Rafael Nadal is the favorite to win French Open: Gilles Simon

[Tatenda]

http://www.google.co.zw/url?sa=t&rc...0WgO1rds_m-69qFLw&sig2=ceC4Ud14TnEmI7TRDDCltA
Gilles Simon has placed World No.1 Rafael Nadal of winning the French Open 2014 crown ahead of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka.

In an interview with L'Equipe, Simon opened up about the star players' chances of triumphing at the forthcoming prestigious event in Paris.

"I have faced Nadal in Rome a week ago but I have not noticed any difference in him compared to past seasons," Simon spoke off Nadal's chances. "We think Rafa is in a hole because he won only Madrid and made final in Rome.

"I'm not worried about him. Players, who believe they can beat Nadal, face him in the best of 3 sets. When you play the best of five sets, Nadal is unplayable."

Simon believes that Djokovic is the only guy who can pester Nadal on clay.

"Novak is not far from Rafa because he has a game that is well suited to its characteristics," he added, speaking on the Serb's odds. "Djokovic has the biggest chance to beat him. I think Rafa has a better chance of reaching the final against Djokovic."

What about Federer and Wawrinka? "They can play at a high level but the certainty of seeing them in the semi-final is less than I have for Nadal and Djokovic."

 

[The Green Mile]

Agree with Gilles on this one, best of 5 on clay is on a whole nutha level... but i still want the title to go the Djoker.

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

simon is and has always been a närd.

 

[Vcore89]

Totally agree...all Rafa care is priming for RG, winning a lesser title isn't all that important to him anymore. Slams count and perhaps that elusive WTF at the end of year.

 

[Sid_Vicious]

Let's see if Simon can continue his run of good predictions. I remember many people did not like hearing his opinion that the big 4's grip on the game was weakening before the AO this year and then Stan won the title.

 

[Fiercer]

Current world no.1, defending champion and 8-times winner is the favorite to win title. Well I'll be damned. :|

 

[Terenigma]

Let's see if Simon can continue his run of good predictions. I remember many people did not like hearing his opinion that the big 4's grip on the game was weakening before the AO this year and then Stan won the title.

He just states what is obvious to anyone who isnt blinded by fan bias. When he said that about the Big 4. Federer was MIA and Murray was just coming back from what might of been a career-damaging injury and they had announced that the regulations for doping would be changing and being more strict (which lets face it, might cover Nadal and Djokovic) so ofcourse there would be a change.

Making a prediction that Nadal is the fave to retain the french open? Duh. The guy has dominanted it for years. I would like to see him make a non-obvious statement about the state of tennis and see it come true. Like Rosol winning Wimbledon.

 

[NADALRECORD]

simon is and has always been a närd.

What did he do to give you that impression?

At Rome, Simon was continuously complaining about how long Nadal was taking. And they had a very cold/short handshake at the net. The coldest handshake I can recall seeing between Nadal and another player.

 

[TheMusicLover]

Obvious statement by Obvious Simon is Obvious.

 

[gcfalcon09]

Rafa is in the hot seat. I think he will take it, but he has got some people on his heels and if he has one slip up or a couple of bad sets it could be an upset in the making.

"Anyone can be beaten on any given day"… Just saying.

 

[Omega_7000]

Yes. This is great. I hope all players put enormous pressure on Ralph. Everyone should proclaim him to be the favorite. We know how well he does under pressure. ;-)

 

[cknobman]

"Novak is not far from Rafa because he has a game that is well suited to its characteristics," he added

Hmmm seems active REAL tennis players actually do believe in game style matchups.

 

[Omega_7000]

Hmmm seems active REAL tennis players actually do believe in game style matchups.

You mean this guy is wrong?

the whole match-up adv thing is over-hyped, and mostly by extreme Federer fans.

if Davydenko were good enough to meet Nadal more times over more surfaces, he would also have a losing H2H vs him; just like every other player in the top 30 right now including all of the Big 4!

Nadal would do what is necessary to turn things around barring injury or other things completely out of his control.

 

[NADALRECORD]

The Davydenko-Nadal h2h doesn't old any weight at all. Because in order to hold weight you have to play each other at least twice at a slam event. Slam h2h is what its all about. So hopefully they'll meet at this Roland Garros and Wimbledon hence validate the h2h.

 

[jm1980]

Why is he putting Federer ahead of Stan?

 

[NADALRECORD]

Why is he putting Federer ahead of Stan?

Probably because this year Federer is 2-1 vs Djokovic and 1-0 on clay.
And he probably doesn't believe Federer/Wawrinka can beat Nadal at Roland Garros.

 

[Federator]

The Davydenko-Nadal h2h doesn't old any weight at all. Because in order to hold weight you have to play each other at least twice at a slam event. Slam h2h is what its all about. So hopefully they'll meet at this Roland Garros and Wimbledon hence validate the h2h.

