Rafael Nadal: I don't want to face Roger Federer if I reach final

Children, Fed and Nadal are great friends, rivals and bring out the best of each other. They are the 2 greatest and don't fear each other, they respect each other and only they can know the kind of feelings they feel. It's as real as the feelings I feel, storybook love.
 

CR7

New User
"If I reach the final, I'd like to face a different opponent than Federer," said Nadal, who beat Federer in the 2008 final after defeats in 2006 and 2007.

"I don't like to face best players in the final and I think I played against Roger already enough times this year."
Lmao....with Rafa that means he wants Federer. His false humility is really annoying and super fake.
 

CR7

New User
Federer merely suggested something similar about not wanting to face Nadal at the French Open and a lot of the Bamos Vrigade called him a coward and a paper champion.
Its mind games and deliberately designed to fire Djokovic up. He knows a Federer v Djokovic SF could make the final a cake walk alot like the FO was after murray v wawrinka

Nadal should be more concerned about Cilic at the moment rather than shouting his mouth off
 

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
Nadal skips when injured. When he isn't, he never skips a whole surface season because of being scared.

Just wait a couple of years. If Nadal is almost 36 and still playing he will have earned the right to skip whatever slam he wants and if he does, somehow I doubt you will be complaining about it. :rolleyes:
 

icedevil0289

G.O.A.T.
Children, Fed and Nadal are great friends, rivals and bring out the best of each other. They are the 2 greatest and don't fear each other, they respect each other and only they can know the kind of feelings they feel. It's as real as the feelings I feel, storybook love.

um.......lol
 

icedevil0289

G.O.A.T.
Just wait a couple of years. If Nadal is almost 36 and still playing he will have earned the right to skip whatever slam he wants and if he does, somehow I doubt you will be complaining about it. :rolleyes:

hasnt he already skipped plenty of slams and i know nadal legitmately has/had health issues/injuries but were all the slams that were missed purely due to injuries or like more conditioning?
 

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
hasnt he already skipped plenty of slams and i know nadal legitmately has/had health issues/injuries but were all the slams that were missed purely due to injuries or like more conditioning?


That's a whole other issue, lol. I have trouble believing that all of those missed slams were due to "injuries."
 
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Deleted member 743561

Guest
That's a whole other issue, lol. I have trouble believing that all of those missed slams were due to "injuries."
Setting aside my opinion on the matter entirely (because I keep it under wraps so well!)... how do you remain a fan, holding this viewpoint? Are you able to create different evaluation criteria for players or something? Just curious about the psychology of it for you.
 

ultradr

Legend
http://www.eurosport.com/tennis/wim...derer-if-i-reach-final_sto6240127/story.shtml

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Nobody wants to face Federer at Wimbledon, at any rounds.
 

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
Setting aside my opinion on the matter entirely (because I keep it under wraps so well!)... how do you remain a fan, holding this viewpoint? Are you able to create different evaluation criteria for players or something? Just curious about the psychology of it for you.

Because for me, no top player is perfect. They all have issues or annoyances. What I like about Nadal is how he behaves when he comes to play, i.e. fighting for every point. Look around, how often do you see that quality in ATP players? It's very rare and you have to respect it. I also like the complete opposite style to Federer he brings to the game, i.e. you have the artistry of Federer vs the bulldozer in Nadal. It's an interesting dynamic for me.
 

merwy

G.O.A.T.
He says things like this all the time, don't know why everyone's surprised. It's the same kind of downplaying as how he always says he's not the favorite against lesser opponents.
 
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Deleted member 743561

Guest
Because for me, no top player is perfect. They all have issues or annoyances. What I like about Nadal is how he behaves when he comes to play, i.e. fighting for every point. Look around, how often do you see that quality in ATP players? It's very rare and you have to respect it. I also like the complete opposite style to Federer he brings to the game, i.e. you have the artistry of Federer vs the bulldozer in Nadal. It's an interesting dynamic for me.
Have to draw the line somewhere, though, right? How dissimilar is it from, say, Hollywood actors who release total bombs in the midst of sparkling careers? Slightly taints the other work, no?

Or what about others in the public eye who get blackballed in their chosen field for one transgression or another; after a certain amount of time, forgive and forget, good as new?
 

icedevil0289

G.O.A.T.
Have to draw the line somewhere, though, right? How dissimilar is it from, say, Hollywood actors who release total bombs in the midst of sparkling careers? Slightly taints the other work, no?

