Rafael Nadal: Mother of all quests - 25 Slams and 100 titles

Can he do it

  • Total voters
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S

Start da Game

Hall of Fame
this is it folks, this is the new target for rafael nadal set by start da game on a bright monday morning shortly after his 20th slam........history means very little to nadal, the focus is always on "what next"........that is the way he was nurtured and carved by uncle toni........can he collect another 5 slams to make it 25 and 14 titles overall to hit 100 titles mark.........he seems to be fit and strong enough to play on for another 3 years easily at the top level........discuss and just vote yes or no........

***this thread is inspired from my old friend hercules' thread at some other forum.....
 
titoelcolombiano

titoelcolombiano

Legend
100 titles might be a stretch unless he reduces his schedule to predominantly clay as he ages and takes on some smaller titles and piles up the wins.

25 slams is almost definately out of reach when you consider it took him four years to win the last 5. Rafa always seems to prove the doubters wrong but winning his 25th slam at age 38? Probably not.

He's obviously a hot, hot favourite for RG in just 7 months' time which would mean 21 and as long as he's playing well the US Open is on the cards for him too. Thiem is a big threat though and he will get stronger and stronger. I would say Rafa finishes with 21 slam, 22 if things really go his way.
 
Yugram

Yugram

Legend
I am not sure about 100 titles, but 25 is DEFINITELY possible. Don’t even bother to convince me otherwise, haters.

RG is still under a HUGE lock, in fact the gap between Nadal and the field there feels even bigger now than in 2011-2014, now that Djokovic is not a consistent threat on clay.

3 more at RG sounds more than realistic, so it really depends on if we can get a bit lucky on 2-3 of the next 9 non-clay Slams. (Like, not getting Kyrgios-Thiem-Zverev-Djokovic draw to begin with)
 
weakera

weakera

G.O.A.T.
He's 20/60 for his career. If he maintains that winning clip he will need to participate in 15 more slams.
 
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PeoplesChamp

PeoplesChamp

Legend
Yugram said:
Crazy that Nadal could already be sitting on 22 if he capitalised in 2018 a bit better (freakin’ injuries). Then we’d be talking about project 27 right now.
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21 you mean. Nadal lost to Federer 2017 AO. No evidence at all that he would have beaten Federer in 2018. I could say the same thing about 2017 and 2019 USO when it comes injuries.
 
SinneGOAT

SinneGOAT

Hall of Fame
I love Nadal with all my heart, but that is quite the ask. In the next few years the competition from the next generation will only grow, so I’m expecting about 1-3 more slams from Nadal and then the next gen become the top 5.
 
Yugram

Yugram

Legend
PeoplesChamp said:
21 you mean. Nadal lost to Federer 2017 AO. No evidence at all that he would have beaten Federer in 2018. I could say the same thing about 2017 and 2019 USO when it comes injuries.
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He was 1 point away from winning Wim in 2018 (sorry, Anderson) and, assuming he’d remain healthy at both AO and USO, I’d expect him to snatch 1, as both Federer and Djokovic were very very beatable.
 
PeoplesChamp

PeoplesChamp

Legend
Yugram said:
He was 1 point away from winning Wim in 2018 (sorry, Anderson) and, assuming he’d remain healthy at both AO and USO, I’d expect him to snatch 1, as both Federer and Djokovic were very very beatable.
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I counted Wimbledon as 21 because Anderson. Nadal vs Fedovic in a HC major final in recent years is a long shot bet. I suppose he could have 22 beating Federer which like I said is no guarantee at all. Not even close to a guarantee and Nadal wasn't beating Djokovic 2018 USO.
 
DSH

DSH

G.O.A.T.
22 Grand Chelem (as Steffi Graf) and 95 titles (one more than Lendl) are not out of reach and I think Nadal can achieve both goals!
:D
 
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Thriller

Thriller

Hall of Fame
Start da Game said:
25 slams will make him the only person ever male or female, in tennis history to hold as many slams......margaret court has 24 and that’s the record to break.......
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Please! Margaret Court has like 11 Australian Opens from the time when it was little more than a national championship.

Take 1964, the ladies singles had a draw of 27. My tennis club has a bigger draw than that! 25 Australians, 1 Brit and 1 Japanese.
Margaret Court had a bye in the first round! So she had to play just 4 matches to become Australian Open champion!

Never mind Serena, it is an insult to Chrissie, Martina and Steffi that people are currently placing Margaret Court above their careers, a phenomenon that only happened the minute that Serena overtook Steffi .... and now you are placing her above Roger and Rafa!! This is madness. I don't understand it.
 
N

Nadal_King

Hall of Fame
Well Rafa in last 4 years has won 50% of the slams in a year he participated 3 times and almost 4 times if he had won wimb 18 semi so him winning 3 in next 2 years is not out of question and then 1-2 there after
 
Mike Sams

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
Yugram said:
Crazy that Nadal could already be sitting on 22 if he capitalised in 2018 a bit better (freakin’ injuries). Then we’d be talking about project 27 right now.
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If Djokovic hadn't been born, Nadal would be at 30 Slams today. LOL
 
Mike Sams

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
Nadal is a lock for RG 2021 I'd say. He's a strong contender as always for AO, Wimbledon and USO as well. It will be interesting to see how he and Djokovic hold up physically. The NewGen are making some inroads. Tsitsipas did well against Djokovic. I thought he'd just go away but he stretched Djokovic to 5 and fought him hard. The NextGen guys and Thiem can put up real resistance in the Slams if they keep it up.
 
UnderratedSlam

UnderratedSlam

Legend
Eren said:
When it's about RG and Nadal winning it. He proved that it's more of "No... Yeah actually he does".
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I never said it's his last.

