Nadal's injury claims: January 2012 - March 2013

[Smasher08]

Rafael Nadal’s Damn Knees: A Timeline

Mar 14, 2013 1:36 PM EDT

Sidelined for a year with a nasty joint injury, Rafael Nadal returns to the hard court today against Roger Federer. Will his legs hold up? Sujay Kumar runs down Rafa’s aches and pains.

It’s unfortunate that 11-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, known for his screams of “Vamos!” and wedgies, has bum knees. But after being sidelined for seven months, “The King of Clay” is finally back. In his first hard court tournament in nearly one year, he’ll battle Roger Federer at the quarterfinals of Indian Wells on Thursday.

Even for tennis watchers, the saga of Nadal’s pesky knees has been hard to follow. Sometimes he seemed to be recovering, only to slip back in devastating defeat. There was also a stomach bug in there somewhere. Nadal’s broken English (“I suffer a tendinitis”) hasn’t always helped clear things up.

To keep the joint points straight, what follows is a handy timeline of Nadal’s no good, very bad, injury-riddled 2012.

January 15, 2012
The day when Nadal’s No.1 rival becomes a piece of furniture. The night before his first match at the Australian Open, he hurts his right knee. In a hotel room. While sitting.

"I was sitting on a chair in the hotel, I felt like a crack on the knee. [It was] really strange. I stand up. I felt the knee a little bit strange. I moved the leg like this two times to try to find the feeling. After the second time, the knee stays with an unbelievable pain completely straight. I have no movement on the knee. I wasn't 100 percent sure I would have a chance to play.”

January 29
Hotel chairs be damned! Nadal coasts to the championship match in Melbourne. At this point, he’s now made the final of six out of seven of his last grand slam tournaments. Unfortunately, he’s been thrashed in the last two by Novak Djokovic. Here he loses to Djokovic again, this time in a grueling five set, five hour and 53-minute hard-court match.

March 30
More signs of trouble emerge. After resting his knees for the month of February and a few weeks after being dumped by Federer in the semifinals at Indian Wells, Nadal withdraws from Miami with a left knee injury.

"It looks like it's nothing really different than happened a few times in the past," he says. "Hopefully with a few days off and with the right treatment, I will be in the right conditions to start to practice on the clay.”

June 11
Boy was he right. Nadal spends April and May sliding his way to victories at Monte Carlo, Barcelona, and Rome on clay. The maestro from Majorca then wins his record seventh French Open title, miraculously dropping just one set (to Djokovic in the final) the entire tournament. It’s actually the only set he’s dropped in 23 matches on red clay this season. In tennis terms, he’s an absolute monster.

“I really don't know how many more years I will be here playing. Is impossible to predict the future, no? I will be here until my physical respect me, until the injuries.”

June 15
Uh oh. Nadal is bounced by Philipp Kohschreiber (who?) at a grass-court warm up tournament for Wimbledon.

"It's more a tennis problem than a mental problem," Nadal said. "The transition is difficult. It depends how much time you have. Playing on grass can sometimes be a bit of a lottery."

June 28
In what’s hailed as one of the greatest upsets in tennis history, 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol absolutely dismantles Nadal in five sets. The New York Timesnotes that Nadal doesn’t show any visible signs of knee pain in the match, though he slipped into the net on one point. In the third set, he bumped into Rosol on a changeover.

Nadal’s diagnosis: “Is not a tragedy. It’s only a tennis match.”

July 4
Yep, he’s hurt. Nadal pulls out of an exhibition match with Djokovic. It’s his left knee again.“The doctors have been checking my knee and I suffer a tendinitis which will have me away from any practice or matches for 15 days.”

July 12
Can’t blow off steam through tennis before the Olympics? Head to Sardinia! Nadal’s spotted hanging out on the beach fishing, harpooning, and even Jet Skiing. All with his “rockin’ shirtless physique,” that is.

July 19
The saddest day of his career: Nadal withdraws from the London Olympic Games. His uncle and coach says it’s those same pesky knees. The Spanish newspaper El Pais reveals that Nadal’s loss at Wimbledon was connected to his knee. The New York Times reports:

“[A]ccording to Spanish newspaper El Pais, Nadal twice underwent magnetic resonance imaging scans during Wimbledon because of concern about his knees, particularly his left knee. After the loss to Rosol, El Pais reported that he consulted with his personal physician Angel Cotorro, who also works with the Spanish Tennis Federation and then returned to Vitoria to receive injections from Mikel Sanchez, the same physician who has administered platelet-rich plasma therapy to Nadal in the past to address his tendinitis.”

