So I want to see everyone that was bashing me for saying that a good clay player would beat monday nadal or any top 20 or up would probably double beagle him. Nadal played better but it was more his opponents choking than him doing really good. I thought it was going to be berloq, chardy or another clay player but it was zeballos. It's a good thing so the fans of top players would be more humble when talking about other players and not say they are "bubs", a little more objectivity too would be appreciated in this forums.
Nadal vs Some Left-Handed Bub
- Thread starter firepanda
- Start date
rufus_smith
Professional
From AP report by Stephen Wade:
Zeballos matched Nadal shot for shot with no service breaks until the third set, dropping to his back on the red clay surface after winning.
''This is the game of my life,'' Zeballos said. ''Playing against the best player of all-time, or one of the best in the history of tennis. It's a dream, unforgettable. I will never forget this moment.''
Zeballos matched Nadal shot for shot with no service breaks until the third set, dropping to his back on the red clay surface after winning.
''This is the game of my life,'' Zeballos said. ''Playing against the best player of all-time, or one of the best in the history of tennis. It's a dream, unforgettable. I will never forget this moment.''
Towser83
G.O.A.T.
That's why he won, he thought he was playing Federer! :lol:
Sorry, couldn't resist.
Clarky21
Banned
Soon to be Djesus.
Towser83
G.O.A.T.
Nah. And i mean are you talking statistically? Because surely if he won 20 slams you still wouldn't believe he was really the best player, just the best winner.And there is no GOAT... wtf, why am I having a GOAT debate over a joke I made? :lol:
kalyan4fedever
Legend
What the hell and how in the world rafa lost, watched first set and went to sleep thinking he might pull it easily in 2nd, congrats zebby, just realised he is the third player besides roger fed and djoker to beat rafa in clay court, quite an accomplishment
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veroniquem
Bionic Poster
I'm gonna assume you mean in a final. Otherwise there are more than those 3.
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
kalyan4fedever
Legend
yes in finals to deny him the trophy.
Clarky21
Banned
I'm not happy Nadal lost or that his career is over(he is my favorite player), but I will rub it in a bit when people dismiss me as some looney who knows nothing about tennis just because I say Nadal is a mug and will lose. The writing was on the wall from the first match that he was not going to win this tournament. Only ****s, people who can't see the forest for the trees, and people stuck in 2008 believed otherwise.
OddJack
G.O.A.T.
Clarky is a student in the school of namelessness.
namelessness down played Nadal's chances winning any tournament since 2011. It happenes when you love someone too much, you tell everyone that they gonna lose. If they win thats great, if they lose they already knew.
firepanda
Professional
Wow this thread has exploded. This result surprised me, because Nadal was beginning to gain some momentum and win with ease. Zeballos played well for the entire tournament. I wasn't expecting Rafa to win, but it's still disappointing to see him lose what could have been a fairy tale comeback.
Disappointed to see him lose on his return but hardly the end of the world.
He looked very rusty, a lot of shots landing inside the service box.
Credit to Zeballos, I thought his level would drop but he played incredible throughout and deserved to win.
Rafa just has to keep playing and as long as the knee holds up he will keep getting better.
He looked very rusty, a lot of shots landing inside the service box.
Credit to Zeballos, I thought his level would drop but he played incredible throughout and deserved to win.
Rafa just has to keep playing and as long as the knee holds up he will keep getting better.
Murrayfan31
Hall of Fame
Ahaha Nadal lost. Rosol showed the way and many will follow. hahahaha
kalyan4fedever
Legend
you just put salt on the wound for the poor rafa fans, ouch thats gotta hurt them
PrinceMoron
Legend
namelessone
Legend
This makes no sense.
Not to mention that I was never as pessimistic as Clarky. I don't think I've ever seen Clary even mildy optimistic on anything regarding Rafa.
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Really pleased for Zeballos as this will kickstart his career again & should give him huge confidence. To think he actually prefers hardcourts & going forwards.:twisted:
Clarky is not alone with his "voice of doom". Wilander, Agassi & everyone who really knows tennis expected Nadal to take a while to find match fitness after 7 months out. The race is on now for him to try to get it all rolling by RG.
Glad to see Nadal back & playing with the pain.
This will hopefully silence a few who think that tennis is easy & the top 5 just need to turn up. It still requires hard work.
Boss will be waiting as will all the other guys, the tour doesn't sleep.
vernonbc
Legend
Rafa, gracious as always.
Enhorabuena a Horacio por su gran victoria. Ha sido una semana muy especial para mi. Gracias por vuestro apoyo incondicional.
Congratulations to Horacio for his great win. It's been a very special week for me. Thank you all for your unconditional support.
Gracias Chile por todo. Ha sido una semana especial!
Thanks for everything Chile. It's been a special week!
Enhorabuena a Horacio por su gran victoria. Ha sido una semana muy especial para mi. Gracias por vuestro apoyo incondicional.
Congratulations to Horacio for his great win. It's been a very special week for me. Thank you all for your unconditional support.
Gracias Chile por todo. Ha sido una semana especial!
Thanks for everything Chile. It's been a special week!
namelessone
Legend
Didn't see the match but if Zeballos played as great as everybody says then congrats to him. Rafa was probably at his usual level for his first week back, which was not exactly great from the matches that I did watch.
