Nadal's Peak Level?

[jamesblakefan#1]

So let's see, Nadal was just losing to Ljubicic and Roddick on HC, and his fans were wondering if he'd ever win a slam again, now he wins 2 slams and has a great CC season (expected) and he's the best he's ever been?

Until Nadal does better than that HC run he had in 08-early 09, I cannot say he's at his peak level right now. Also I can't say that this was his best GC form - he was down 2 sets to 1 to Petz and Hasse, and guys like T&M didn't think he'd win the title with the form he was showing. He stepped it up later against Sod and Muzza, but overall his form is ok, but he is not the dominant force he was in 08 IMO.

 

[petetheileet]

so far i think 09 aussie open....

but i think it is still a bit ahead of him!

 

[aldeayeah]

LMAO! This is one tired out paragraph used over and over.....What a joke. Do some research and find out all the Doctors that are "treating" him and "fixing" him up. Shut up about the "injuries" and dont bring more focus on Nadal.

Mikel Sanchez, the guy who's treating Nadal's knees right now, who's the father of an acquaintance of mine, is a hugely prestigious doctor who's made major breakthroughs in the field of tissue regeneration long before treating elite athletes. The fundamentals of his treatment are public and legitimate, and have been greenlighted by the IOC itself.

The way you cast an indefinite shadow of suspicion over even him, a person who's done so much for humanity as a whole, makes me sick.

 

[abmk]

clay: FO 2008
grass:wimby 2008
slow HC: aussie 2009
fast HC: Olympics 2008

 

[namelessone]

Mikel Sanchez, the guy who's treating Nadal's knees right now, who's the father of an acquaintance of mine, is a hugely prestigious doctor who's made major breakthroughs in the field of tissue regeneration long before treating elite athletes. The fundamentals of his treatment are public and legitimate, and have been greenlighted by the IOC itself.

The way you cast an indefinite shadow of suspicion over even him, a person who's done so much for humanity as a whole, makes me sick.

If you say doctor and Nadal in the same paragraph it means either that:

1)the doc is helping Nadal dope.
2)is providing cover up for his fake injuries.

No way that he can actually try to help a guy with Rafa's condition

I don't agree with your last sentence though. What has a tennis player ever done for "humanity as a whole"? They are entertainers, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[aldeayeah]

I don't agree with your last sentence though. What has a tennis player ever done for "humanity as a whole"? They are entertainers, nothing more, nothing less.

I thought it was obvious that I was talking about the doctor, who has actually invented the treatment he's using on Nadal.

 

[angiebaby]

I think he is a different player than 2008. I think his 2008 game style was better equipped to killing guys as we saw with his 2008 FO run but made him more vurnerable to defeat by the guys who had the right game plan and could execute, whereas his 2010 style of play is better equipped to winning or atleast being right in even in defeat almost every match. His 2010 game is better equipped to facing the really hard hitters like Soderling for example (and possibly Del Potro though sadly we wont get to see the test this year).

I think you've nailed it and I couldn't agree more.

 

[Cyan]

His prime began in 2008 when he was 22.

He even won a HC slam.

His performances at USO and AO will determine if he still is in his prime.

 

[drive]

We only will know what's his peak level when his career ends (or it is near its end). He's only 24 so i think it's still soon to draw conclussions.

 

[ksbh]

Sword ...agreed!

The best of them all was AO 2010 ... after playing superb tennis for 2 sets yet losing them against a brilliant Murray, a magical injury surfaced in the 3rd set for Nadal. I nearly fell off the patio chair laughing while watching the match on my laptop when Nadal pulled the injury card! LOL!

LMAO! This is one tired out paragraph used over and over.....What a joke. Do some research and find out all the Doctors that are "treating" him and "fixing" him up. Shut up about the "injuries" and dont bring more focus on Nadal.

 

[srinrajesh]

FO 2008 Nadal was probably akin to Federer 2006 (56 match HC win streak form). Untouchable in every sense of the word.

IMO, the only time he got close to that level this year, was at Monte Carlo. Nando gets alot of stick, but I'm confident any other player on the planet would have struggled to win more than 2 games against Nadal that day. Dropping just 14 games to win an ATP 1000 event is a record that will certainly stand the test of time.

Agree with you on that .. I was watching the match agaisnt Verdasco and others .. the only match he was troubled even a little was because of the wind factor at 4-4 agaisnt Fererro. The rest of the matches he blew his opponent away.. Verdasco played his best but couldnt trouble Nadal. His defence was unbeatable that day...


I would say he played maybe his best tournament of his life in Monaco and it took some energy off. Thats why he pulled out of barcelona the following week.

 

[Bendex]

I truthfully don't think he's anywhere near that level. He played very patchy at Wimbledon and was downright poor for his standards in the final against a subpar opponent.

