Rafael Nadal's Best Tennis Is Happening Right Now

[Bender]

You guys should take that up with Rafa: “No. I am not better than ever before."

If 2nd serve return was the main parameter, then his best year on tour would 2004, per the article. That just goes to show the dumb conclusions you can reach looking at stats in isolation.

Rafa's peak was probably AO 2009. Has he improved some aspects of his game since then? Yes, but none of them have made up for his physical losses since then nor his shotmaking ability from the baseline (which I feel his BH suffered after that due to his knee issues).

I think a good balance between offensive firepower and physicality was RG 2012. Almost as fast as he used to be, far more aggressive than in his early years.

2010 USO was also a fantastic showing for him. Guy was still young and belting the ball like it was 2004 AO all over again.

 

[DSH]

Nadal is more fun to watch than 10 years ago.

 

[D.Nalby12]

Numbers are good but we certainly know this is not peak Nadal. It was a monster.

 

[DSH]

Numbers are good but we certainly know this is not peak Nadal. It was a monster.

Achievements is the only that matter at this point of his career and I am pretty sure he still has 2 more good years to win great things.

 

[Deleted member 763691]

If people ignore Rafa's age for just a minute, the logical scenario is he'll still be able to win multiple slams in 2024.
Just because he's 33-years-old, people are reluctant to say he has more than 2 good years left.
They forget that nobody has won more slams after the age of 30 than Rafa, so why put limits on him?
There is every indication that he'll still be winning the US Open in 2024, and still be in the Wimbledon semis (or better if Federer isn't there).
He's the first of his kind

 

[clayqueen]

Nah, just extreme weakery inflating numbers. Come on, this Nadal got destroyed by Djo, bagelled by Fog, taken apart by old bones, and nearly choked a slam final from two sets and a break up. If you think that's his peak, you don't respect his game much. And yet the mean bull has thus far posted his highest game % in a single season. Ricockulous stuff.

By the way, Fog has never bageled Rafa. Get your facts right.

So do I take it that Djoker's days of winning on clay are over because he got bageled and breadsticked by Rafa in Rome and lost to Thiem in the RG SF?

 

[TearTheRoofOff]

Going from best second serve points won % to career best tennis is one mighty leap. What about the other variables? Like the entire field? What's stopped him from being no.1 earlier than the very end of the season, then? Oh, that's right, other 30+ year old dudes having career best levels.