Before Darcis and Rosol, 'twice' was never mentioned

 

[laughingcavalier]

The Davydenko-Nadal h2h doesn't old any weight at all. Because in order to hold weight you have to play each other at least twice at a slam event.




Aaaah,is that what the 'criteria' is.Playing the other guy at least twice in a slam.


Ok,and who set that criteria?

 

[Chanwan]

The Davydenko-Nadal h2h doesn't old any weight at all. Because in order to hold weight you have to play each other at least twice at a slam event. Slam h2h is what its all about. So hopefully they'll meet at this Roland Garros and Wimbledon hence validate the h2h.

yes, why don't they just cancel all those other completely unnecessary and annoying tournaments and let us watch what it's really all about for 8 weeks of the year?

Let's face it: If it didn't happen at a slam, it didn't happen at all. Am I right or what?

 

[Omega_7000]

yes, why don't they just cancel all those other completely unnecessary and annoying tournaments and let us watch what it's really all about for 8 weeks of the year?

Let's face it: If it didn't happen at a slam, it didn't happen at all. Am I right or what?

Also, if Ralph was injured, it didn't happen at all.

 

[NADALRECORD]

Before Darcis and Rosol, 'twice' was never mentioned

I already said it when Sampras was playing actually. Upsets will be upsets....but lightening never strikes twice in the same place.

yes, why don't they just cancel all those other completely unnecessary and annoying tournaments and let us watch what it's really all about for 8 weeks of the year?

Let's face it: If it didn't happen at a slam, it didn't happen at all. Am I right or what?

Only in terms of the h2h. Everything counts in tennis but h2h's don't hold weight unless you've played twice at a slam. I'd say once at a slam but upsets do happen, so it really has to be twice.

[

Aaaah,is that what the 'criteria' is.Playing the other guy at least twice in a slam.

Ok,and who set that criteria?

Me in my post.

 

[Chanwan]

Also, if Ralph was injured, it didn't happen at all.

He hasn't lost while healthy since Tsonga 2008. Except perhaps for once or twice vs. Djoko in 2011 (though not in the two slam loses, so it didn't happen).

 

[Chanwan]

Only in terms of the h2h. Everything counts in tennis but h2h's don't hold weight unless you've played twice at a slam. I'd say once at a slam but upsets do happen, so it really has to be twice.

It makes perfect sense.
Why would 11 matches outside a slam hold any weight? Why would 30, 50, 80?
If it ain't a slam, it ain't important and it should not count in the h2h (though h2h is, curiously, also counted outside the slams in official stats - but hey, we all know the officials think with their arse).

 

[laughingcavalier]

The Davydenko-Nadal h2h doesn't old any weight at all. Because in order to hold weight you have to play each other at least twice at a slam event. Slam h2h is what its all about. So hopefully they'll meet at this Roland Garros and Wimbledon hence validate the h2h.

...Then I guess you don't think Murray's head to head superiority over Federer means anything since he's only beaten Federer once to Fed's 4 times in slams... and you then obviously don't think anything at all about Murray leading Federer 6-1 in Masters Series matches and a 2-0 record in Masters Series finals.

 

[dudeski]

What did he do to give you that impression?

At Rome, Simon was continuously complaining about how long Nadal was taking. And they had a very cold/short handshake at the net. The coldest handshake I can recall seeing between Nadal and another player.

Playing Nadal means putting up with all kinds of completely unnecessary garbage. It starts with delaying the start of the match because you have to wait for his royal highness to get off the chair for the coin toss (he makes you wait intentionally to show he is more important). Then you have to put up with his "jumping up and down like boxer" intimidation tactic during the coin toss. Then you have to watching him do his butt picking/finger smelling 9 step ritual every point. Then if you are lucky he won't try do any fake MTOs to break your momentum but he will still do many excessive celebrations and excessive grunting as another intimidation tactic. By the end of the match even if you are the 2nd coming of Gandhi you pretty much want to kill him so don't be surprised at the cold handshake. You would feel exactly the same way if you were on the tour and had to play him often enough.

 

[Boom-Boom]

Playing Nadal means putting up with all kinds of completely unnecessary garbage. It starts with delaying the start of the match because you have to wait for his royal highness to get off the chair for the coin toss (he makes you wait intentionally to show he is more important). Then you have to put up with his "jumping up and down like boxer" intimidation tactic during the coin toss. Then you have to watching him do his butt picking/finger smelling 9 step ritual every point. Then if you are lucky he won't try do any fake MTOs to break your momentum but he will still do many excessive celebrations and excessive grunting as another intimidation tactic. By the end of the match even if you are the 2nd coming of Ghandhi you pretty much want to kill him so don't be surprised at the cold handshake. You would feel exactly the same way if you were on the tour and had to play him often enough.

Exactly.