I think he's still going to get some great results, but I don't think he'll ever be as visually impressive as he was during that 2008 run, if for no other reason than the fact that he has been forced to consciously and obviously change aspects of his game to save his body.

He probably doesn't look as impressive because he isn't having to run so much and make so many amazing saves. He's hitting with more risk and controlling the court better, which makes him more patchy. But I think today's Nadal would defeat 2008's Nadal.

He's also out ace'ing most of his opponents now.

 

[abmk]

Sword ...agreed!

The best of them all was AO 2010 ... after playing superb tennis for 2 sets yet losing them against a brilliant Murray, a magical injury surfaced in the 3rd set for Nadal. I nearly fell off the patio chair laughing while watching the match on my laptop when Nadal pulled the injury card! LOL!

I do think he was injured that time, but to pull out when murray had just 3 more games to go was disgusting ..

However his injury timeout vs petzschener at this wimby was a joke. he has an injury time out and comes out running like a cheetah ( injury ? eh , what , was I injured ?)

 

[mandy01]

I do think he was injured that time, but to pull out when murray had just 3 more games to go was disgusting ..

He could've finished the match but there was nothing disgusting about the retirement.

 

[meg0529]

I do think he was injured that time, but to pull out when murray had just 3 more games to go was disgusting ..

However his injury timeout vs petzschener at this wimby was a joke. he has an injury time out and comes out running like a cheetah ( injury ? eh , what , was I injured ?)

Murray didn't think so...he's always praising rafa. Nadal is clearly a player, who won't play crappy cuz he knows he's going to lose. Why strain the knees when he was going to lose anyway? Plus it's stupid to say he did it because he didn't want to lose. He's lost plenty of times and lost with dignity.

The running like a cheetah bit, is overrated. The trainer said he was okay, so he continued on. He said he felt a pain, there was no talk of injury. Plus, even if you want to believe it was all one big fat lie, it is within the rules, and part of being a true player, is to not allow 3 mins to ruin your life. Now Petz knows, not to sit on his butt during an MTO.

 

[abmk]

He could've finished the match but there was nothing disgusting about the retirement.

yes, it is. he denied murray a complete victory and that can be frustrating , especially when murray had played such a brilliant match and outplayed nadal ....Just my opinion ..

 

[abmk]

Murray didn't think so...he's always praising rafa. Nadal is clearly a player, who won't play crappy cuz he knows he's going to lose. Why strain the knees when he was going to lose anyway? Plus it's stupid to say he did it because he didn't want to lose. He's lost plenty of times and lost with dignity.

read my reply to mandy for this

The running like a cheetah bit, is overrated. The trainer said he was okay, so he continued on. He said he felt a pain, there was no talk of injury. Plus, even if you want to believe it was all one big fat lie, it is within the rules, and part of being a true player, is to not allow 3 mins to ruin your life. Now Petz knows, not to sit on his butt during an MTO.

no, its not, he raised his level considerably after the timeout , it was clearly visible ( he was clearly putting more effort into his running ) .... yes, it is within the rules, but doesn't mean I can't dislike it ...

 

[TMF]

He could've finished the match but there was nothing disgusting about the retirement.

I think he could have easily finish the match without any problem but he chose not to. But the good thing is it wasn't the final, it would be terrible for a player not having the oppotunity to celebrate after a match point.

 

[meg0529]

read my reply to mandy for this



no, its not, he raised his level considerably after the timeout , it was clearly visible ( he was clearly putting more effort into his running ) .... yes, it is within the rules, but doesn't mean I can't dislike it ...

The theories can go on forever, but I didn't mean he didn't up his game. He def did play much better. but it could have just meant that the trainer reassured him that it wasn't serious. Plus, if remember correctly the trainer patched his quad, which could also have helped. I think he would have upped his game regardless. He never claimed to be injured, just that he was having discomfort. I won't deny that it was a bad time to do it, and looked fishy, but no one will really know.

And yes you are fully entitled to your opinion.

 

[swordtennis]

Sword ...agreed!

The best of them all was AO 2010 ... after playing superb tennis for 2 sets yet losing them against a brilliant Murray, a magical injury surfaced in the 3rd set for Nadal. I nearly fell off the patio chair laughing while watching the match on my laptop when Nadal pulled the injury card! LOL!

