Nadal's Best Season?

Which is Nadal's Best Season?

  • Total voters
    52
  • Poll closed .
abmk

abmk

Bionic Poster
Sport said:
US Open 2010 , French Open 2012, French Open 2013 and US Open 2013 suggests otherwise. Djokovic was already at his peak in the US Open 2010. He was 23 and defeated Federer in the SF. A year before, Federer beated him in 3 straight sets in the US Open 2009. So Djokovic clearly was at his peak, Nadal in 2010 was too much for him.
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utter load of bullcr*p. are you on some sort of mission to prove yourself as more clueless than everyone else over here ?

federer played much worse in 2010 USO SF than in 2007-09 --- that's why he lost to djokovic.

djokovic did not have a top 10 win in 2010 until that win vs federer in USO SF.( that's 9 months)

10 was his worst season from 2007-16.

2010 USO probably not even in his top 5 USOs form wise - 2011, 2015, 2012, 2008 , 2007 and 2009 were better.
 
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NatF

NatF

Bionic Poster
Sport said:
Nadal in 2010 was almost unstoppable. Peak Soderling in Roland Garros, peak Murray in Wimbledon and peak Djokovic in the US Open were not enough to stop him.


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You have to be trolling at this point. The crap you write would sweep the Razzies :D
 
X

Xavier G

Hall of Fame
2010 is probably Nadal's best season with the 3 Slams, I suppose, but I like 2008 for the summer stretch where he won the French, Queens, Wimbledon and the Olympics. I'll have to look up the seasons again, but that spell impressed me.
 
U

User123

Hall of Fame
abmk said:
utter load of bullcr*p. are you on some sort of mission to prove yourself as more clueless than everyone else over here ?

federer played much worse in 2010 USO SF than in 2007-09 --- that's why he lost to djokovic.

djokovic did not have a top 10 win in 2010 until that win vs federer in USO SF.( that's 9 months)

10 was his worst season from 2007-16.

2010 USO probably not even in his top 5 USOs form wise - 2011, 2015, 2012, 2008 , 2007 and 2009 were better.
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You do everything to diminish Nadal's achievements, huh? Djokovic in USO 2010 final would beat any player but peak Nadal.
 
U

User123

Hall of Fame
tennis_pro said:
It's true but I don't think there's anyone who can argue Nadal was better on any surface this year compared to 2008/2010/2013. The competition was so much stronger back then, even in 2010 which I consider an average year competition wise.

Sets 2-4 against Del Potro were probably as good as Nadal's ever been on HC or close to it but then again - it's one match in an entire season.
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Tennis is in a weak era starting from 2014, it is well known.
 
abmk

abmk

Bionic Poster
User123 said:
You do everything to diminish Nadal's achievements, huh? Djokovic in USO 2010 final would beat any player but peak Nadal.
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oh really ? didn't I mention RG 2013 as a tough draw for Nadal even though he had an easy final ?

was that diminishing nadal's achievements ?

......

Djokovic barely beat a clearly below par federer in the semi. If federer didn't play a below par match out of nowhere in the USO 2010 SF, he'd have beaten djokovic of USO 10 final or the semi in 4 sets tops.

If you are talking about anyone else in the draw, yes, djokovic would probably beat anyone else in the draw ...not so sure about Murray (if he had not been upset by Stan). Also defending champ Delpo was out due to injury.

Saying 2010 USO djokovic was peak djokovic is laughable.
 
U

User123

Hall of Fame
abmk said:
oh really ? didn't I mention RG 2013 as a tough draw for Nadal even though he had an easy final ?

was that diminishing nadal's achievements ?

......

Djokovic barely beat a clearly below par federer in the semi. If federer didn't play a below par match out of nowhere in the USO 2010 SF, he'd have beaten djokovic of USO 10 final or the semi in 4 sets tops.

If you are talking about anyone else in the draw, yes, djokovic would probably beat anyone else in the draw ...not so sure about Murray (if he had not been upset by Stan). Also defending champ Delpo was out due to injury.