August 15
And there goes New York. Nadal tweets that he’s out of the U.S. Open. That’s two major tournaments. Djokovic and Murray say it must be serious. This doesn’t bode well.

Federer: “It’s very surprising, because it was nothing that we heard of before the injury. He played so well on clay and then actually seemed fine at Wimbledon. He had more time by losing earlier at Wimbledon. So it came as a big surprise now, these two pullouts for me. Even the Olympics, too. So I’m sad for him.”

August 17
Nadal’s doctor says that the star is suffering from Hoffa’s syndrome. That’s when the knee’s fat pad gets pinched between the thigh bone and kneecap. Ouch. While it’s “annoying and painful” he says it’s not significant. For Nadal, this really isn’t anything terribly new.

September 3
This guy can’t catch a break. Nadal announces he’ll be out two more months with a torn patella tendon. His rehab is going OK though—he won’t need surgery.

September 24
Confession: in his first major interview since Wimbledon, Nadal tells the Daily Mail that his knees have been a pain all year. He’s been killing time golfing. But is his career over?

“Was it a mistake to play at Wimbledon? Maybe, but when you are playing well it is hard to stop. At Roland Garros I had to play with anti-inflammatories to get through. After that I felt really bad. My practice before Wimbledon was terrible. I played the first round with injections, otherwise it would have been impossible. That doesn’t help the knee.”

December 21
It’s winter and still no sign that Nadal’ll be back. He’s not convinced either.
"I have my doubts. It's normal. We are talking about a knee, so of course I am afraid to see how it is going respond ... I'm prepared to accept that at the start my knee might not respond well and I may have to take it easy, mixing periods of play and rest for the first three months."
In an interview from Majorca, Nadal tells the Times of London that he’s not ready.

“The doctors say that the images are very good, so that is a big calm for me, but I still feel something. I need to be careful. I need to be focused on how the knee is getting better or worse every day and don’t make a mistake that can be negative for my future. Not yet do I have the feeling that I am 100 percent ready to compete, to say, ‘I’m going to go there, I will be ready to run for every ball, to play aggressive, to do what I want with my legs and then try to play my best tennis to win.’ ”

December 25
And a few days later, Nadal drops out of his hotly anticipated return tournament in Abu Dhabi. As cruel fate would have it, this time it isn’t his knee! He has anasty stomach ache.

“My rehab has gone well, my knee feels good and I was looking forward to competing. Unfortunately doctors have informed me that my body needs to rest in order to fight this stomach virus.”

December 29
There goes the Australian Open. Tummy ache knocks out Nadal.

Head doctor Angel Ruiz-Cotorro: “Rafa Nadal suffered last week a viral condition that caused gastroenteritis with a high fever for four to five days.”

January 1, 2013
Nadal’s publicist Benito Pérez-Barbadillo reveals that on December 20, the star played golf on a cold day. He “didn’t feel well at dinner” which led to his stomach bug. He also reveals that Nadal was hurting as early as the French Open.

"At the French Open he took painkillers in the last two matches. Then, after what he considers his best French Open ever, he played in Halle, also because of his commitment with the tournament. Then he came back in Mallorca before Wimbledon. He felt a lot of pain also in practice, but you can't say you feel pain to other players."

February 5
Nadal is finally back in action after seven months. So what if he loses the final on clay in Chile? He’s back!

February 18
He’s really back, as he wins on clay in Brazil. And his knees are fine.
"When the knee is feeling better like today I feel like that I can do more of the things that I used to do my entire life. If the pain is bearable like it was today, then it's fine."

March 3
A sign that things are better: Nadal goes to the beach and Jet Skis with his girlfriend. And when you’re feeling good, it’s sombrero time! Nadal absolutely crushes world No. 4 David Ferrer in the Acapulco finals.

March 14
In his first hard-court tournament in nearly a year, Nadal makes the quarterfinals of Indian Wells. On the other side of the net, a familiar face: Roger Federer.

We all know what's happened since then.

 

[sbengte]

This thread should be made sticky. I wanted to put together all his quotes from last year while talking about the mystery of his injuries on another thread but couldn't be bothered. This writer has done exactly that !

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

Good thread. Tell me this isn't an exhibition in histrionics.