On top of that Simon is probably the smartest player on the tour. He is great tactically and is a clear over-achiever (was ranked #6 or 7, no serve, no killer shot, etc).

So when always stressing in ITWs that Nadal (the heavy weight) can run forever in 3d sets while Simon himself (the light weight, endurance being his main strength) is done after two hours...you don't have to be Einstein to understand that he is suggesting the same things as Noah regarding Nadal :mrgreen:

 

[laughingcavalier]

Playing Nadal means putting up with all kinds of completely unnecessary garbage. It starts with delaying the start of the match because you have to wait for his royal highness to get off the chair for the coin toss (he makes you wait intentionally to show he is more important). Then you have to put up with his "jumping up and down like boxer" intimidation tactic during the coin toss. Then you have to watching him do his butt picking/finger smelling 9 step ritual every point. Then if you are lucky he won't try do any fake MTOs to break your momentum but he will still do many excessive celebrations and excessive grunting as another intimidation tactic. By the end of the match even if you are the 2nd coming of Gandhi you pretty much want to kill him so don't be surprised at the cold handshake. You would feel exactly the same way if you were on the tour and had to play him often enough.

... Jim Courier has expressed a couple of times during his commentary during the Australian Open that for the life of him he cannot understand why players don't try to mess with Nadal's 'creature of habit' BS rituals and give it straight back to him.Such as deliberately sitting in your chair until Nadal is obligated to get up first (even if that takes as long as it takes and the umpire starts getting ****ed waiting), moving around and near the service whilst Nadal is about to serve (Rosol ****ed Nadal off something bigtime during their Wimbledon match by taking air swings before Nadal served which infuriated Nadal so much he complained to the umpire) ... and so on and so on.


... How many players so far can you recall that have thrown in a underarm serve to capitalise on Nadal standing 4 metres behind the baseline.Zilch!... Crazy.

I yearn for the day a player does this to Nadal... and on matchpoint too.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieTy3CfBpMg

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

Playing Nadal means putting up with all kinds of completely unnecessary garbage. It starts with delaying the start of the match because you have to wait for his royal highness to get off the chair for the coin toss (he makes you wait intentionally to show he is more important). Then you have to put up with his "jumping up and down like boxer" intimidation tactic during the coin toss. Then you have to watching him do his butt picking/finger smelling 9 step ritual every point. Then if you are lucky he won't try do any fake MTOs to break your momentum but he will still do many excessive celebrations and excessive grunting as another intimidation tactic. By the end of the match even if you are the 2nd coming of Gandhi you pretty much want to kill him so don't be surprised at the cold handshake. You would feel exactly the same way if you were on the tour and had to play him often enough.

what an awesome post !
that's why we all love the rusty peak injured golden bull...

 

[Boom-Boom]

... Jim Courier has expressed a couple of times during his commentary during the Australian Open that for the life of him he cannot understand why players don't try to mess with Nadal's 'creature of habit' BS rituals and give it straight back to him.Such as deliberately sitting in your chair until Nadal is obligated to get up first (even if that takes as long as it takes and the umpire starts getting ****ed waiting), moving around and near the service whilst Nadal is about to serve (Rosol ****ed Nadal off something bigtime during their Wimbledon match by taking air swings before Nadal served which infuriated Nadal so much he complained to the umpire) ... and so on and so on.


... How many players so far can you recall that have thrown in a underarm serve to capitalise on Nadal standing 4 metres behind the baseline.Zilch!... Crazy.

I yearn for the day a player does this to Nadal... and on matchpoint too.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieTy3CfBpMg

Courier is right nobody has the balls to do it save for Rosol or Söderling :mrgreen:

http://youtu.be/vUuVU03lY1c

While Nadal was picking his *ss, the Sod had time to change his frame !!!

 

[laughingcavalier]

Courier is right nobody has the balls to do it save for Rosol or Söderling :mrgreen:

http://youtu.be/vUuVU03lY1c

While Nadal was picking his *ss, the Sod had time to change his frame !!!

... And as usual Nadal yelling out 'C'mon' when his opponent hits an error.


Classy as ever.

 

[Chanwan]

... And as usual Nadal yelling out 'C'mon' when his opponent hits an error.


Classy as ever.

In all fairness, if he didn't then, when should he? He doesn't hit a whole lot of winners - give the guy a break and let him cheer the opponent's errors instead

 

[Boom-Boom]

In all fairness, if he didn't then, when should he? He doesn't hit a whole lot of winners - give the guy a break and let him cheer the opponent's errors instead

Come-on he's the one violating the time rules here, nothing to cheer up for.

Tennis was a gentleman's game, Nadal is such a cheat he doesn't hesitate to challenge his OWN serve when the opponent his hitting a winner. Unbelievable.

http://youtu.be/Iiv6sGjIDEI

 

[laughingcavalier]

Come-on he's the one violating the time rules here, nothing to cheer up for.

