Dad, both coaches, everybody -- doesn't show up in Rafa's box til the final. Not even in 2010.
And they were here from 1R, so I'm sure they were as confident as he was that he was going to win the whole thing.
Sometimes less is more.
racquetreligion
Hall of Fame
A more masculine type coach and even more than Rafa like Mauresmo would help
but seriously Nads needs to just be a clay pidgeon for the rest of his career
cause even these slow hard courts and balls are not going to help him anymore
but seriously Nads needs to just be a clay pidgeon for the rest of his career
cause even these slow hard courts and balls are not going to help him anymore
Levi_Ackerman
Legend
Didn't Yannick Noah once accuse Rafa of doping? My God! Rafa! Another humiliation.
marc45
G.O.A.T.
At 6-6, Nadal hit a routine forehand into the net, giving Pouille a fourth match point. After Pouille clinched the match with a forehand winner to the deuce side, he collapsed to the ground.
"He's like every player. He feel the pressure as well," Pouille said. "Even if he's one of the best, he feel the pressure."
After the match, Nadal said he felt good physically and felt that he played a good match—but that Pouille was just a bit better.
"I need something else, I need something more that was not there today," Nadal said. "I going to keep working to try to find [it]."
Nadal later added: "When the opponent beat you, is not the time to find excuses mental or physical. Doesn't matter. The opponent was a little better than you. That's it."
http://www.si.com/tennis/2016/09/04...lucas-pouille-angelique-kerber-novak-djokovic
"He's like every player. He feel the pressure as well," Pouille said. "Even if he's one of the best, he feel the pressure."
After the match, Nadal said he felt good physically and felt that he played a good match—but that Pouille was just a bit better.
"I need something else, I need something more that was not there today," Nadal said. "I going to keep working to try to find [it]."
Nadal later added: "When the opponent beat you, is not the time to find excuses mental or physical. Doesn't matter. The opponent was a little better than you. That's it."
http://www.si.com/tennis/2016/09/04...lucas-pouille-angelique-kerber-novak-djokovic
Russeljones
Talk Tennis Guru
Djokovic_is_the_best#1
Talk Tennis Guru
Rafa nadal needs to retire for his own sake and his fans 
Mainad
Bionic Poster
Big_Dangerous
Talk Tennis Guru
He can start by trying to find a decent serve!
Spot on, Rafa!
Yeah it makes me wonder where that 2010 US Open serve was? I mean why not employ that more frequently, because it clearly worked well for him that year. And with him getting up there in age, it would certainly behoove him to go for more to keep points shorter.
Big_Dangerous
Talk Tennis Guru
I think a lot of people did too. I was expecting him to win it from that position as well. I even said after Pouille won the 3rd set to go up 2-1, that if Rafa won the 4th and forced a 5th set, he would surely win. I'm really surprised to see Rafa lose in a 5th set to someone not named Djokovic.
chjtennis
G.O.A.T.
Yeah, especially when Pouille looked a bit tired while Rafa still looked relatively fresh in the 5th.
joekapa
Legend
In the passages of time, no one is invincible. I don't think it has to do with age mind you, as Rafa's fitness has always been out of this world. I just think people have figured him out now, and his style of play. Those awesome moonballs, that change the rotation of the earth when they strike the ground, don't cut is as much as they used too.
Big_Dangerous
Talk Tennis Guru
Apun94
Hall of Fame
I was always skeptical of him finding a new coach since i thought that was never the problem.
But now maybe a new perspective may help. The thing is, he just doesnt have the game anymore now. The FH DTL is gone, wont ever get that back. The serve is a shadow of what it was. The rest of the game hasnt declined that much. He's actually become better at the net now.
So, maybe someone who sees things differently and can give Rafa something else to try wouldnt be that bad a thing. Because i dont see Toni and co improving his game anymore. (They wouldve done it by now).
Then again, i dont know what he needs to do differently now.
Sure, we all say he needs to be more aggressive but heres the thing. His FH is awful now. He has absolutely no pace on it, especially dtl. He can only go CC so much.
So yeah...
But now maybe a new perspective may help. The thing is, he just doesnt have the game anymore now. The FH DTL is gone, wont ever get that back. The serve is a shadow of what it was. The rest of the game hasnt declined that much. He's actually become better at the net now.
So, maybe someone who sees things differently and can give Rafa something else to try wouldnt be that bad a thing. Because i dont see Toni and co improving his game anymore. (They wouldve done it by now).
Then again, i dont know what he needs to do differently now.
Sure, we all say he needs to be more aggressive but heres the thing. His FH is awful now. He has absolutely no pace on it, especially dtl. He can only go CC so much.