Some will say he and his camp are just very open and honest, well that isn't always a good thing. There is now this stigma surrounding Nadal and the worst thing about it is the general public have been sucker punched into believing this image of Nadal as the wounded animal and feeling his victories have some sort of amplified status or greatness, but actually he's been plenty fit enough to play near or at the very top of his game for most of his career. Nadal has been very fortunate in his career to be blessed with good enough health to compete at an amazing level for a very sustained period of time, only properly interrupted on a few occasions.

 

[Warmaster]

Federer: “It’s very surprising, because it was nothing that we heard of before the injury. He played so well on clay and then actually seemed fine at Wimbledon. He had more time by losing earlier at Wimbledon. So it came as a big surprise now, these two pullouts for me. Even the Olympics, too. So I’m sad for him.”

:lol:


The chair comments are still the best though.

 

[sbengte]

but actually he's been plenty fit enough to play near or at the very top of his game for most of his career. Nadal has been very fortunate in his career to be blessed with good enough health to compete at an amazing level for a very sustained period of time, only properly interrupted on a few occasions.

Nadal has admitted as much himself in a rare moment of candor ( I guess Toni forgot to give him the script for this particular interview )

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showpost.php?p=6192780&postcount=1

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

I saw this interview snippet and translation posted by cc0509 in another thread (thanks !), I hope this wasn't discussed on any other thread here.

I found Rafa's candour refreshing as he admits that he wasn't as seriously injured in the last 7 years as it is made out to be and that he couldn't have remained in the top 2 for so long had he suffered serious injuries (which is the truth). It is actually people like Delpotro and Tsonga who have lost almost over a year because of their injuries and yet if there were a random poll to be conducted here on who is the most injured player in the ATP, Rafa would win it hands down

So why do the Rafa fans believe their idol is forever injured and find an excuse for every single loss of his ? Why don't they realize that injuries and pains are part of tennis and every single player plays with some minor injury or the other most of the time , just that they don't speak about it all the time like Rafa does ? Why don't they have as much honesty as the guy himself to admit that if he was all that injured, he couldn't have stayed at the top for so long ?


Here is the link to the interview in Spanish:

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/depor...lpepidep_1/Tes

Q. "Aquí no regalan nada / todo tiene un alto precio / peldaño que vas
subiendo / peldaño que hay que pagar"
"There are no gifts given here / everything has a high price / every
step you climb / has to be paid for" the words say. What mental toll
have you paid for your losses to Nole?


RN. One loses a bit of intensity over the years. The intensity in your
belief in yourself, in your concentration, in being positive, in
believing things are going to go well.. these are all in the mind. You
gradually lose a bit of this over the years. You get burnt out by
competition. I've spent seven years practically without being out of the
top two in the world. It's the same as when they say I have a lot of
injuries. I don't get injured much. I've had problems many times, but
those that have been injured a great deal are Del Potro, Tsonga.. With
seven years without dropping from the top two in the world and with the
way tennis functions, it's impossible for me to have been much injured.
It's always the same. They talk for the sake of talking. Many people
write giving their impression, not quoting the statistics. I've had
difficult moments, problems, but not really serious injuries... and it
appears I get injured a lot.

Quoting this here for relevance.

 

[moonballs]

The Nadal fans need to believe Nadal got Rosol'ed only because of injuries. Rafa couldn't really let his fans down, could he? There are people who even believe the 2009 loss to Soderlin was injury related.

 

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Nadal better not lose Wimbledon, othewise that list is going to grow.

 

[Warmaster]

Nadal better not lose Wimbledon, othewise that list is going to grow.

Didn't play a warmup tournament. He's got it covered.

 

[cc0509]

LOL, classic! Great review of the "injury story."

 

[cluckcluck]

This is hilarious. It's more entertaining when it's all together. Just shows how ridiculous this "injury" is.

 

[kragster]

The "Rafa has never been injured" theory is just as crazy as the "Rafa is ALWAYS injured" theory. It may be strange that Rafa looked great at FO and then suddenly was out of action. However it is equally strange that a top pro in his prime would take 7 months off for the heck of it. In the end, the truth has to be somewhere in between. One scoop injury, one scoop exaggeration.

My sense is that Rafa is a bit of a hypochondriac and hence his pain tolerance is lower than that of other athletes. I do sincerely believe he has tendinitis, but it is not as severe as his camp would have you believe.

