Nadal unhappy over Wimbledon roof closure

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Is Rafa right to be upset?


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True Fanerer

G.O.A.T.
You had me until the third sentence. RG'19 denadal is dependent on a healthy and lengthy continuation of the Joe Kovic resurrection, perhaps a resurgent Wawrinka or some serious maturation of a NextGen star without the scar tissue of Thiemrev, the equivalent of the Ozzian Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion with one lacking a brain and the other missing a heart.

One of these kids has to produce on clay sooner or later. I was hoping it was Kuhn by 2020 but his ankle injury just wasted a whole season on the dirt. Tsitsipas is now on the edge of Top 30 but that lopsided Nadal final in Barca put him in a tailspin. Maybe just the one mauling doesn't leave a mark. I'm pressed to mention any others...flaws, flaws everywhere flaws.
You're probably right about those two. Could rob a Masters or two. Zverev imo would've won in Rome, but Raindal showed up again batting like .995 for his career after rain :rolleyes:. Zverev won't ever face him early enough at the FO for him to worry about. Maybe in 2019 or 2020 someone can put it together. Might be Djokovic. Tsitsapas another one with a chance maybe.
 

Bender

G.O.A.T.
Only read the first page of posts; this is what I gathered:
  • Clickbait article states Nadal was unhappy with roof or complained about it when he wasn't / didn't
  • Nadal questions the logic for using the roof when the weather was great on the second day, but did not blame roof for loss
  • The usual salty Fed fans make posts accusing Nadal of making excuses, being salty, and being a sore loser without actually watching the interview or even reading the article
 
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ADuck

Legend
Only read the first page of posts; this is what I gathered:
  • Clickbait article states Nadal was unhappy with roof or complained about it when he wasn't / didn't
  • Nadal questions the logic for using the roof when the weather was great on the second day, but did not blame roof for loss
  • The usual salty Fed fans make posts accusing Nadal of making excuses and being a sore loser without actually watching the interview or even reading the article
Federer fans are addicted to attaching that conotation to Nadal or his fans whenever possible, yet they have no problem calling Federer injured against Kevin Anderson. Mind boggling.
 

Sudacafan

Bionic Poster
Anytime Rafa is asked about anything that falls in the excuse category always starts with " I don't want to complain/talk/blame

Then fills the blank in with excuses.

But he didn't WANT to is the difference here. We have to remember that :cool:
I don’t want to talk about your post.
 

Bartelby

Bionic Poster
Nadal is whining in public about the roof. Federer made no mention of any injury.

Given that he clearly slipped in the match, it is however a topic of legitimate interest.

Federer fans are addicted to attaching that conotation to Nadal or his fans whenever possible, yet they have no problem calling Federer injured against Kevin Anderson. Mind boggling.
 

ADuck

Legend
Nadal is whining in public about the roof. Federer made no mention of any injury.

Given that he clearly slipped in the match, it is however a topic of legitimate interest.
If Nadal was 'whining,' by the same logic Federer was whining that his game wasn't clicking from the baseline after Set 2.

Also Nadal and almost every other player has slipped multiple times throughout this tournament. Del Potro and Nadal must have slipped at least 8 times throughout their match in total, yet we hear nothing.
 

Bartelby

Bionic Poster
Nadal was whining in public and any slipping by anyone is a topic of legitimate interest.

If Nadal was 'whining,' by the same logic Federer was whining that his game wasn't clicking from the baseline after Set 2.

Also Nadal and almost every other player has slipped multiple times throughout this tournament. Del Potro and Nadal must have slipped at least 8 times throughout their match in total, yet we hear nothing.
 

ADuck

Legend
Nadal was whining in public and any slipping by anyone is a topic of legitimate interest.
If Nadal was 'whining' in public so was Federer about not being able to play his best. Either you have no idea what 'whining' means or you choose to apply the word only when it suits you.
 

Bartelby

Bionic Poster
You just admitted Nadal was whining so you just admitted that I am right.

If Nadal was 'whining' in public so was Federer about not being able to play his best. Either you have no idea what 'whining' means or you choose to apply the word only when it suits you.
 

Gato

Semi-Pro
Nole just grab a chance to play with a roof, because he knew he has better chances, otherwise he would have lost probably
 

VaporDude95

Banned
Why is Nadal always unhappy ?

Do conditions always have to suit him ? Can't play with roof. Can't play on low bouncing court. Cant play in light rain on clay. Blue clay. Fast court. Shot clock. Second match of the day.

Remember when he wanted a 2 year ranking system and the WTF to be played on clay? Those were genuine requests.

Also getting umpires that enforce the rules banned from his matches.

I seriously can’t respect Rafa. He’s completely self serving.
 
If Nadal was 'whining,' by the same logic Federer was whining that his game wasn't clicking from the baseline after Set 2.

Also Nadal and almost every other player has slipped multiple times throughout this tournament. Del Potro and Nadal must have slipped at least 8 times throughout their match in total, yet we hear nothing.

You just admitted Nadal was whining so you just admitted that I am right.
'if' introduces a conditional clause ('if' nadal was whining)

'since' affirms an admission ('since' nadal was whining)

weak-minded narcissism you must admit
 
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newpball

Legend
Finding excuses for the loss?