Saying 2010 USO djokovic was peak djokovic is laughable.
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Maybe not peak, but for sure he found his form at this tournament. Nadal deserves some credit for playing his best ever (in my opinion) tennis on hardcourt in that tournament.
 
JoelSandwich

JoelSandwich

Hall of Fame
abmk said:
oh really ? didn't I mention RG 2013 as a tough draw for Nadal even though he had an easy final ?

was that diminishing nadal's achievements ?

......

Djokovic barely beat a clearly below par federer in the semi. If federer didn't play a below par match out of nowhere in the USO 2010 SF, he'd have beaten djokovic of USO 10 final or the semi in 4 sets tops.

If you are talking about anyone else in the draw, yes, djokovic would probably beat anyone else in the draw ...not so sure about Murray (if he had not been upset by Stan). Also defending champ Delpo was out due to injury.

Saying 2010 USO djokovic was peak djokovic is laughable.
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I thought he played a pretty solid match in the final though, those first 3 sets were good
Obviously it wasn't a peak performance, but he wasn't bad at all, Nadal just played his best Us Open match
 
abmk

abmk

Bionic Poster
User123 said:
Maybe not peak, but for sure he found his form at this tournament. Nadal deserves some credit for playing his best ever (in my opinion) tennis on hardcourt in that tournament.
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JoelSandwich said:
I thought he played a pretty solid match in the final though, those first 3 sets were good
Obviously it wasn't a peak performance, but he wasn't bad at all, Nadal just played his best Us Open match
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yeah, I agree. Nadal played great tennis in USO 2010 and deserves credit for that.

Djokovic played some good tennis, but it sure as hell wasn't his peak level. That's what I was pointing out.
 
BGod

BGod

G.O.A.T.
2010 and by a good margin.

For a forum that values Slams so much you'd think this wouldn't even be a question. He got his 3 Masters and made 1 of his 2 WTFs.

2013 saw him not play AO and 1st Round loss at Wimbledon.
 
U

User123

Hall of Fame
tennisaddict said:
LOL. you need to watch highlights all over again of all years.

If you mean just that year, even that is doubtful because Novak had 0 top 10 wins entering USO and had more DF than aces for the year
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If you want to know what means to have a bad season then watch Nadal in 2015. Djokovic 2010 wasn't anything close to being so bad. And yes, I mean that year.
 
E36BMWM3

E36BMWM3

Hall of Fame
I'm still baffled by 2008... Dessimated the Europen Clay leading up to his most dominant performance at the FO, and with a short 1-week turnaround captured Queens and beat the best grass courter in what's arguably the best match of all time. He didn't stop and picked up Olympic Gold, Toronto and the no.1 ranking. Still impressed AF, to the point where I almost felt bad for what he put his body through. But this man's a Saiyan, a monster... complete monster
 
Bender

Bender

G.O.A.T.
In terms of highest playing level = 2008
In terms of highest success = 2010
In terms of success off his favourite surface = 2013
In terms of comeback = 2010, 2017
 
L

Ledigs

Legend
BlueClayGOAT said:
Winning slams on each surface within a calendar year is easier for Rafa than for Fed or Nole because Rafa gets 2 chances a year on HC, while Fed and Nole get only one chance a year on clay.
Either way, both Nole and Fed have held major titles on all 3 surfaces simultaneously, so they're up there as well.
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To put it another way, Fed and Nole get two chances a year on their best surface to win majors, which makes Nadal's GS tally even more impressive. Fed should have won 10 each on the AO and USO by now. If they were clay, Nadal would have 20+ GS.
 
metsman

metsman

G.O.A.T.
Hawaiian grip said:
So you're telling us none of Federer, Nadal or Djokovic ever dominated a season? You should think about changing the yardstick you're using if that's the case, although I'm under the impression it is different depending on the player we're talking about. Three GS on three different surfaces IS dominant, whether you like it or no. Nobody gives a horsecrap he lost in Queen's to Feli. At least no one objective.

[...]