As a Rafa fan, his accomplishments period are what make him respect him. I do not need to think of him as an injured warrior to respect what he has achieved. 12 slams is 12 slams.

 

[tennis_pro]

Gooby, please... forever injured. Can't this man for once lose with dignity?

 

[swordtennis]

LMAO! Mega Epic Good post op!
You need to get the list updated to start from 2005!
Not sure the site has the bandwidth to post that tho.
Some FedFans we want to punch in the face!
Almost all the NadFans we want to run over with a truck!

 

[Smasher08]

Good thread. Tell me this isn't an exhibition in histrionics.

Whatever are you talking about?? :lol:

Rafael Nadal expecting to play

Associated Press
Updated: June 28, 2011, 4:03 PM ET

WIMBLEDON, England -- Defending champion Rafael Nadal completed an hour-long practice session Tuesday, hours after announcing he would play in the Wimbledon quarterfinals against Mardy Fish.

"He will be 100 percent. Everything's fine," said Toni Nadal, his coach and uncle.

Nadal, a two-time champion at the All England Club, hurt his left foot in the first set of Monday's fourth-round win over Juan Martin del Potro. He twice called for a trainer during the set but still managed to win 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4.

After the match, he went to a London hospital for an MRI exam, but the results were negative.

Nadal arrived for practice more than an hour later than scheduled Tuesday afternoon, but he beat the showers and hit for 1 hour, 7 minutes with 16-year-old British junior Evan Hoyt.

Nadal did not move around the court much, but his uncle said that was because of the slippery conditions, not the injury.

"We couldn't do much today because the court was quite damp and it was dangerous, but everything's fine," Toni Nadal said. "For tomorrow, there will be no problem."

Ignacio Munoz, a doctor with the Spanish Tennis Federation, said the MRI scan had showed some swelling around the peroneal tendon in his ankle but "no serious injury in the bone or the ligaments." He said there was no risk in Nadal playing on Wednesday.

Munoz said Nadal had been particularly worried during Monday's match because he hurt the same ankle several years earlier.

"He was afraid it could be something similar so he was quite afraid during the match," Munoz said. "That's the reason we did an MRI after the match."

Nadal said after his win over del Potro that he felt something "crush" in his left foot, making him worry that it might be broken. He said he even contemplated retiring from the match.

Nadal will play Fish in the second quarterfinal match on Court 1 on Wednesday. Toni said it was the worst possible scheduling for Nadal because of possible rain delays.

"It's fine to play on Court 1," Toni Nadal said. "It's logical that (Andy) Murray plays on Centre. What I'm saying is I would prefer the first match probably, if I could choose, but no problem."

Nadal is 30-2 at Wimbledon since the start of the 2006 tournament. He lost to Roger Federer that year and the next in the final but then beat the Swiss in the 2008 championship match. Nadal was unable to defend his title in 2009 because of injury, but he won again in 2010.

The top-ranked Spaniard also won his sixth French Open title this month, equaling Bjorn Borg's record. Overall, Nadal has won 10 major titles, including one at the Australian Open and one at the U.S. Open.

 

[Talker]

I don't think these were injury claims by Nadal. More like complaints.

How can a virus be considered an injury?
Or the knees are sore, not an injury but a common condition in sports.

 

[TheNightHunter]

How do any of these injury claims take away from Nadal's 12 slams or Masters record?

They don't.

Distraction can be an occasionally useful tactic to take the focus away from the real issues, but it can only take you that far. Every time Nadal gets 1 step closer to Federer's slam count threads like these pop up. Like clockwork.

Not that it's a bad thread per se, just that its intent is quite obvious.

 

[Smasher08]

Another gem.

RAFAEL NADAL INJURY REPORT: THE ABDOMINAL KILL ME, NO?

September 14, 2009

Rafael Nadal was thumped by Juan Martin del Potro in the semis of the US Open on Sunday, losing 2-6, 2-6, 2-6. After the match he gave full credit to his opponent, but also came clean on the abdominal injury that’s obviously been bothering him all tournament:

I am very happy how I came back, but, now I had the first problem of the abdominal in Montreal after the match of Petzschner second round. I must gonna explain because I say during the week I prefer to didn’t speak about the injury during the week because I am in tournament right now.