Or what about others in the public eye who get blackballed in their chosen field for one transgression or another; after a certain amount of time, forgive and forget, good as new?

lol, has nadal been blackballed yet or something? this is such an odd comparison to me. you can be a fan of a player, and still find certain things about them irritating and that user didn't even dismiss nadal's injuries, just said they weren't sure whether every slam missed was 100% due to injury. like if it came out that nadal cheated or something then talk. like how are you comparing this to hollywood scandals?
 
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Deleted member 743561

Guest
lol, has nadal been blackballed yet or something? this is such an odd comparison to me. you can be a fan of a player, and still find certain things about them irritating and that user didn't even dismiss nadal's injuries, just said they weren't sure whether every slam missed was 100% due to injury. like if it came out that nadal cheated or something then talk. like how are you comparing this to hollywood scandals?
No, certainly not outwardly "blackballed." Just an extreme example to illustrate the inherent contradictions in taking positions that allow for loopholes and such. Besides, I'm really not sure that what the earlier poster was suggesting qualifies as an "irritant."

Let's do this for fun: what do you imagine that poster may have had in mind?
 

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
Have to draw the line somewhere, though, right? How dissimilar is it from, say, Hollywood actors who release total bombs in the midst of sparkling careers? Slightly taints the other work, no?

Or what about others in the public eye who get blackballed in their chosen field for one transgression or another; after a certain amount of time, forgive and forget, good as new?

Well, out of the Big Four players it's Novak I find the most unlikable for his earlier antics and his nauseating (for me) on court behavior with the abuse of the ball kids, the swearing to the crowd in Serbian, the need for acceptance, etc. I also don't like his playing style for the most part and tend to find it boring. But even with all of those negatives, I still think he has positive qualities as an ATG player and at least he knows how to win big titles unlike most of these current fools on the ATP.

I guess different players rub different people the wrong way and yes, most people don't like both Federer and Nadal but I really do like them both for different reasons and think you can admire both for different reasons. I really like the scrappiness in Nadal and his lack of fear when he steps on court vs any player.

I just want to see good matches between the best players with the best players challenging each other. That's how I'm entertained.
 

icedevil0289

G.O.A.T.
No, certainly not outwardly "blackballed." Just an extreme example to illustrate the inherent contradictions in taking positions that allow for loopholes and such. Besides, I'm really not sure that what the earlier poster was suggesting qualifies as an "irritant."

Let's do this for fun: what do you imagine that poster may have had in mind?

lmao for fun...very interesting definition of fun. i didn't think it was that serious and I personally am no nadal fan so there's that
 

ultradr

Legend
He says things like this all the time, don't know why everyone's surprised. It's the same kind of downplaying as how he always says he's not the favorite against lesser opponents.

yes, he and his uncle syas these things all the time.

One time Federer was annoyed by it and claimed they are saying these to give mental pressure on him or something like that.
 

The_Order

G.O.A.T.
Just wait a couple of years. If Nadal is almost 36 and still playing he will have earned the right to skip whatever slam he wants and if he does, somehow I doubt you will be complaining about it. :rolleyes:

Age has nothing to do with it. Come on man he had 6 months off he was as fresh as a daisy.

He didn't want Nadal to gain confidence back from beating him on clay. Pretty obvious.
 

TearTheRoofOff

G.O.A.T.
Nadal skips when injured. When he isn't, he never skips a whole surface season because of being scared.
There's no way that all of Nadal's skips have been 100% due to injury. Regularly skipping chunks of tour time and grand slams, going through phases of constantly losing to top ten players, only to come back every time looking like a gorilla and beating everyone? Whatever he's doing, Hewitt and Safin missed out, man.
 

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
Age has nothing to do with it. Come on man he had 6 months off he was as fresh as a daisy.

He didn't want Nadal to gain confidence back from beating him on clay. Pretty obvious.

Of course age had something to do with it. Federer is picking and choosing his battles these days as he has a finite amount of time and he just went through knee surgery. Why risk injury on a surface he knew wouldn't reap any rewards (clay?) There's nothing wrong with what Federer did and if Nadal is still active at age 36 and decides to skip the slam he's least comfortable at, I'm sure you'll have no problems with it. Fans or non-fans don't get to decide what ATG players should or should not do.
 

The_Order

G.O.A.T.
Of course age had something to do with it. Federer is picking and choosing his battles these days as he has a finite amount of time and he just went through knee surgery. Why risk injury on a surface he knew wouldn't reap any rewards (clay?) There's nothing wrong with what Federer did and if Nadal is still active at age 36 and decides to skip the slam he's least comfortable at, I'm sure you'll have no problems with it. Fans or non-fans don't get to decide what ATG players should or should not do.

Clay is the surface that is least likely to cause an injury. Fact.