It's got to be 2010, though funny enough, I don't think that was peak Nadal on any surface. Peak Grassdal and Claydal both happened in 2008, and his best hardcourt showdown was most definitely in 2013, but overall his 2010 season is the best he's ever had. Prior to 2010 he wasn't good enough a HC player, and post 2011 he hasn't been good enough on grass. 2010 gets my vote.
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Saying Nadal dominated anywhere off clay in 2010 is like saying Federer dominated clay in 2009 and at least Federer won something big on clay besides RG. Actually, considering competition, Fed's 2009 is probably just as good/dominant as Nadal's 2010. 09 Fed has a chance to go for the CYGS in 2010. Yet, no one is going to say 09 Fed was dominant. The bar for dominance is very high among players of this caliber and honestly in all of the open era, no player has truly dominated multiple years in a row besides Federer and Borg imo.

The only real stretches of domination Nadal had were 08 Hamburg-09 Rome and 13 IW-USO although the Wimbledon 1R throws a major damper on that.
 
metsman

metsman

G.O.A.T.
Ledigs said:
To put it another way, Fed and Nole get two chances a year on their best surface to win majors, which makes Nadal's GS tally even more impressive. Fed should have won 10 each on the AO and USO by now. If they were clay, Nadal would have 20+ GS.
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Lame ass excuse. First of all, hard is not Federer's best surface so that's a false equivalency. Federer/Nadal best surfaces are off hard courts, but only one of them was able to adapt to be completely dominant on hard too, which is why there's a gap between them. We've had two GS on hard for almost 30 years now. Knowing that, Nadal and Tio should have developed his game for the surfaces that mattered most.

To turn your argument around, Nadal should have won 10 majors on another surface off his best surface like Federer did. Federer and Nadal have one chance a year on their best surface, and in fact Federer is at the steep disadvantage here because his best surface stupidly doesn't have any masters and has much fewer events, so that hurts his ranking.

With Novak, yes his best surface is hard so he gets an "advantage" over Nadal, but again the fact that the tour is a majority hard is not exactly new information so Djokovic's "advantage" is more like better preparation. The only real advantage Novak has gotten is that hard court conditions have majorly skewed towards his preferences, but of course that has benefited Nadal as well.
 
MichaelNadal

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
I can't pick, too much epicness. 08 holds a special, nostalgic, 23yo me happiness that I'm most grateful for. 2010 is ridic and unexpected after 09, and 2013 is just epic af.
 
BlueClayGOAT

BlueClayGOAT

Semi-Pro
To repeat: 2010 was not dominant in the same way stretches of 2008-09 and 2013 were. There's a reason Rafa's 2010 is never included in the lists of most dominant years ever like Fed's 2005/06, Mac's 1984, and Nole's 2011/15.
Slam titles aren't everything.
Rafa lost before the semis only once in 2013, at Wimbledon. He had a better W/L record for the season than for 2010.
Federer in 2007 had more titles and a better W/L record than Rafa in 2010. He won 3 majors, won the WTF, and 2 Masters (Hamburg on clay beating Rafa in the final, and also Cincy). But that season is never included in the most dominant seasons of all time- his own 2004, 2005, 2006 and Mac's 1984 and Nole's 2011/15 were all better in those terms. There's no reason Rafa's 2010 should be included, either. To be honest, Rafa has never had a spectacular season on those levels- but 2013 comes closest IMO.

In 2013, he dominated both HC and clay- won IW, Montreal, Cincinnati, and the USO on HC, and he also won Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, and RG on clay, besides a couple of other tournaments on clay. Lost in the MC final and the WTF final to Novak.

The only black mark really was losing early at Wimbledon, otherwise it was a stunning season.
 
Slightly D1

Slightly D1

Professional
2010 was incredible and he nearly matched it in 2011 but there was this one guy who had arguably the greatest single season ever.

The only thing that ruined 2013 for me was that first round loss. At the time Nadal was still considered a top grass court player but after that loss the narrative changed completely.
 
clayqueen

clayqueen

Talk Tennis Guru
baselinevolley said:
Which one do you think qualifies as Rafa's best season? Obvious contenders are

2008: First Wimbledon title, 2 majors, Olympic Gold. Won arguably the greatest tennis match of all times by defeating the greatest grass court player ever.