I can say after Montreal I was doing a test. I did a test in Montreal, and the doctor didn’t see a lot, but the pain is still there. Cincinnati, the pain increase a little bit more. After the semifinals against Djokovic, I went to do an MRI, and I had some edema, strained muscle, and I think during these two weeks the strain is converted into a little bit of rupture, no? A little bit break.

Yeah, was tough to play few matches like this. But at the same time, was important for maybe play this tournament, try my best. It’s one of the most important tournaments of the year, and I had to try, no?

He said the injury made it difficult to deal with the windy conditions during the semifinals, especially on his serve:

I start to playing well, but when I played against the wind, I can’t serve a little bit faster, no, and I can’t change a lot of directions.

But when I was serving to the middle in the advantage, and I can say I really can’t serve outside in the deuce, no? I only can serve in the middle, because if I serve it outside, the abdominal kill me, no?

So when I play against the wind was very difficult, no?

Tennisreporters.net reports that the injury is a 15 millimeter long abdominal tear and may require a one month lay-off. Rafael Nadal has pulled out of this month’s Davis Cup semi against Israel, to be replaced by Juan Carlos Ferrero. (Spain has a deep bench, no?)

 

[SLD76]

Nadal has admitted as much himself in a rare moment of candor ( I guess Toni forgot to give him the script for this particular interview )

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showpost.php?p=6192780&postcount=1

THANK YOU!

I knew I had posted this comment myself in threads from last year but couldnt find it.

Rafa himself admitted there is no way he could be a top player year in and year out if he was very seriously injured all the time.

Maybe he slipped out of Toni's muzzle but, at least he showed common sense then. No one with a legit serious injury can be at the top of their game,, ask delpo, davydenko, blake and sharapova.

 

[Smasher08]

I don't think these were injury claims by Nadal. More like complaints.

How can a virus be considered an injury?

They're his reasons for withdrawal. Ergo, even a virus should be treated as a de facto injury.

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

How do any of these injury claims take away from Nadal's 12 slams or Masters record?

They don't.

Distraction can be an occasionally useful tactic to take the focus away from the real issues, but it can only take you that far. Every time Nadal gets 1 step closer to Federer's slam count threads like these pop up. Like clockwork.

Not that it's a bad thread per se, just that its intent is quite obvious.

I don't think that's the point in the first place. It makes them seem more incredible, but Nadal and his camp frankly are hypochondriacs (in the case of the MRI scan on the foot or whatever, literally so).

Too much drama.

If I was a Nadal fan I'd be saying exactly the same thing as well. He and his camp should not be beyond criticism even for the most ardent Nadal fan.

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

THANK YOU!

I knew I had posted this comment myself in threads from last year but couldnt find it.

Rafa himself admitted there is no way he could be a top player year in and year out if he was very seriously injured all the time.

Maybe he slipped out of Toni's muzzle but, at least he showed common sense then. No one with a legit serious injury can be at the top of their game,, ask delpo, davydenko, blake and sharapova.

Indeed. It was good and realistic for Rafa to admit this and also place himself in a context by mentioning players who have probably had equal or worse problems. The Rafa-injury-warrior stigma is too deeply engraved on the public's perception now, though.

 

[Omega_7000]

Great thread!

A list of matches lost by Nadal without citing injury might be shorter. :lol:

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

Great thread!

A list of matches lost by Nadal without citing injury might be shorter. :lol:

You laugh, but yet it may possibly even be true.

 

[TheNightHunter]

I don't think that's the point in the first place. It makes them seem more incredible, but Nadal and his camp frankly are hypochondriacs (in the case of the MRI scan on the foot or whatever, literally so).

Too much drama.

If I was a Nadal fan I'd be saying exactly the same thing as well. He and his camp should not be beyond criticism even for the most ardent Nadal fan.

Yes, there is too much drama. And the thousands of threads being written about that, plus the cheating, PED use, etc, is nothing but pure drama. And they also intensify when Nadal wins another slam.

Coincidence?

.............

 

[dafinch]

With the exception of one clueless, head-in-the-sand NNN, it's interesting how this thread brings the sound of crickets from his fans...

 

[cc0509]

THANK YOU!

I knew I had posted this comment myself in threads from last year but couldnt find it.

Rafa himself admitted there is no way he could be a top player year in and year out if he was very seriously injured all the time.

Maybe he slipped out of Toni's muzzle but, at least he showed common sense then. No one with a legit serious injury can be at the top of their game,, ask delpo, davydenko, blake and sharapova.

+1. He has a lot of brain dead fans who believe anything.