Tennis was a gentleman's game, Nadal is such a cheat he doesn't hesitate to challenge his OWN serve when the opponent his hitting a winner. Unbelievable.

http://youtu.be/Iiv6sGjIDEI

... The umpire says he can do that and if that's the rules (which damn well shouldn't be if it is),then unfortunately that's that.

...Still,seeing somebody do that makes you want to take a bath immediately as it makes you feel so dirty just being subjected to it even as a viewer.

 

[Chanwan]

Come-on he's the one violating the time rules here, nothing to cheer up for.

Tennis was a gentleman's game, Nadal is such a cheat he doesn't hesitate to challenge his OWN serve when the opponent his hitting a winner. Unbelievable.

http://youtu.be/Iiv6sGjIDEI

your sarcasm detector seems to be missing

 

[Mike Sams]

Totally agree...all Rafa care is priming for RG, winning a lesser title isn't all that important to him anymore. Slams count and perhaps that elusive WTF at the end of year.

It's funny how you know what Rafa cares and doesn't care about in regards to titles :lol: :lol: The fact that Nadal is losing many matches and losing his grip on his number 1 ranking, it must be because he doesn't care about anything other than Slams :lol:
I mean, who cares at all that Nadal has looked like crap in just about every tournament that he's played this year including the 250 clay event where he had to save match points along with getting smacked around in the Madrid final and was lucky that his opponent's back gave out. :|

 

[cc0509]

It's funny how you know what Rafa cares and doesn't care about in regards to titles :lol: :lol: The fact that Nadal is losing many matches and losing his grip on his number 1 ranking, it must be because he doesn't care about anything other than Slams :lol:
I mean, who cares at all that Nadal has looked like crap in just about every tournament that he's played this year including the 250 clay event where he had to save match points along with getting smacked around in the Madrid final and was lucky that his opponent's back gave out. :|

It is true that Nadal has looked like crap for the whole clay season but IF he somehow manages to pull off winning RG again, the poor clay season results won't matter as much.

 

[tacou]

simon is and has always been a närd.

Except in Madrid 2008

 

[jhhachamp]

He just states what is obvious to anyone who isnt blinded by fan bias. When he said that about the Big 4. Federer was MIA and Murray was just coming back from what might of been a career-damaging injury and they had announced that the regulations for doping would be changing and being more strict (which lets face it, might cover Nadal and Djokovic) so ofcourse there would be a change.

Making a prediction that Nadal is the fave to retain the french open? Duh. The guy has dominanted it for years. I would like to see him make a non-obvious statement about the state of tennis and see it come true. Like Rosol winning Wimbledon.

So...in other words...you would like to see Simon make a stupid prediction and get lucky and have it come true...this would somehow make you respect him more?

 

[jhhachamp]

Yes. This is great. I hope all players put enormous pressure on Ralph. Everyone should proclaim him to be the favorite. We know how well he does under pressure. ;-)

I believe Nadal has been the favorite at the French every year since 2006 (not sure about 2011) and handled the pressure quite well. With this in mind, your post doesn't make much sense.

 

[jhhachamp]

The Davydenko-Nadal h2h doesn't old any weight at all. Because in order to hold weight you have to play each other at least twice at a slam event.

Here is a perfect example of deciding what outcome you want to show first (in this case the poster wants to show that Nadal is amazing) and then finding an exact detailed criteria leading toward that conclusion afterwards. Such a criteria as shown above is arbitrary and the only reason it was chosen was because it makes Nadal looks good.

 

[marc45]

Let's see if Simon can continue his run of good predictions. I remember many people did not like hearing his opinion that the big 4's grip on the game was weakening before the AO this year and then Stan won the title.

yeah, I admit I called him out...and then I admitted I was wrong

 

[ultradr]

Pretty generic answers. Pros are taught to give answers as generic as possible, in an interview.

 

[Towser83]

lol Simon actually believes he gave Nadal a hard match like that and Nadal was his usual self? sure mate Haha. He is probably right that best of 5 will be much different but Nadal has not been at his best or anywhere near it.

 

[MichaelNadal]

lol Simon actually believes he gave Nadal a hard match like that and Nadal was his usual self? sure mate Haha. He is probably right that best of 5 will be much different but Nadal has not been at his best or anywhere near it.

Who do you think will win the FO?

 

[sbengte]

Slam h2h is what its all about.

I thought slam wins are what it's all about. Did they change the rules ?

 

[Mike Sams]

lol Simon actually believes he gave Nadal a hard match like that and Nadal was his usual self? sure mate Haha. He is probably right that best of 5 will be much different but Nadal has not been at his best or anywhere near it.

To be fair, Simon did beat a fantastic version of Nadal in Nadal's backyard in Madrid in 2008. Was a tough match.