So yeah...
mike danny
Bionic Poster
Really? So Fognini and Verdasco never happened?
mellowyellow
Legend
Not just that but what about the tight 3 setters he has failed to close out over the last 2 years?
marc45
G.O.A.T.
thought he already did that, but maybe
marc45
G.O.A.T.
Rafa nadal needs to retire for his own sake and his fans
think you mean for his haters...it would be a magnanimous gesture by him, thinking of the mental health of these disturbed individuals and putting it above his own personal gain
marc45
G.O.A.T.
interesting graphic showing Sock and Thiem higher on the rpm chart than Rafa right now
We have been discussing the topic for years right?
- Nadal is a step slower -> can not chase the ball as much as he did in prime years.
- His topspin forehand is not so heavy as in the past so people can deal with it a lot easier.
- His serve sucks -> the story of his life but in prime he could compensate weak serve by strong defense. Not anymore.
In short: he is weaker and easier to be attacked -> more and more bad losses.
What can he do?
- Try to serve better if he can.
- Play more aggressively to put opponents in defense not him. Try to finish points after 1-2 shots.
Can he do it?
- No, because he just doesn't want to change.
End of story. Nadal needs to retire.
- Nadal is a step slower -> can not chase the ball as much as he did in prime years.
- His topspin forehand is not so heavy as in the past so people can deal with it a lot easier.
- His serve sucks -> the story of his life but in prime he could compensate weak serve by strong defense. Not anymore.
In short: he is weaker and easier to be attacked -> more and more bad losses.
What can he do?
- Try to serve better if he can.
- Play more aggressively to put opponents in defense not him. Try to finish points after 1-2 shots.
Can he do it?
- No, because he just doesn't want to change.
End of story. Nadal needs to retire.
Last edited:
Murrayfan31
Hall of Fame
He should add Gilbert.
People need to remember his comment about being shocked by how relatively little practice Federer puts in. Nadal's the type of talent that needs to practice a lot to improve the level of his game. Federer by contrast needs to be fit and the form is relatively easy for him to gain compared to others.
I'd say he has to stop feeling like he needs to overcompensate for time lost.
He was out on court yesterday practicing for three hours.
I think I understand why he did it, because he felt like he missed so much tennis.
But dude - you just spent 19 hours on court during the Olympics.
I know he's an obsessive perfectionist, but he has to learn there's such a word as "enough".
I think he didn't have enough in the tank for winners that wouldn't get past just anybody, but past Pouille playing at this level.
That dude was motivated. Yannick Noah was here to watch him. Tsonga, after his post-match interview, didn't leave the press box - just stayed there to watch the match on Ashe till the changeover, when he came in to sit next to Yannick Noah.
Some of those banana shots that get past even Novak -- Pouille got those back.
And I think Rafa would've had the extra punch for those shots if he'd called "enough" at somewhere between 1.5 and 2 hours of practice yesterday.
Of course, I'm not the one who was out there; I'm just guessing.
But I do also know that usually the whole family -- we're talking Dad, both coaches, everybody -- doesn't show up in Rafa's box til the final. Not even in 2010.
And they were here from 1R, so I'm sure they were as confident as he was that he was going to win the whole thing.
Sometimes less is more.
heninfan99
Talk Tennis Guru
respect
Big_Dangerous
Talk Tennis Guru
Touche.
Legend of Borg
G.O.A.T.
man, respect to pouille but FK rafa missed that 4-2 chance in the fifth
actually can't believe he let that kind of lead slip just unreal especially more so because he's one of the most clutch players of all time
actually can't believe he let that kind of lead slip just unreal especially more so because he's one of the most clutch players of all time
ruerooo
Legend
From what I've seen so far of his pressers, on the one hand he'd like to have that one back too.
On the other, he feels like he should've had that match won before it even got to that point, literally & figuratively.
IMO, he bought the 2010 "wrist adjustment" in a bottle, and they're better at spotting such things these days. The Passport and "No mas Vamos (sic) starting shortly thereafter, coincidence? I think not.
ruerooo
Legend
Says the guy with the Dimitrov avatar despite the fact that Muzz just spanked him - at night, on Ashe, so bad that no less than Johnny Mac said "At least in chess you can lay your King down; you don't have to finish" - and sent him back to the minors.
Come on, now. We can all have our loyal fandoms, but that doesn't mean we have to dump on other players.
swordtennis
G.O.A.T.
I do think we are making this out to be more than it is.
Lets be frank if he hits those two shots and wins the match he would of prob been near un beatable after that. Tennis is a maddenling fickle sport.