 

[pds999]

The Nadal fans need to believe Nadal got Rosol'ed only because of injuries. Rafa couldn't really let his fans down, could he? There are people who even believe the 2009 loss to Soderlin was injury related.

I am a Nadal fan and he didn't lose to Rosol because of any injury, Rosol just played lights out tennis, the like of which he has never played since and never will again. Deserved victory.

 

[TheNightHunter]

With the exception of one clueless, head-in-the-sand NNN, it's interesting how this thread brings the sound of crickets from his fans...

The title says it all. It gets tiring after a while.

What benefit do you Fedephants get from starting these threads? Do you expect anything to change? I suspect it merely helps you restore a small fraction of your shattered ego. Hence the frequency of these threads increasing whenever Nadal increases his slam count.

 

[TheNightHunter]

I don't think that's the point in the first place. It makes them seem more incredible, but Nadal and his camp frankly are hypochondriacs (in the case of the MRI scan on the foot or whatever, literally so).

Too much drama.

If I was a Nadal fan I'd be saying exactly the same thing as well. He and his camp should not be beyond criticism even for the most ardent Nadal fan.

When you say they are hypocondriacs you mean that they are extremely cautious and vigilant, and always assume the worse until proven otherwise?

What benefit does Nadal obtain from claiming he has injuries which he doesn't have? I'd like to understand this. And, the 7 month absence, as well as the absence in 2009, are those just illogical attempts at an allibi?

I somehow have trouble believing that Nadal just took all those months off for no good reason, when a lot of points and money are at stake. It doesn't make sense, except in the febrile and desperate imagination of the Fed radicals who see the legacy of their idol suddenly being threated by Nadal.

 

[TheTruth]

It doesn't matter, really. Nadal's accomplishments are what they are and have already landed him in the history books. People can start all the threads they want. They just can't expect them to taken seriously.

Hence the silence. Nadal fans don't (as a rule) litter threads with flaming as you would if you put up a similar thread about Fed. This thread would be 300 pages long.

 

[moonballs]

I am a Nadal fan and he didn't lose to Rosol because of any injury, Rosol just played lights out tennis, the like of which he has never played since and never will again. Deserved victory.

I am pretty sure you are in the minority of the Nadal fans who post here. Respect to you.

 

[dafinch]

The title says it all. It gets tiring after a while.

What benefit do you Fedephants get from starting these threads? Do you expect anything to change? I suspect it merely helps you restore a small fraction of your shattered ego. Hence the frequency of these threads increasing whenever Nadal increases his slam count.

What "shattered ego" are you referring to? Your guy hasn't been Number One for two years; he lost, at one point, 7 straight matches to the guy ranked below him and STILL hasn't gotten back to the top. He disgraced himself, both by losing to Mr. 100 and his attempted bullying tactics-and who can forget him whining like a little girl about how loud his opponent's breathing was? He STILL, after all this time, never ONCE defended a non dirt title and historically "gets tired" in the second half of the year. So, I ask again, what in the world are you babbling about?

 

[furryballs]

this Wimbledon will be telling..........

 

[TheNightHunter]

What "shattered ego" are you referring to? Your guy hasn't been Number One for two years; he lost, at one point, 7 straight matches to the guy ranked below him and STILL hasn't gotten back to the top. He disgraced himself, both by losing to Mr. 100 and his attempted bullying tactics-and who can forget him whining like a little girl about how loud his opponent's breathing was? He STILL, after all this time, never ONCE defended a non dirt title and historically "gets tired" in the second half of the year. So, I ask again, what in the world are you babbling about?

Nadal might have lost 7 in a row to the same guy, but he stood his ground in his stronghold and still has a clearly positive H2H against Djokovic.

You are very talkative, are you nervous?

 

[Omega_7000]

It doesn't matter, really. Nadal's accomplishments are what they are and have already landed him in the history books. People can start all the threads they want. They just can't expect them to taken seriously.

Hence the silence. Nadal fans don't (as a rule) litter threads with flaming as you would if you put up a similar thread about Fed. This thread would be 300 pages long.

So let me ask you something.

Did Nadal lose these matches due to injury?
1. Straight set loss to DelPotro at the US open
2. Loss to Soderling at the FO
3. Second round loss to Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon

 

[Agassifan]

Thankfully, when Rafa was getting his *** beat in 2011 by Djokovic, neither he nor his fans were claiming injury

 

[MichaelNadal]

So let me ask you something.