Instead he should be satisfied to have reached the semi's, after all apart from some flukes his performance on grass is far from legendary.

:D
 

Fedforever

Hall of Fame
I don't think it was a great decision to leave the roof closed. Quite understandable when the match is actually being played. But when you've had an overnight break the situation is completely different.

Seems like Wimbledon were applying the rules very literally but against common sense.

By the way, does anyone know if the AO Roofgate conspiracy theorists are claiming that the decision was rigged to help Novak? Or do they think it was perfectly fair?
 

Fedforever

Hall of Fame
Nadal is whining in public about the roof. Federer made no mention of any injury.

Given that he clearly slipped in the match, it is however a topic of legitimate interest.
Federer fans are addicted to attaching that conotation to Nadal or his fans whenever possible, yet they have no problem calling Federer injured against Kevin Anderson. Mind boggling.

There is a description here of how one Fed fan saw it:

Thanks friend.
I will say this one last time. It was pretty obvious after this point that nearly everything in his game had flipped on a dime at that point.

1. Footwork declined. How many shots Fred sprayed out because he didn't take those extra small steps we know he does to get in perfect position to hit the target. Lots of leaning and upright hitting.
2. Every low topspin backhand on run went into the net or shanked really bad. The ones he did get in, had nothing on them. Just barely a neutral rally ball. It's why he started hitting more and more and more slice backhands.
3. Hit 85%+ of forehands with the buggy lasso, even on neutral and offensive shots. Which is a pretty big indication that his mechanics below the torso were affected enough he had to use more arm and shoulder.
4. The profuse grunting on first serves. He rarely ever does this. The only time he's done it is when he's extremely gassed or if he's hurt and needs to summon extra exertion by using more arm and shoulder to serve. He had to go even bigger on some second serves just to continue holding. He was grunting on first serves from the fall onward for most of the rest of the match.
5. He pretty much would not chase anything to his left that was more than a few steps down and would just keep watching it go by. Anderson eventually figured this out and kept exploiti by it.
6. He wasnt even lunging wide to attempt to return serves hit wide to either side. Anderson racked up way more aces and this is because of it.
7. He started forcing tactics. We know when Rog is playing free he starts going for weird stuff. But on a day like this when he's physically hindered, he's really trying to end points quickly. He's going for winners from positions he almost never tries for. It's one thing to do it when you're up in the score and relaxed like he did in the first set. It's another when you're doing it down and behind. After the slip, point construction was almost a nonexistent thing for him. It was servebot, or get into rallies and Anderson would either bully him because Fed had little offense or Anderson would gift him.

If you watched this match and didnt notice Fed was physically off you dont know what you're talking about. He said he was fine during those horrendously bad Tiafoe and Youzhny matches at the USO. He said he was fine after the Montreal final. But each of those times there was definitely something wrong with him and discomfort. In 2013 he even told Rafa at the net twice when he lost at Indian Wells and Rome that there was nothing wrong and that's during the back injury that plagued him all year.

I was at work during the match so can't give any informed opinion. But this sounds like a good reasoned argument - this is not the same as someone saying "my favourite lost so he must have been injured". If somebody slips and suddenly they're playing a different game to what they were before then there has to be a possibility that they have injured themselves and I think any fanbase would feel the same.

When he said he was injured after losing to Berdych in Wimbledon 2010 Berdych was apparently furious and didn't speak to him for a long time.Maybe since then he's made sure to avoid the same mistake.
 

Colin

Professional
Over halfway to 50 Ways To Keep Sureshs PeRFect!
50! OK, it may take a while to get there, but if Paul Simon has 50 ways to leave a lover then you better believe Rafa has 50 reasons he lost a match. Here are some more ...

28. He had to skip the final so he could spend quality time with Fed before he returned to his Swiss castle. After Roger’s appearance on “Running Wild With Bear Grylls” and Bernard Tomic’s snake-handling stint on “I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here,” Rafa conceived of a new reality show called “The Maestro and the Moron.” Under Rafa’s guidance, Fed and his new sidekick will participate in increasingly dangerous stunts like swimming with electric eels or juggling live hand grenades. Promised millions if the show is a hit, Tomic has agreed (and loves the title) as long as Rafa plays doubles with him again. Bernie even came up with a stunt in which Fed drives a tank and he faces off with it Tiananmen Square-style, thus poking fun at his moniker Tomic the Tank Engine. Rafa agreed to doubles in Shanghai (should Bernie survive the tank episode, of course). But now he has to spend time persuading Fed to take part, particularly before the U.S. Open.

29. He wanted to level the playing field for Anderson, and thus avoid tennis forum complaints about how worn out the serving giant would be in the final. He could have beaten Novak in three easy sets, but he wanted to go at least 28-26 in the fifth. Unfortunately, Novak found a way to cheat the crowd from this epic scoreline.

30. Organizers forgot to refill the cooler with water, so it affected Rafa’s ability to employ proper bottle alignment procedures.

31. Was making out with Richard Gasquet’s cocaine-using friend before the resumption of the match and accidentally got too amped up in the fourth set, winning it, but then he crashed in the fifth set.

