Rafael Nadal is an absolute God on clay.

[Raining hopes]

Re watched RG 2013 SF and Rome 2006 over the weekend. Good lord Nadal can kill a man's will.

RG 2013 SF :

I love Nole and has always supported him but while he did choke in the 5th set, what was happening on the other side of the net was simply frightening. Nadal in last 50 or so minutes started doing things from his Forehand that was simply unbelievable and basically shouldn't be possible.The DTL Forehand was downright scary, the movement basically suffocating.
I am a Novak Djokovic fan but I personally can't see how you can be expected to stop that. He did made a mistake but even if he hadn't and ended up winning, it would be more of a case of holding Nadal off because there was no matching him.


Rome 2006

My favourite Fedal match despite Federer's loss. People talking about baby Nadal need to see this match to know what it takes to win just a point off the Clay Goat with his Peak movement. Fraud's FH,movement , defence even BH was peaking but Nadal somehow kept finding a way.

While the RG 2013 reached the same heights only in 5th set this match basically started like a war right out of the gates.

Honestly there was never a clay match where Federer moved and hit this well, maybe same goes for Nadal too.

People will talk about the 2 missed FHs but it wasn't about that it was about how goddamn hard it was just to get there.



Rafa is an absolute God on clay and even the best Federer and Djokovic threw at him could not beat him.


Scariest part would be that he might have been a step above the two matches in both RG 2008 and 2012.

 

[Tennis_Hands]

Ombelebable.

 

[Deleted member 307496]

'

Blue clay too.

 

[Raining hopes]

'

Blue clay too.

The only time he was close to his 2005-08 speed post injury was probably 2012.

 

[ABCD]

Re watched RG 2013 SF and Rome 2006 over the weekend. Good lord Nadal can kill a man's will.

RG 2013 SF :

I love Nole and has always supported him but while he did choke in the 5th set, what was happening on the other side of the net was simply frightening. Nadal in last 50 or so minutes started doing things from his Forehand that was simply unbelievable and basically shouldn't be possible.The DTL Forehand was downright scary, the movement basically suffocating.
I am a Novak Djokovic fan but I personally can't see how you can be expected to stop that. He did made a mistake but even if he hadn't and ended up winning, it would be more of a case of holding Nadal off because there was no matching him.


Rome 2006

My favourite Fedal match despite Federer's loss. People talking about baby Nadal need to see this match to know what it takes to win just a point off the Clay Goat with his Peak movement. Fraud's FH,movement , defence even BH was peaking but Nadal somehow kept finding a way.

While the RG 2013 reached the same heights only in 5th set this match basically started like a war right out of the gates.

Honestly there was never a clay match where Federer moved and hit this well, maybe same goes for Nadal too.

People will talk about the 2 missed FHs but it wasn't about that it was about how goddamn hard it was just to get there.



Rafa is an absolute God on clay and even the best Federer and Djokovic threw at him could not beat him.


Scariest part would be that he might have been a step above the two matches in both RG 2008 and 2012.

I agree with everything you said apart that you are a Djokovic fan.

 

[2good4U]

The imbecile owns clay, that's for sure.

Maybe that's what he's always trying to pick out his rear, no?

 

[King No1e]

'

Blue clay too.

Green clay too

 

[Raining hopes]

Green clay too

Their 2008 Wimbledon match was even more insane by Rafa

 

[King No1e]

Their 2008 Wimbledon match was even more insane by Rafa

True, but this match against Murray (who is a great grass courter himself) was more dominant.

 

[Im(moral) Winner]

He alright

 

[King No1e]

He's won Slams on red clay, blue clay, green clay, and the funny kind of clay with green outside the lines and blue inside.
Clay beast

 

[BeatlesFan]

I love Nole and has always supported him...
I am a Novak Djokovic fan...

Djokovic fans do not make fawning, laudatory and lengthy posts about his greatest rival, nor do they announce in their posts (not once, but twice) their fan allegiance.

 

[King No1e]

Djokovic fans do not make fawning, laudatory and lengthy posts about his greatest rival, nor do they announce in their posts (not once, but twice) their fan allegiance.

As a Federer and Nadal fan, I can affirm this statement.

 

[Deleted member 307496]

True, but this match against Murray (who is a great grass courter himself) was more dominant.

Yeah but Murray was a baby at the time.

 

[Deleted member 756486]

He’s okay I guess.

 

[Raining hopes]

Djokovic fans do not make fawning, laudatory and lengthy posts about his greatest rival, nor do they announce in their posts (not once, but twice) their fan allegiance.

As a Federer and Nadal fan, I can affirm this statement.

This is pointless and irksome to extreme.

Why is appreciation,that too for specific case, for someone else simply means I am not a fan of his rivals ?

Look up my posting history while I admit I support Roger more than Novak but mostly I support them both.


Where is my agenda and what do I accomplish here ? I don't necessarily dislike Nadal but what did I write that wasn't the truth ? Or most importantly , why I can't 'fawn' over probably the greatest RG set played this century maybe ever ?

Maybe it's just that I have started to learn how to play tennis and coming after a beginner's session watched half of two of the greatest clay matches of this century and was struck by how difficult it was to beat Nadal.Do I need to go about posting how lucky he is to have won a single match on clay to prove my allegiance ?

Sometimes conspiracy theories are actually false. And attempts at finger pointing humour fail too.

 

[King No1e]

Yeah but Murray was a baby at the time.

Murray wasn't half bad in this match. Maybe a year removed from his prime. Nadal was definitely in his prime though.

 

[Deleted member 307496]

Murray wasn't half bad in this match. Maybe a year removed from his prime. Nadal was definitely in his prime though.

I was making a joke man. Referencing Nadal fans.

 

[Phoenix1983]

OP is truth.

See also Rome final vs. Coria in 2005.

Great men can push themselves to their absolute limit on clay and still fall short against Nadal.

 

[Mainad]

He's won Slams on red clay, blue clay, green clay, and the funny kind of clay with green outside the lines and blue inside.
Clay beast

Not blue clay. He never plays on that!

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/...ings-linger-over-the-blue-clay-in-madrid.html

 

[MichaelNadal]

Djokovic fans do not make fawning, laudatory and lengthy posts about his greatest rival, nor do they announce in their posts (not once, but twice) their fan allegiance.

They should bc Nadal is that dude

 

[True Fanerer]

Fedr

 

[Djokovic2011]

OP not really telling us anything we didn't already know.

 

[Deleted member 77403]

Not blue clay. He never plays on that!

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/...ings-linger-over-the-blue-clay-in-madrid.html

Once again, nothing gets past the eagle eye of Mainad.

 

[MichaelNadal]

OP not really telling us anything we didn't already know.

Oh and you never do when it comes to Imhotep?
Any hot boo bears lately?

 

[Shaolin]

He's above average on clay I suppose.

 

[moonballs]

Op agree completely these are two great matches. But regarding 2013, instead of Rafa raising his level in the fifth, it was more of a matter that he kept his level high but Nole finally had nothing left. Those winners wouldn’t have been outright winners had if not been the fifth set. In the last game Djokovic hit several forehands outs from the middle of the baseline was the clear indication that he couldn’t held it any longer. Same thing for AO2012 and W2018, where Nadal was the one who first ran out of steam.