Did Nadal lose these matches due to injury?
1. Straight set loss to DelPotro at the US open
2. Loss to Soderling at the FO
3. Second round loss to Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon

If he was injured, so what?? It's amazing how the thought of Rafa actually being injured during a loss riles people up so much just because they want a clean, amazing upset so bad. Either way he LOST. You should be happy, no matter if he was injured or not. Black clouds and asterisks, don't matter with statistics.

Thankfully, when Rafa was getting his *** beat in 2011 by Djokovic, neither he nor his fans were claiming injury

Exactly. When he loses, he loses. If he's clearly moving terribly, like the second half of the Soderling match, then says he's injured, I believe it. When he just loses because he was out played, I believe he was outplayed.

 

[Crisstti]

I don't think that's the point in the first place. It makes them seem more incredible, but Nadal and his camp frankly are hypochondriacs (in the case of the MRI scan on the foot or whatever, literally so).

Too much drama.

If I was a Nadal fan I'd be saying exactly the same thing as well. He and his camp should not be beyond criticism even for the most ardent Nadal fan.

If he's hypochondriac at all, I'd say he has good reason to be.

Indeed. It was good and realistic for Rafa to admit this and also place himself in a context by mentioning players who have probably had equal or worse problems. The Rafa-injury-warrior stigma is too deeply engraved on the public's perception now, though.

It wasn't realistic at all actually. He was trying to make it seem like his injury problems throughout his career have been no worse than most other players, which is clearly not the case. While there are players with worse injury issues, he clearly has has more injury issues than most players... he probably is just needs to look at it that way. Even during the seven month layoff, he was like, "well, injuries are part of the sport" as if it was nothing out of the ordinary for a player to be that long out due to injury.

If he was injured, so what?? It's amazing how the thought of Rafa actually being injured during a loss riles people up so much just because they want a clean, amazing upset so bad. Either way he LOST. You should be happy, no matter if he was injured or not. Black clouds and asterisks, don't matter with statistics.

Exactly. When he loses, he loses. If he's clearly moving terribly, like the second half of the Soderling match, then says he's injured, I believe it. When he just loses because he was out played, I believe he was outplayed.

Amazing indeed. They just want to be able to say Fed is better because he never lost to X ranked player early in a slam, and it bothers them to no end that he was injured and that gets in the way of their "proof"...

Haters just can't be happy. When he lost last year in the second round, they were still upset about the "bump" (lol). Now they're upset that he was out for seven months since being out injured for months is apparently some kind of unfair advantage.

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

Yes, there is too much drama. And the thousands of threads being written about that, plus the cheating, PED use, etc, is nothing but pure drama. And they also intensify when Nadal wins another slam.

Coincidence?

.............

I'm glad you agree that there is too much drama. The other stuff seems slightly off topic. Some drama is good and some drama is bad, the constant injury updates and revelations are in bad taste when we look at just how fortunate Nadal has actually been in his illustrious and storied career, which he and his camp want to make more storied by constantly discussing injury concerns.

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

If he's hypochondriac at all, I'd say he has good reason to be.



It wasn't realistic at all actually. He was trying to make it seem like his injury problems throughout his career have been no worse than most other players, which is clearly not the case. While there are players with worse injury issues, he clearly has has more injury issues than most players... he probably is just needs to look at it that way. Even during the seven month layoff, he was like, "well, injuries are part of the sport" as if it was nothing out of the ordinary for a player to be that long out due to injury.

I respectfully disagree that it wasn't realistic and that his injury concerns actually warrant the amount of news they get. It was good to read about Nadal's understanding on just how overall fortunate he's been with his career on the whole regarding fitness, even if he does suffer from more concerns than say, his other rivals at the very top of the game, though Murray has rather regular apparent issues.

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

If he was injured, so what?? It's amazing how the thought of Rafa actually being injured during a loss riles people up so much just because they want a clean, amazing upset so bad. Either way he LOST. You should be happy, no matter if he was injured or not. Black clouds and asterisks, don't matter with statistics.



Exactly. When he loses, he loses. If he's clearly moving terribly, like the second half of the Soderling match, then says he's injured, I believe it. When he just loses because he was out played, I believe he was outplayed.

