Yeah but the Berd turns to chicken when he goes against Nadal lately.
yes normally, but he played very well against Fed in parts of the match. I think he can bring that to cincy and the court would play in his favour. This aint no dirt field.
Yeah but the Berd turns to chicken when he goes against Nadal lately.
Not sure. We all know Fed does better in the best of 5 matches, so him getting to the finals here considering that and his level of play says a lot. He's probably not going to win tomorrow, but I'd still put him and Murray above Nadal right now. Nadal is #3 now IMO, I had him at #2 favorite before, but Murray's run has given me a bit more faith in him than I had about 2 weeks ago.
A clown draw would be not facing a single top 10 player and getting Verdasco in a final... that's what pretty much happened with Federer's Wimbledon 2010, except his pigeon of choice was Roddick.
Nadal is never a favorite on HC. On clay YES!...if söderling isn't playing that is.
Absolutely. Maybe next year Del Potro will be thrown in the mix on clay too.
Lol. Del Potro on clay.
LOL, I just realized that in the three HC masters played up until now Rafa has lost in the SF to the eventual winner: Ljubicic in IW, Roddick in Miami and Murray in Toronto.
LOL, I just realized that in the three HC masters played up until now Rafa has lost in the SF to the eventual winner: Ljubicic in IW, Roddick in Miami and Murray in Toronto.
yes normally, but he played very well against Fed in parts of the match. I think he can bring that to cincy and the court would play in his favour. This aint no dirt field.
so next up is fed at cincy ?
LOL, I just realized that in the three HC masters played up until now Rafa has lost in the SF to the eventual winner: Ljubicic in IW, Roddick in Miami and Murray in Toronto.
LOL, I just realized that in the three HC masters played up until now Rafa has lost in the SF to the eventual winner: Ljubicic in IW, Roddick in Miami and Murray in Toronto.
So, I guess Nadal is still the favorite.
So, I guess Nadal is still the favorite.
Nadal would go behind Federer and Murray as the third favorite in my opinion.
Updated: 8/14/10
2009 Miami QF - vs #7 Juan Martin Del Potro L 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(3)
2009 Canada QF - vs #6 Juan Martin Del Potro L 6-7(5), 1-6
2009 Cincinnati SF - vs #4 Novak Djokovic L 1-6, 4-6
2009 US Open SF - vs #6 Juan Martin Del Potro L 2-6, 2-6, 2-6
2009 Shanghai F - vs #8 Nikolay Davydenko L 6-7(3), 3-6
2009 Paris QF - vs #9 JW Tsonga W 7-5, 7-5
2009 Paris SF - vs #3 Novak Djokovic L 2-6, 3-6
2009 ATP World Tour Finals RR - vs #9 Robin Soderling L 4-6, 4-6
2009 ATP World Tour Finals RR - vs #7 Nikolay Davydenko L 1-6, 6-7(4)
2009 ATP World Tour Finals RR - vs #3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) L 6-7(5), 3-6
2010 Qatar F - vs #6 Nikolay Davydenko L 6-0, 6-7(8 ), 4-6
2010 Australian Open QF - vs #4 Andy Murray L 3-6, 6-7(2), 0-3 RET
2010 Miami QF - vs #10 JW Tsonga W 6-3, 6-2
2010 Miami SF - vs #8 Andy Roddick L 6-4, 3-6, 3-6
2010 Canada SF - vs #4 Andy Murray L 3-6, 4-6
In the 16 months since defeating Andy Murray to win the 2009 Indian Wells title, Nadal has yet to win a title on HC and only has reached 2 finals on the surface in 11 tournaments.
-Nadal is 2-13 vs top 10 players on HC during this period.
-Nadal is 0-12 vs top 8 players on HC during this period.
-In these 15 matches, Nadal won a total of 7 sets.
Now, please understand, I am not making this thread to bash Nadal in any way, only to point out the facts. Nadal is not a given to win the US Open, and it is my estimation that he is not the favorite due to these facts mentioned.
If Nadal rectifies this in the tournaments before the US Open, with wins over top 10 opposition, then maybe he should in fact be looked at as favorite. But as of right now, Nadal's record on HC does not stand up to being the favorite to win the US Open.
It is very rare that you win any Grand Slam without defeating a top 10 player, and at Nadal's weakest slam, top 10 players have been his achilles' heel - he is 0-3 vs top 10 players at Flushing Meadows.
Yeah I don't think anyone saw Nadal gaining a 130 mph serve between Cincy and the USO. But it's whatever. Good on him.
Thanks James Flake for inspiring Nadal to win the US Open. Your troll thread pissed off Nadal and made him more determined to win the title.