AnOctorokForDinner
Talk Tennis Guru
Quickpolling.
Nadal's grasscourt peak
- Thread starter AnOctorokForDinner
- Start date
ForehandCross
G.O.A.T.
2008 though 2007 was close behind in the final (His run to the final was messy but final level was great) same for 2010 which will be 3rd.
Third Serve
Talk Tennis Guru
2008
...
2007
2010
2018
...
2011
2006
...
2019
...
2007
2010
2018
...
2011
2006
...
2019
OldschoolKIaus
Hall of Fame
Connors in 4
ForehandCross
G.O.A.T.
Murray has done it ,If I remember right?
SamprasisGOAT
Hall of Fame
Best he’s ever played on grass is 2018 semi against Novak.
Breakpointerer
Legend
I agree with this.
swordtennis
G.O.A.T.
2008 and 2010. But i am not going to hate and diss djokovic as TTW does consistently. Nadals 2011 draw was probably tougher than them all.
Phoenix1983
G.O.A.T.
2007. Only reason the final had a different result to 2008 was that Federer was better.
swordtennis
G.O.A.T.
As a single match at wimbledon i am going to agree with this. Unreal djokovic fended him off. He played a great grass match and tactics. Big Props to nadalovic on grass! Booyah!!!!
Hitman
Bionic Poster
Actually it wasn't a single match, it was the whole event. Take a look at his match with Del Potro the round before, that was a five star classic that is only overshadowed because of the semi. Nadal was incredible from his first round until his last.
Third Serve
Talk Tennis Guru
He was much worse before the final though
SamprasisGOAT
Hall of Fame
From the baseline it’s as good as it gets. Djokovics flatter and deeper shots won it in the end. That and his mental strength.
Martin J
Hall of Fame
Makes sense, Fed peaked in 2015, it's only natural that Nadal, five years younger, peaks five years later (2020).
AnOctorokForDinner
Talk Tennis Guru
Nah, think it's 2009. Didn't drop a single set in the entire grass season, not even a single point! True peak of the morally unbeatable.
Hitman
Bionic Poster
I'm sure he played Boodles that year and lost. OK, that was an exho.
Im(moral) Winner
G.O.A.T.
2013
Third Serve
Talk Tennis Guru
Darcis goat
Im(moral) Winner
G.O.A.T.
Great forehand
RaulRamirez
Legend
Yes, but...he backed it up pretty well last year. Not 2018 level, but reasonably close.
That's why "peak years" don't always have neat time cutoffs - a lot of twists and turns to players' careers.
Hitman
Bionic Poster
2019 was a decent year, of course. But I think a step below 2018.
ThiemPlayer
Rookie
2007 Nadal was better. 2008 he won because of Federer not being prepared as well due to mono earlier in the season.
BeatlesFan
Bionic Poster
I agree. 2008 he benefitted from Fed being mentally scarred from the recent beat down at RG. Rafa’s highest level on grass was 2018 semi against Novak. He did everything better in 2018 than 2008 except declined movement. He was also at a very high level in the 2007 Wimbledon final, but Fed was still peak then.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
2011 but GOATovic was too much for buttpicker 
Mainad
Bionic Poster
You remember right. He did it twice (2013,2016). The other 5 players to do it in the Open Era, apart from Nadal, are: McEnroe (1981, Connors (1982), Becker (1985), Sampras (1995,1999), Hewitt (2002).
Sampras and Murray are the only 2 players in the Open Era to do it on multiple occasions.
swordtennis
G.O.A.T.
Whoa You are right.
That SF consumed me.
What a match the ND forehand to RN bh exchanges were monsterous. Nadals bh was Epic during that run. Djokovic was lucky his fh was clicking if it was off he loses that match imo.
tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
2012-2017
Sport
G.O.A.T.
Federer was at his absolute peak at Wimbledon 2008. Federer was only affected by the adverse effects of mononucelosis the first 2-3 months of 2008, but the rest of 2008 and 2009 he was at his peak (in 2009 he won his only RG title). According to this New York Times' article doctors said Federer was recovered from the adverse effects of mononucleosis as soon as late February. He received medical clearance to play normally the 27th of February 2008. Reference: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/07/sports/07iht-arena.3.10811374.html?pagewanted=all
Federer arrived to the Wimbledon final in July (more than 4 months after the medical clearance). Federer was moving perfectly in Wimbledon 2008, and he arrived to the final without losing any set. He was 26 and didn't look less fast than in 2007. So he was at his peak. Even the 2007 final was kinda close, Nadal had 4 break points in the 5th set. 26 years old Roger was 100% healthy and at his peak in the 2008 Wimbledon final.
Federer in 2008 didn’t play his best tennis until set 3, blew a big lead in set 2 and was mentally scarred from the RG thrashing, hence why he wasn’t at his peak compared to 2007 (where he beat nadal at Hamburg and put in a respectable RG showing)
StrongRule
Talk Tennis Guru
JoelSandwich
Hall of Fame
2008>2007>2010>2006>2011
ThiemPlayer
Rookie
This is incorrect. Roger lost lots of practice blocks due to the mono. Similar to how Nadal had bad preparation defensively at AO19. Nadal didn't lose a set till the final and then was promptly destroyed in the final. Nadal claimed after he lacked preparation.
MeatTornado
Talk Tennis Guru
I'd love to see 2008 Rafa square off with his 2018 self. They're practically two completely different players. Would be an incredible match.
Sport
G.O.A.T.
Bad analogy. Federer was 26 years old at Wimbledon 2008, Nadal was 32 years old at the AO 2019. Nadal was much older. You should compare Nadal at the AO 2019 (32 years old) with Federer at Wimbledon 2014 (32 years old).
You are the GOAT Nadal fan.
PMChambers
Hall of Fame
I went 2007. Just because you win doesn't mean you played your best. Fed was still mentally tough having won nearly everything he played.
This reminds me of Becker who's best matches he lost to Sampras. He played better in 90s losing than 80s.
This reminds me of Becker who's best matches he lost to Sampras. He played better in 90s losing than 80s.
ThiemPlayer
Rookie
Regardless if you accept the analogy or not, it's a known fact that mono affected Federer's training that year, hence the bad results in general in 2008. Coupled with the beatdown at FO08, he was nowhere near his confident best at W08. Yes it was good enough to beat others easily because that's how good he was in general back then, but margins are thin, he wasn't at his best and credit to Nadal for taking advantage of a less than 100% Federer.
Backspin1183
Talk Tennis Guru
And lose to Djokovic as all players at their peaks do.
Subway Tennis
Legend
A closely run thing between 2010 and 2008. The natural instinct is to pick 2008, because it was "good enough" to beat Federer. Also possibly because his movement on grass had matured by 2008 and was probably at its absolute best that year (much improved over 2006, 2007).
In all other respects, his 2010 version is better (imo). As soon as he returned from injury in 2010, Nadal looked like he was eating nails for breakfast and that ultra-attacking game looked scary on grass.
In all other respects, his 2010 version is better (imo). As soon as he returned from injury in 2010, Nadal looked like he was eating nails for breakfast and that ultra-attacking game looked scary on grass.