I am merely commenting on wild optimism, scenarios that are frankly absurd.

Some people believe that career inflation means that everyone gets to win slams into their 50s...
 
aldeayeah

aldeayeah

Legend
100 titles is pretty doable by vulturing some mickey mouse clay events (Moya is no stranger to this). It mostly depends on how he goes about his scheduling.

5 more slams is theoretically doable if EVERYTHING goes right in the next 2-4 seasons (for example, if Nadal doesn't decline much further, Fed fails to return to form, Novak hits a slump/sharp decline, and no other new players step ahead), but I still think it's a huge ask at age 34, and doesn't just depend on him.

I think it's unlikely to happen, but Rafa tends to exceed my expectations. Who knows.
 
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D-Lite

D-Lite

Professional
I think he will get at least 2 more RGs, maybe 3-4 - it's just not possible to predict injury or the body's downturn. If he does get 4 RGs, I think that'll also come with 1-2 hardcourt slams, perhaps, so 25 is doable, for sure, but it's just about where the body is at.
Of course, we have little faith in the 'Next Gen' but in 2-3 years we may see some improvement there and there may be a more apparent heir to the throne(s) so to speak.
Right now Thiem seems set for another slam in my opinion, probably on hard court again. Tsitsipas, Zverev and Medvedev need to step up and I'm not totally convinced next year will be their year - I feel Thiem is the one who will grab a 2nd before any of them bag their first.
 
D-Lite

D-Lite

Professional
Thriller said:
Please! Margaret Court has like 11 Australian Opens from the time when it was little more than a national championship.

Take 1964, the ladies singles had a draw of 27. My tennis club has a bigger draw than that! 25 Australians, 1 Brit and 1 Japanese.
Margaret Court had a bye in the first round! So she had to play just 4 matches to become Australian Open champion!

Never mind Serena, it is an insult to Chrissie, Martina and Steffi that people are currently placing Margaret Court above their careers, a phenomenon that only happened the minute that Serena overtook Steffi .... and now you are placing her above Roger and Rafa!! This is madness. I don't understand it.
Click to expand...
Tell it how it is! PREACH!!
 
Rickenbacker4003

Rickenbacker4003

Hall of Fame
D-Lite said:
I think he will get at least 2 more RGs, maybe 3-4 - it's just not possible to predict injury or the body's downturn. If he does get 4 RGs, I think that'll also come with 1-2 hardcourt slams, perhaps, so 25 is doable, for sure, but it's just about where the body is at.
Of course, we have little faith in the 'Next Gen' but in 2-3 years we may see some improvement there and there may be a more apparent heir to the throne(s) so to speak.
Right now Thiem seems set for another slam in my opinion, probably on hard court again. Tsitsipas, Zverev and Medvedev need to step up and I'm not totally convinced next year will be their year - I feel Thiem is the one who will grab a 2nd before any of them bag their first.
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I also think he could take an AO since he was up 2 sets to 1 on Joker this year. He may take the 2021 AO now that he got his first slam. That would really hurt Joker's chances at breaking Fed's 20.
 
Rickenbacker4003

Rickenbacker4003

Hall of Fame
Mike Sams said:
Nadal is a lock for RG 2021 I'd say. He's a strong contender as always for AO, Wimbledon and USO as well. It will be interesting to see how he and Djokovic hold up physically. The NewGen are making some inroads. Tsitsipas did well against Djokovic. I thought he'd just go away but he stretched Djokovic to 5 and fought him hard. The NextGen guys and Thiem can put up real resistance in the Slams if they keep it up.
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Spot on, I said it before, but I think he can grab another RG in 7 months and this time with summer weather arriving in Paris. If he's feeling good he likes New York, the atmosphere and he does well there. He loves the roof over Ashe because it slowed down the conditions, coupled with NYC's late summer humidity he can turn it into a gutter street fight match now.
 
W

Walrus Gumball

New User
Start da Game said:
this is it folks, this is the new target for rafael nadal set by start da game on a bright monday morning shortly after his 20th slam........history means very little to nadal, the focus is always on "what next"........that is the way he was nurtured and carved by uncle toni........can he collect another 5 slams to make it 25 and 14 titles overall to hit 100 titles mark.........he seems to be fit and strong enough to play on for another 3 years easily at the top level........discuss and just vote yes or no........

***this thread is inspired from my old friend hercules' thread at some other forum.....
Click to expand...
The problem is the injuries, of course but we shall see
 
toby55555

toby55555

Hall of Fame
I'll guess
Nadal two more RG and one US = 23,
Djoker 3 more AO, 2 Wimb, 1 US = 23,
Fed retires on 20

Sinner by age of 36 ends debate forever with....30 GS titles :-D:-D
 
Rickenbacker4003

Rickenbacker4003

Hall of Fame
toby55555 said:
I'll guess
Nadal two more RG and one US = 23,
Djoker 3 more AO, 2 Wimb, 1 US = 23,
Fed retires on 20

Sinner by age of 36 ends debate forever with....30 GS titles :-D:-D
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Not a bad guess, but 3 more AO’s means he’s going to win 3 in a row from 2021 to 2023 (he’d be 36 years old by then) and seeing that it’s tough to defend slam titles on hardcourts you’re basically saying that Joker will go undefeated at AO from 2019-2023. While it is possible, I find it unlikely that he won’t slip up at least once before 2023. I don’t see him winning 2 more Wimbledon’s.

My guess? I say he ends up tied with Roger at 20, assuming that Roger won’t win anymore. 2 more AO’s and 1 more Wimbledon for Joker. Let’s screenshot this to see where we are in a few years.
 
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