On the threads tone however
Djokovic had to re tool.
Murray re tooled.
Even Fed re tooled.
Hell Stan re tooled.
Bull will not re tool.
I say just practice rushing the net.
Nadal has great hands at net.
Lets be frank if he hits those two shots and wins the match he would of prob been near un beatable after that. Tennis is a maddenling fickle sport.
On the threads tone however
Djokovic had to re tool.
Murray re tooled.
Even Fed re tooled.
Hell Stan re tooled.
Bull will not re tool.
I say just practice rushing the net.
Nadal has great hands at net.
ruerooo
Legend
My first guess is that that serve is hard on the body, so they only take it out for special occasions. Otherwise, he'd have kept on using it.
The other thing it seems like people forget is that serve isn't just about technique. If you look at players, all other things being equal (which is a long discussion) -- the ones with the best serves have very pronounced V-shapes, and those extra inches make a difference.
Look at the way Roger and Novak and DelPo are built, and the way they serve. Rafa -- and Stan too, to a lesser extent -- have to compensate more with the entire rest of the body because their wingspans are proportionately more narrow.
You can compensate by work and technique to an extent, but only to a certain extent.
(And if you're going to "But what about Sam Querrey" me, remember that there's other things involved in being a top player, like speed and torque and plain old tennis brain.)
It's like if you're an Olympic gymnast over 5'0" tall, with the current difficulty requirements, the odds for medaling are against you because the skills are at such a level of difficulty that the way you're built matters. Sometimes, no matter how hard you work, it's just physics -- which is why Rafa his whole playing life has compensated so strongly & tactically in other areas.
But fans have also complained his entire career about "The serve, the serve, the serve' -- you do as much as you can do, but at the end of the day, there's only so much you can do.
If there were more to do, does anybody on this board doubt that that camp, in particular, would have done it by now?
The man plays - and got a Career 2x-Golden Slam - with his non-dominant hand*, for cripes' sake.
(*For anybody who didn't already know it, he's not a natural lefty.)
Bender
G.O.A.T.
Times like this I realise that most of GPPD has never picked up a tennis racquet in their life.
ArcspacE
G.O.A.T.
I'm not dumping on anyone - but I think he should consider this as means to preserve his legacy. Remember Schumacher's comeback?Says the guy with the Dimitrov avatar despite the fact that Muzz just spanked him - at night, on Ashe, so bad that no less than Johnny Mac said "At least in chess you can lay your King down; you don't have to finish" - and sent him back to the minors.
Come on, now. We can all have our loyal fandoms, but that doesn't mean we have to dump on other players.
ruerooo
Legend
I don't know whether or not you're talking about Joel Schumacher
, but --you see this building plan?
Here's the building. Realized.
Here is Rafa standing on one of the walkways of the realized building.
That's "dignified" enough for me.
I don't have any kind of burning need to tell him what to do or not do.
And as long as he chooses to show up on court, I'll show up to watch it.
ArcspacE
G.O.A.T.
Cool story - his academy means little to me - I was referring to his game on courtI don't know whether or not you're talking about Joel Schumacher
you see this building plan?
Here's the building. Realized.
Here is Rafa standing on one of the walkways of the realized building.
That's "dignified" enough for me.
I don't have any kind of burning need to tell him what to do or not do.
And as long as he chooses to show up on court, I'll show up to watch it.
ruerooo
Legend
You really sound kind of boneheaded right now if you don't understand the relationship between the two.
You can't even support your man through his losses -- you try to throw off your frustration by dumping on somebody else.
Shame, too -- I like Dimi's game, but he does have a tendency to crack under pressure.
Tuning you out now -- your integrity is looking like his W-L record this season.
Ciao.
ArcspacE
G.O.A.T.
Hahahaha - nice tryYou really sound kind of boneheaded right now if you don't understand the relationship between the two.
You can't even support your man through his losses -- you try to throw off your frustration by dumping on somebody else.
Shame, too -- I like Dimi's game, but he does have a tendency to crack under pressure.
Tuning you out now -- your integrity is looking like his W-L record this season.
Ciao.
Been supporting Grigor since 2009 - don't talk to me about loss management. 95% of Rafa fans on here are glory hunting fanbois who've gone in hiding since last year
Bender
G.O.A.T.
While I don't like glory hunters myself either, the story with Rafa is a little different with Dimitrov.
Nadal burst onto the tour swinging, winning titles left and right. Dimitrov fans are used to him losing because he wasn't doing much winning in the first place.
Still, good to see the fairweather fans gone. Bit like watching all those ManU and Brazil shirts turn into Barca and Germany shirts.
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