D
Deleted member 3771
Guest
I think hes basically saying the difference between the #1 and #2 is irrelevant when you compare it to winning the singles [size=+2] GOLD MEDAL[/size] which he gets to keep forever.
Rafa"I will probably be number two again in a few months."
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drakulie
Talk Tennis Guru
LMAO! Pure genius.!!!!
Rafa is obviously one of the few that understands that Nadal is exhausted.
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
Wonderful post! Rafa is clever and he says those things to 1- take the pressure off himself and 2- prevent the media from hyping him to the point that every loss becomes unacceptable (what they did to Fed). I believe it's a very sane strategy but don't think for a minute that he's gonna let that happen. If you remember, at the beginning of the year Rafa said in interviews that he would probably become #3 soon. Looking at what happened in the following months gives you a good idea of how he's gonna ACTUALLY protect his #1 ranking...I think hes basically saying the difference between the #1 and #2 is irrelevant when you compare it to winning the singles [size=+2] GOLD MEDAL[/size] which he gets to keep forever.
vtmike
Banned
rubberduckies
Professional
Nadal has also said that Federer was the favorite to win the French Open because "he is number 1 and I am number 2, no?" He said this in both 2006 and 2007. A little understandable after their close matches in 2006 and Hamburg 2007, but still, c'mon. I think he basically says the same things to make it easier on himself when doing English interviews.
Interceptor
Banned
I've heard many things that make me think Federer has an ego and that he's not so "humble" as the world thinks he is, which in turn also shows what the world really thinks of being "humble". This concept has been adjusted and changed to suit the standards for what being "humble" means to the people these days, and so, things which normally wouldn't be considered humble in past times, now suddenly are ok and "humble" these days. Pathetic.
I recall that, when I watched his interview in the Late Show with David Letterman, that he asked him what he thought of people calling him "the greatest player ever". Now a really humble person here, would say something like : "No no, I don't consider myself the best" and would try to evade the question and not take credit for himself, but Federer instead, started saying :
"Well I was always considered to be one of the greatest talents being a junior.. blah blah" and he starts to brag about his accomplishments and stuff, telling what's he's one and even giving to understan that maybe he could become the greatest. Now that doesn't sound too humble to me
Interceptor
Banned
This is just one example, I could give many more.
boringmember
Rookie
I agree with this. I think it will be interesting to see how he handles the mantle of #1 when he's not really able to do that anymore. Hopefully Roger will bounce back and we'll get to see some great tennis in the coming months.
Oui c'est moi.
Hall of Fame
Don't know if this has been mentioned but Uncle toni has said something similar.
"But I'm sure.. Unfortunately for us... Roger Federer will come back to the top. Because he is unbelievably strong."
"We are 4 years behind Roger Federer. And we didn't have luck because we always played against Federer. At least we can now be Number 1 for a few weeks or months.. I don't know."
"But I'm sure.. Unfortunately for us... Roger Federer will come back to the top. Because he is unbelievably strong."
"We are 4 years behind Roger Federer. And we didn't have luck because we always played against Federer. At least we can now be Number 1 for a few weeks or months.. I don't know."
drakulie
Talk Tennis Guru
LOL. Good one, Nick. Along your lines,, "do you want Nadal to respond like Nadal Freak?"
D
Deleted member 21996
Guest
no because that would be something along the lines of:
stats...
Bounce this and that...
stats....
mid plus frames....
stats....
spin spin spin...
stats...
nadal loves this, loves that...
drakulie
Talk Tennis Guru
LOL. You forgot::
nadal is tired
nadal is exhausted
nadal has blisters
the atp if purposely making it hard for nadal to win
Fed has easy draws
why does fed get preferrential treatment??
etc.
You have to ask yourself who does ever want to be number 2, when you can be number 1 not just in your country but in the WORLD, yes off course he wants to be number 1 after such a long wait.
The ranking will always be there victories aren't always guranteed, besides if you perform well consistently the ranking will eventually take care of itself
It may seem he doesn't sweat the ranking but i'm sure playing as much as he has done this year and in the manner he has done, has been about getting to the summit and yes off course improving his tennis, which i would think comes first not just for him about for all players
The difference between 1 and 2 is just that, in a competitve setting you want to number 1, Rafa can't have worked this hard and continue to be happy at number 2, no way! the competitiveness in him proves other wise.
Coming from a rich family already, money doesn't really seem to affect him seeing as his had it all his life and plenty of bragging rights what with his uncle playing for Barcalena and being in a few world cups it's not new to him.
Rafa imo would rather concetrate on the tennis and let someone else handle his loot ie his agent, accountant and or lawyers
OmniscientTennis
New User
Rafa will be #1 Through End of the Year
Rafa cannot drop back down to number 2 in a few months because he doesnt have a lot of points to defend from now until the end of the year. If anything Fed will probably drop lower because he won US Open last year and Djok made finals...so these guys have a lot of points on the line. Rafa only made it to QF at US Open, something he'll probably do again if not better his results...so he'll probably actually increase his lead. Fed could potentially drop to #3. Right now, Rafa's lead is huge. He would have to lose first round of US Open to lose the ranking...highly unlikely and Fed and Djok have to make it back to finals.