32. Thought he spotted Margaret Court on one side of the royal box and Tom Daley on the other. Fearing that the racket-wielding homophobe might confront the gay diver and husband Dustin Lance Black about their new baby, Rafa felt a pang of empathy and promptly dropped serve, while Novak had none and broke him. It turned out it was neither of them in the box, but the tournament referee said it wouldn't have mattered either way. He and Novak are both homophobic.

33. Suffered PTSD flashbacks of Gilles Muller, Dustin Brown, Nick Kyrgios, Lukas Rosol and other bad people with unfair aggressive tactics, and suddenly Novak’s serve was much more unreturnable.

34. A gentleman’s agreement: Since Rafa had been kind enough to ascent to playing Wimbledon under a roof and let him win in the process, it is assumed that Novak will reciprocate in his petition to have the World Tour Finals played outside — and also make sure not to beat him if it comes down to it. But if he can beat Fed first, that would be appreciated.

35. Was waiting on Novak to retire from the match like he did last year and has at many past slams. When Novak continued to play unencumbered and without MTOs, it startled Rafa and threw off his rhythm. Unfair tactic!

36. Belated wedding gift to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, who are big Djokovic fans and often brunch with his family.

37. Would be greedy to win two slams in a row, must be humble and wait for the U.S. Open.

38. Felt bad about beating Anderson so easily last year and he wanted to give him Novak as a present (unfortunately, he spit on that gift!)

39. Delayed reaction headache from banging his head on the ceiling of the hallway — again (they really should have warnings) — while jumping up and down before coming on court.

40. Someone told him that McEnroe suggested on TV that Kevin Anderson face Angelique Kerber in the finals and Rafa play Serena to see if she could make a claim as greatest of all time. Nadal was trying to figure out how this would work — whether such a match would be three or five sets? How many bagels would he need to drop? Could they ban Eva Asderaki from the umpire's chair since she unfairly enforced the rules against both of them? — when he got distracted and lost serve. You gotta be kidding me!
 

Colin

Professional
50! OK, it may take a while to get there, but if Paul Simon has 50 ways to leave a lover then you better believe Rafa has 50 reasons he lost a match. Here are some more ...
....
40. Someone told him that McEnroe suggested on TV that Kevin Anderson face Angelique Kerber in the finals and Rafa play Serena to see if she could make a claim as greatest of all time. Nadal was trying to figure out how this would work — whether such a match would be three or five sets? How many bagels would he need to drop? Could they ban Eva Asderaki from the umpire's chair since she unfairly enforced the rules against both of them? — when he got distracted and lost serve. You gotta be kidding me!
OK, the final ones to make 50. That's it. I now need to start brainstorming the reasons for defeat in the U.S. Open.

41. Rafa got an urgent text that the surgeon who offers the world’s most revolutionary hair transplant procedure had an opening for him — at the same time as the Wimbledon final. “Well, I know my fans want me to win big tournaments, no?” Rafa told the press conference. “But more important, they want me to have hair. Have to look good for the V-B, no?” Unfortunately, he later found out it was a prank by Nick Kyrgios and his own uncle. “Toni say Nick talk him into it, saying England has its April Fools in July and that fool Toni believe him and sent me the text.” No trophy, all Rafa ended up with was a tweet from Kyrgios: “Sorry to tell you this mate, but you’re gonna be bald and never catch Fed. J/K… Love ya, mate!” “No hard feelings,” Rafa explained. “Quite funny, but now I gonna have to beat him at the Laver Cup for sure, no?”

42. Had binged “Handmaid’s Tale” the night before with Xisca and became concerned about the dystopian state of the world with Donald Trump also in Britain. Rafa is known as a great fighter, but that day he had to fight existential malaise.

43. Wanted to start his preparations on hard court. The Fifth Slam is only weeks away in Cincinnati.

44. Thought John Isner should have won that other semi and wanted to play him in the final, so instead of this rigged Wimbledon he’ll take a wildcard into Newport and do battle with Big John there.

45. Zverev very upset that Kevin Anderson has made two finals and he keeps choking. He wanted to provide a tale of inspiration for tennis’ stars of tomorrow to show that even the very best like myself can lose (should they choose to).

46. Someone told him Brad Gilbert planned to change his nickname from Vamos-Rafa to Rafa Ate-Teen for his 18th slam, a nonsensical play on words that evokes either cannibalism or inappropriate eroticism. Either way, Rafa couldn’t let that happen.

47. Court upkeep issues: A patch of grass was overly long and posed a danger.

48. Didn’t want to win and have oddsmakers put additional pressure on me to defend the U.S. Open and would rather go in as an underdog. “It’s almost impossible to defend non-clay titles, no?”

49. Was getting nervous in the final set and remembered Uncle Toni’s advice to imagine your opponent in his underwear. He didn’t have to imagine much because of Novak’s revealing runway photography. That sudden image became oddly appealing and he questioned his long-term prospects with Xisca and then the break happened (but not a breakup ... yet).

50. Did I really lose? Some say it’s actually a moral victory. Vamos!
 
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