They weren't claiming injury, but many were claiming that Nadal's form was considerably below where it was in 2010, though the results of his year seem to indicate otherwise and that he just ran into an inspired opponent having a freakish year. Personally I do think he was slightly worse in 2011, from a mental aspect even accounting for mental damage done directly by Nole himself.

 

[Crisstti]

I respectfully disagree that it wasn't realistic and that his injury concerns actually warrant the amount of news they get. It was good to read about Nadal's understanding on just how overall fortunate he's been with his career on the whole regarding fitness, even if he does suffer from more concerns than say, his other rivals at the very top of the game, though Murray has rather regular apparent issues.

I'm not sure how he's been fortunate in that regard at all.

I think he doesn't want to feel frustrated and sorry for himself, which is good, so I'm OK with him thinking this way, though I think he's deluding himself a little.

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

When you say they are hypocondriacs you mean that they are extremely cautious and vigilant, and always assume the worse until proven otherwise?

What benefit does Nadal obtain from claiming he has injuries which he doesn't have? I'd like to understand this. And, the 7 month absence, as well as the absence in 2009, are those just illogical attempts at an allibi?

I somehow have trouble believing that Nadal just took all those months off for no good reason, when a lot of points and money are at stake. It doesn't make sense, except in the febrile and desperate imagination of the Fed radicals who see the legacy of their idol suddenly being threated by Nadal.

bold italics - Yes that's exactly how I meant it, and so if there is the threat of a problem it will sometimes impulsively be made into a big deal like with the foot and the MRI scan that revealed nothing. Even his problem against wasn't it Ferrer at AO, was very minimal was it not? He was back in training in not too much time at all but many do truly discount Ferrer's win over Nadal in that tournie when his injury wasn't severe at all. It sheds an unfair light onto the match and Ferrer's accomplishment.

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

I'm not sure how he's been fortunate in that regard at all.

I think he doesn't want to feel frustrated and sorry for himself, which is good, so I'm OK with him thinking this way, though I think he's deluding himself a little.

Well for your sake I hope you're wrong otherwise Nadal won't be lasting that much longer. In my opinion he's going to have several more very good years in the sport where his body is feeling in great enough shape to compete and operate physically at near the highest or the highest of levels, which will see him through to several more successes in the Slam events over the next years.

I think Murray is the one who is going to be breaking down more rapidly over the next 2 or 3 years. Well I could say Federer too just because naturally he is getting on a bit in tennis terms, but we'll see.

 

[Crisstti]

They weren't claiming injury, but many were claiming that Nadal's form was considerably below where it was in 2010, though the results of his year seem to indicate otherwise and that he just ran into an inspired opponent having a freakish year. Personally I do think he was slightly worse in 2011, from a mental aspect even accounting for mental damage done directly by Nole himself.

Agree with you there.

If anything, at least of his knees, he seemed to be better than most years since 2007.

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

Agree with you there.

If anything, at least of his knees, he seemed to be better than most years since 2007.

He was too eager to play on and on and needed to slow down, and now he is rejuvenated. It probably annoyed him at the time and he could have actually chosen to play through his problems but with increasing pain, which would have been foolish, so reluctantly he probably made the right decisions especially long term for his career and took a break. Naturally he was anxious to get back to the tour ASAP but he timed his moment correctly and now has a legitimate shot at the Wimbledon crown.

 

[VPhuc tennis fan]

We all know what's happened since then.

Stuff with the hotel chair is just ...too hilarious!
Thumbs up!

 

[TheTruth]

So let me ask you something.

Did Nadal lose these matches due to injury?
1. Straight set loss to DelPotro at the US open
2. Loss to Soderling at the FO
3. Second round loss to Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon

I have no idea. I know that he had injuries around the times of 2 & 3 and subsequently took time off the tour.

But, I am not into pure speculation and wouldn't dare accuse without any inside knowledge. I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt, because circumstantial evidence is not proof.

 

[TheTruth]

If he was injured, so what?? It's amazing how the thought of Rafa actually being injured during a loss riles people up so much just because they want a clean, amazing upset so bad. Either way he LOST. You should be happy, no matter if he was injured or not. Black clouds and asterisks, don't matter with statistics.



Exactly. When he loses, he loses. If he's clearly moving terribly, like the second half of the Soderling match, then says he's injured, I believe it. When he just loses because he was out played, I believe he was outplayed.

Absolutely. I don't understand this fascination with his injuries on this board. On the one hand, he's always injured and on the other hand his injuries are fake. Seems that there's no winning with this guys.