If Nadal had taken 6 months off, then reappeared playing some of the best tennis in years winning a major and 2 Masters then just disappeared again for 3 months skipping an entire HC season for example I would not be singing his praises let me tell you. But, Rafa won't take time off because he's scared. He'll front up to whoever he has to. Win, lose or draw the guy will turn up.
 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
Roger is probabaly the worst match up for Rafa on grass plus he got his butt kicked 3 times already this year. so very smart of Rafa to say that. I think Milos may upset roger however
 

deBroglie

Professional
Clay is the surface that is least likely to cause an injury. Fact.

If Nadal had taken 6 months off, then reappeared playing some of the best tennis in years winning a major and 2 Masters then just disappeared again for 3 months skipping an entire HC season for example I would not be singing his praises let me tell you. But, Rafa won't take time off because he's scared. He'll front up to whoever he has to. Win, lose or draw the guy will turn up.

Federer said that his doctor(s?) advised him to go easy on the clay, as it might have been bad for his knee.
 

The_18th_Slam

Hall of Fame
But, Rafa won't take time off because he's scared. He'll front up to whoever he has to. Win, lose or draw the guy will turn up.
Yeah, like he was supposed to turn up at the 2013 AO, having confirmed that his knee was all right, but then withdrew at the last moment saying he had a stomach virus.

Are you suggesting that he remembered his loss to Djokovic the year before and got scared?
 

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
Clay is the surface that is least likely to cause an injury. Fact.

If Nadal had taken 6 months off, then reappeared playing some of the best tennis in years winning a major and 2 Masters then just disappeared again for 3 months skipping an entire HC season for example I would not be singing his praises let me tell you. But, Rafa won't take time off because he's scared. He'll front up to whoever he has to. Win, lose or draw the guy will turn up.

No, it isn't a fact that clay is the least likely surface to cause injury.

Who cares what you would do or what you would think. The fact is that Federer at age 36 and after being the player who has given so much to the sport and who has been the most popular player of all time, can do what the hell he wants. Nadal has missed many more slams than Federer has and for dubious reasons at times so don't go there with your holier than thou attitude.

Meanwhile you are the one who is posting that you think Nadal has no chance to go deep in this tournament and I think he does.
 

TMF

Talk Tennis Guru
Nadal skips when injured. When he isn't, he never skips a whole surface season because of being scared.
How many surgeries did Nadal have in his career? Zero. Yet, he's skipped tournaments after tournaments in his 20s. I doubt that he will be playing at 35.

Federer had a knee surgery in 2016. The same year ended his ironman streak at the Slams - the Swiss had played in a record 65 straight slams(16 years).
 
Too ashamed to admit your hero is a chicken.

He just had 6 months out, not injured, in the best form he's been in for years and he chickened out because he knew Nadal would beat him.

Definition of a coward. Just like yourself.
Then would you call him Chickener or Chickenerer?​


The_Order said:
Nadal skips when injured. When he isn't, he never skips a whole surface season because of being scared.
It has nothing to do with being scared, pathetic troll.

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Roger-Federer-God.aspx


v v v hmmm...not too obnoxious.....

promo208359125
 

The_Order

G.O.A.T.
How many surgeries did Nadal have in his career? Zero. Yet, he's skipped tournaments after tournaments in his 20s. I doubt that he will be playing at 35.

Federer had a knee surgery in 2016. The same year ended his ironman streak at the Slams - the Swiss had played in a record 65 straight slams(16 years).

Ahhh so you need surgery now for the injury to be legit? Lol.

Nadal always opted out of going for surgery doesn't mean he wasn't injured you ignorant tool.

Fed plays 65 straight slams over 16 years but now he can't play 6 months straight? All you're doing is digging further into the hole you got yourself in.

Keep going though, I like it. Continue digging. I'm always up for owning delusional Fed fans.
 

Rafa24

Hall of Fame
Your "GOAT" ladies and gents. A supposed GOAT that doesn't want to face the best player on grass
The GOAT fed didn't wan't 6-1, 6-3, 6-0d so he skipped an entire tournament. At least Rafa has the balls to show up on Feds turf.....
 

sliceroni

Hall of Fame
I'm just very happy that they both have been the 2 best players this year. If you asked me 10 years ago where do you think Fed and Rafa would be in 2017 I'd of replied Fed probably retired and Nadal on the steep decline. They have been the 2 best and undoubtedly the most admired champions the past 12 yrs. Where are extremely lucky to have them at the top this yr. Some fans needs to see that and look at it as a whole instead of being keyboard/tablet warriors.
 
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