2010: Unparalleled dominance. Three majors. Clean sweep of the cost season, his only ever clean sweep.

2013: This gets my vote. Two majors, both won by defeating Djokovic who was GOATING in those years. Clean sweep of the North American hard court season, something which is rarely done (not even by Federer or Djokovic). Won five masters, his personal best in any year.

2017: Let's say he wins one more masters and WTF. Can this season qualify as his personal best? Two majors and another final. Finally solving the WTF puzzle. Best ever serving performance throughout the year (with the exception of uso 2010). Can be classified as the shared greatest comeback along with Federer.
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Let's address this at the end of the season.
 
BlueClayGOAT

BlueClayGOAT

Semi-Pro
Fedeonic said:
Yes, but Nadal is a more complete player now than in 2013.
Better was 2008-early 2009 actually.
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Arguable if he's better now than in 2013.
I think his FH, movement and defense were all better in 2013.
BH is probably better now, as is the serve, but both are relatively incremental improvements over 2013 IMO.

2008-09 was just a monster in terms of sheer speed and his FH was arguably the best it's ever been.
 
sbengte

sbengte

G.O.A.T.
titoelcolombiano said:
2010 with out a doubt. Dominated in terms of slams and masters titles.
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It all depends on the definition of 'best season'. If it is about when he won the most, then it won't even be a point of discussion.

I think he was way better in 2011 than 2010. 2010 he had no confidence at the start of the year but got progressively better but the competition was pretty pathetic from about IW to USO. Somewhat similar to 2017. Nadal cleaned up with hardly any resistance. 2011-2012 on the other hand, Nadal was super confident and playing great tennis buoyed up by his 2010 season. Just that he ran into Djoko 2.0 so he doesn't have the titles to show for it.
 
kevaninho

kevaninho

Hall of Fame
tennis_pro said:
Tell me about Nadal's domination on hard courts in 2010, please. And please tell me about his grass court domination in that season while you're at it when he got straight setted by Lopez in Queen's (should've lost in the previous round to Istomin too) and was 2 sets to 1 down against monsters like Petzschner and Haase while also dodging a bullet against Soderling in the QF of Wimbledon.
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I love how people say a certain player 'should've lost' a match LOL A tennis match is decided on very fine margins. To make a comment like that is plain stupid. A win is a win. Its not like say, soccer, where a team can dominate possession, and shots on goal, but still lose.

This is tennis. There is no 'should've won', unless you miss an easy overhead on match point then the other guy comes back to win , i.e Novak at RG.
 
tennis_pro

tennis_pro

Bionic Poster
kevaninho said:
I love how people say a certain player 'should've lost' a match LOL A tennis match is decided on very fine margins. To make a comment like that is plain stupid. A win is a win. Its not like say, soccer, where a team can dominate possession, and shots on goal, but still lose.

This is tennis. There is no 'should've won', unless you miss an easy overhead on match point then the other guy comes back to win , i.e Novak at RG.
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All this argument about getting straight setted by Lopez and being 1-2 down in sets against Petzschner and Haase at Wimbledon but you concetrate on Istomin :D.
 
BlueClayGOAT

BlueClayGOAT

Semi-Pro
BeatlesFan said:
The season he won three slams. Whatever he does this year can't compare because he cannot win three majors.
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If he wins Paris, Shanghai, and the WTF, I'd put this season almost on par with 2010- considering that the competition in 2010 wasn't all that great, just like 2017.
 
TheAverageFedererFan

TheAverageFedererFan

Professional
Hard to say EXACTLY.

2008: He won French Open, Wimbledon, Olympics, Monte Carlo, Hamburg, Canada, Barcelona and Queens. Had SF's at AO and USO. Year End #1
2010: He won French Open, Wimbledon, US Open, Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome and Tokyo. Had QF at AO and Year End #1
2013: He won French Open, US Open, Indian Wells, Madrid, Rome Canada, Cincinnati, Sao Paolo, Acapulco, and Barcelona. And Year End #1
2017: He won Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, French Open and US Open

2008 for Consistency
2010 for Dominance
2013 for Dominance on Another Surface
2017 for Comeback
 
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