K what up! Me too! I was you have got 2 be kidding! Murray please win a slam. You deserve it so much! Nadal is also injured yet he is racking up the slams. LMAO! It was disgusting 2 say the least! I was down with Nadal until that BS 2009 season. Notice how they gang rush 2 his defense! LMAO! That in itself is telling. Then they get on the doping rant and I never even mentioned it! I been around this behavior big time. Big time! If you know what I mean, K.... But it is all good. No need 4 words.
Those doctors helping humanity? I am sure of that.
Lets be frank here on pro SPORTS realm. NOT THE HUMANITY REALM.
Nadal is making them Massive revenue. Team CAMP will promote, spin, tell Nadal everything 2 make him feel good. They will also do everything in their power 2 make "their" pro athlete succeed and make them more and more CASH. They dont give a turd if he is a crippled invalid when they are through with him. Anything and everything. Everything and anything. This is how TEAM CAMP operate.
I can not believe that I have 2 defend myself on stuff that should be common knowledge 2 so called sports nuts! Oy Vey!

 

[NADALbULLS]

Nadal's Wimbledon Murray semi-final is his highest of all-time, either higher than 2008 or simply level with his highest of 2008. But he hasn't played any other matches at that level this year.

But I like his tactics this year more than in 2008. I like how he's blocking his returns more and making sure he gets it back rather than taking big swings. He can win most rallies so its wise to just get the ball back, even if he starts the rally on the defensive. And he's serving better this year than 2008, just slightly better in my opinion.

However he's hitting more unforced errors this year, and that is because he's simply going for broke more (not on returns but on groundstrokes overall). So he doesn't look as polished because he's hitting more unforced errors this year, but he is tactically better this year and he will benefit from these changes at the US Open.

 

[ksbh]

If he was injured, why did he play?

This is the bulls*hit I don't like with these 2 losers ... Nadal & Federer. Play while injured and then attribute the loss to injury.

I don't really think they were injured. Just got their ass handed to them and blamed it on injury. The mono claim by Federer in 2008 is the most laughable, IMO!

I do think he was injured that time, but to pull out when murray had just 3 more games to go was disgusting ..

However his injury timeout vs petzschener at this wimby was a joke. he has an injury time out and comes out running like a cheetah ( injury ? eh , what , was I injured ?)

 

[ksbh]

Agreed! The only addition I'd like to make is the Federer camp. With a cow for a manager, no wonder Federer doesn't get good PR advice!

K what up! Me too! I was you have got 2 be kidding! Murray please win a slam. You deserve it so much! Nadal is also injured yet he is racking up the slams. LMAO! It was disgusting 2 say the least! I was down with Nadal until that BS 2009 season. Notice how they gang rush 2 his defense! LMAO! That in itself is telling. Then they get on the doping rant and I never even mentioned it! I been around this behavior big time. Big time! If you know what I mean, K.... But it is all good. No need 4 words.
Those doctors helping humanity? I am sure of that.
Lets be frank here on pro SPORTS realm. NOT THE HUMANITY REALM.
Nadal is making them Massive revenue. Team CAMP will promote, spin, tell Nadal everything 2 make him feel good. They will also do everything in their power 2 make "their" pro athlete succeed and make them more and more CASH. They dont give a turd if he is a crippled invalid when they are through with him. Anything and everything. Everything and anything. This is how TEAM CAMP operate.
I can not believe that I have 2 defend myself on stuff that should be common knowledge 2 so called sports nuts! Oy Vey!

 

[swordtennis]

Agreed! The only addition I'd like to make is the Federer camp. With a cow for a manager, no wonder Federer doesn't get good PR advice!

LMAO! Thanks, K....Wanted 2 get your Pro POV on the comment. Money talks Bullsheet walks. Zeeshan been pounding Zeenat Aman. Poor Zeenat....

 

[ksbh]

ROFL X 3000, Sword! Post of the year! ha ha

LMAO! Thanks, K....Wanted 2 get your Pro POV on the comment. Money talks Bullsheet walks. Zeeshan been pounding Zeenat Aman. Poor Zeenat....

 

[kraggy]

yes, it is. he denied murray a complete victory and that can be frustrating , especially when murray had played such a brilliant match and outplayed nadal ....Just my opinion ..

I have to respectfully disagree. Retiring was the only sensible thing to do - why aggravate an injury that could potentially lead to a scenario where he has to miss a large part of the season like 2009! And if you read the post match interview, he gave all credit to Murray. He said that he himself was playing at a great level so Murray was playing unbelievable. He didn't blame his loss on the injury.

The most precious commodity to a pro athlete is his/her health. At the end of the day, only they know how much they are hurting and I would like to trust them. Whether Fed says he has mono, Novak says he has breathing issues or Nadal talks about knee pain, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Conspiracy theorists can believe otherwise.

 

[TheTruth]

We only will know what's his peak level when his career ends (or it is near its end). He's only 24 so i think it's still soon to draw conclussions.

Agree. I don't understand how people can ascertain when someone is in their prime when there's so much tennis yet to be played.