RAFA #1 until French Open next year...at a minimum.
Rafa cannot drop back down to number 2 in a few months because he doesnt have a lot of points to defend from now until the end of the year. If anything Fed will probably drop lower because he won US Open last year and Djok made finals...so these guys have a lot of points on the line. Rafa only made it to QF at US Open, something he'll probably do again if not better his results...so he'll probably actually increase his lead. Fed could potentially drop to #3. Right now, Rafa's lead is huge. He would have to lose first round of US Open to lose the ranking...highly unlikely and Fed and Djok have to make it back to finals.
RAFA #1 until French Open next year...at a minimum.
PROTENNIS63
Hall of Fame
He said that to take of some of the pressure from him. If he says to himself "I must maintain the #1 position" he only makes life harder for himself. I don't blame him- he said the right thing.
OmniscientTennis
New User
I completely agree:
Fed's draws are easiest in history and he gets lucky breaks on top of it (weather, defaults, withdraws, etc.)
It does seem that the ATP always gives Nadal the toughest draws and worst schedule. But he has overcome this.
Fed gets a ton of preferential treatment too. More than anyone else.
While Fed is awesome, he has gotten extremely lucky a number of times (ie. Monfils withdrawing at Wimbledon or Gasquet withdrawing at US Open last year). Fed won every single close match too -there were several that could have gone one way or the other and he always seemed to win them, not by hitting the great shot but by opponent choking. I am not saying Fed isnt incredible, but the last 4 year run was helped out by a lot of luck too.
VamosRafa
Hall of Fame
Rafa has always carefully watched the points and rankings. I've read interviews where he knows exactly how many race points other competitors have. He's expressed disappointment that in prior years, the points he has amassed as No. 2 would have been good enough to be No. 1 (such as when Hewitt and Roddick were No. 1). His goal has always been to be No. 1. I am sure he's thrilled with this achievement, but he has been taught to be humble and to realize that being No. 1 may be a fleeting thing. It was for Moya and Ferrero. He knows that no one can take away his Wimbledon and RG trophies, but the No. 1 could be gone and he can't get too attached to it. By saying that, he takes some pressure off himself, satisfies his family's humbleness gene and also, by de-emphasizing it, may make it more palatable when he does lose it.
D
Deleted member 21996
Guest
oh.. you mean those years when that boring swiss that i dislike was cleaning every title in sight and had double of his points?
Yes! People just have to think back to the huge effort he made last year to try and take the no. 1 ranking from fed.
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
Nadal didn't make it to the quarters last year at USO (round of 16: lost to Ferrer).
slice bh compliment
G.O.A.T.
LOL, yeah, man, I'm tired of him and all the other Fedfanboyz around here. Total Fed'****'.
TheTruth
G.O.A.T.
Great post. Very funny!
LuckyR
Legend
Ok, then we are in agreement, surfing is a rare exception to my original post, which essentially fits the thread.
I agree with your second paragraph, except I wouldn't use the word "sacrifice" to describe an athlete helping their team to win, since that is the whole point of the endeavor.
gj011
Banned
GOD DAMMIT, RAFA WHERE IS THE CONFIDENCE, NO?But playing things down as worked for him so far, so maybe he doesn't truly believe this but he wants to take the pressure off 8)
Nadal likes to make these kind of remarks. Didn't he say in May/June that he will probably lose #2 to Djokovic?
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carlos djackal
Professional
too humble for rafa to say and i admire him for that...
seffina
G.O.A.T.
Even if it is clever and calculated, it doesn't mean it wasn't the right thing to say. Even if it was the only thing he could say to avoid the ire of tennis fans everywhere, it still takes some humility to say that I might lose this position that I worked very hard for in a few months.
Meanstreak
Rookie
Nadal just likes to keep calm and not to get too carried away with success so that he keeps pushing on and improving his game, and not take any of the other players for granted.
I'm sure he does not expect to go back to #2 anytime soon, but he says it not to sound too arrogant.
I'm sure he does not expect to go back to #2 anytime soon, but he says it not to sound too arrogant.
Kid Carlos
Semi-Pro
An article on Nadal's rise to number one: http://theatpblog.com/home/?p=175
Meanstreak
Rookie
Rafa is doing the right thing by not bragging too much in public about his achievements. Djokovic believed the propaganda about him; I have heard him say "I have achieved so much and I am only 21, and I am the greatest sportsman in Serbia that all the kids want to copy, and my popularity is rubbing off on my younger brother whois only 12 etc. etc." Or words to that effect.
When he lost to Safin at Wimbledon, Safin was very sacarstic by saying it's because he was just a lowly player that no one extected anything of, as opposed to Djokovic who was going to be #1 at the end of the year.
I am sure in private Rafa relishes his successes, you just have to see his attitude on court when he gets a winner, and when he wins a match, it definitely means a lot to him, and he wants to beat everyone.
When he lost to Safin at Wimbledon, Safin was very sacarstic by saying it's because he was just a lowly player that no one extected anything of, as opposed to Djokovic who was going to be #1 at the end of the year.
I am sure in private Rafa relishes his successes, you just have to see his attitude on court when he gets a winner, and when he wins a match, it definitely means a lot to him, and he wants to beat everyone.