As for what this means going forward, it only depends on Nadal and the state of his knees. A loss in a 250 final after 7 months off isn't a tragedy just like a win here wouldn't have been something to brag about. These are more or less testing venues for Rafa in his comeback. After he gets done with the Golden Swing we can see how far he has come since hitting his first ball in Vina del Mar.
If after 3 tournies his form is still pretty wonky then yes, we as fans have something to worry about. My biggest worry at the moment isn't Rafa losing to nr.73 in the world on clay(a guy he hammered in RG in the past) but that he still looks very unsure about his legs. His movement just seemed awkward this week and this is clay we are talking about.
I don't know if this is Rafa slowing down cause of age(Rafa has dominated clay since 2005) or if he is still guarding his left leg but hopefully this will be sorted in the next few weeks.
As for what this means going forward, it only depends on Nadal and the state of his knees. A loss in a 250 final after 7 months off isn't a tragedy just like a win here wouldn't have been something to brag about. These are more or less testing venues for Rafa in his comeback. After he gets done with the Golden Swing we can see how far he has come since hitting his first ball in Vina del Mar.
If after 3 tournies his form is still pretty wonky then yes, we as fans have something to worry about. My biggest worry at the moment isn't Rafa losing to nr.73 in the world on clay(a guy he hammered in RG in the past) but that he still looks very unsure about his legs. His movement just seemed awkward this week and this is clay we are talking about.
I don't know if this is Rafa slowing down cause of age(Rafa has dominated clay since 2005) or if he is still guarding his left leg but hopefully this will be sorted in the next few weeks.
OddJack
G.O.A.T.
His tennis age is over 31, and he is injured. I expect him to get worse as he continues to play, specially that he is going on hard courts soon.
Nadal is burnt, mentally and physically. The fact is he does not enjoy the pain as he used to and he does not enjoy tennis as much as he used to either.
Nadal is burnt, mentally and physically. The fact is he does not enjoy the pain as he used to and he does not enjoy tennis as much as he used to either.
But you say this before every tournament, even the ones he won last year and in 2011. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
SLD76
G.O.A.T.
agree completely. His movement was suspect and even at times seemed hesitant. There were only a few times in this match where it seemed rafa was willing to make it a point to defend like a demon and go after every ball.
he seemed especially vulnerable moving to his left, Ive never seen rafa so vulnerable on the fh side. Also, he seemed slow to react at times and unable to change direction quickly and with balance.
could be because of layoff but I dont know.
namelessone
Legend
This was something that some of his opponents picked up pretty early on. Gimeno-Traver really pounded him in the second set on the fh side and I imagine it was no different with Zeballos. The bandaged left knee doesn't inspire too much confidence but most worrying is that Rafa isn't even starting on balls that he would have reached without problem 2-3 years ago.
Not a lot of things were good for Rafa in his first week back but 3 were dreadful IMO: BH, general movement, ROS.
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SLD76
G.O.A.T.
and I wonder..I mean timing I can see because of lack of match play, but basic movement? I dunno...
dudeski
Hall of Fame
This needs to be updated.
kalyan4fedever
Legend
Is zeb playing brazil
Sartorius
Hall of Fame
From the bits I've seen from this tournament Rafa actually seems to be in the right groove. Sure, he's pretty much a confidence player and he would have loved this win, but he should and I'm sure he will treat the fact that he played all matches in this tournament as a big positive going forward. A lot more matches lie ahead for him before RG.
Looks like Zeballos played some awesome tennis, quite a way to win the first title.
Looks like Zeballos played some awesome tennis, quite a way to win the first title.
Murrayfan31
Hall of Fame
lol Nadal hoping he isn't.
wilkinru
Professional
Probably the most useful post on here. Should Rafa retire if he can't move right anymore? It is a legit concern. I would actually consider it if this does not work out.
If Nadal was moving well but making sloppy mistakes and lost(or hell won close match) then I think there would be no concerns.
Saying his movement was not good...and did he ever slide to hit a ball - this is much worse news than him making rusty errors.
I'd love to see a breakdown of the tape, comparing points from 2010 to this tourney, similar movements and points. See how he actually is moving.
I wonder if the top 3 have people working on it right now...
Actually that's not a true transcription of what he said, he had a very nice Freudian Slip, he said "Thanks for everything Chile and Im sure I'm not coming back... I mean I'll be back soon..."
Tried to find the video but can't.
librarysteg
Hall of Fame
Looks like it. And looks like they're in opposite half of the draws so could be another Nadal-Zeb final. Zeballo plays a qualifier in the first round and would then face Almagro.
Clarky21
Banned
Nadal won't win a match in Brasil. And Zeb will go back to his usual level like all the one and done's do.
Hood_Man
G.O.A.T.
Clarky21
Banned
Lol. Cute gif, but he still won't win a match.
Towser83
G.O.A.T.
Right, if he loses first match, then full credit to you. Otherwise, same old rubbish.
Clarky21
Banned
We'll have to wait and see but I'm keeping my expectations as low as possible.
vernonbc
Legend
That's what he posted on his facebook. His words, in English. No translation required.
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