Roland Garrows the downfall of Novak?

[Dunlop300t]

Now that the clay season is going to start will this mean the downfall of Novak like last year to Roger? Novak is great on grass courts and even better on hard like he showed last year but he was out in the semis for rg... will he fall and will Nadal be king of clay as always or is there a chance for him to totally dominate this year...

 

[Towser83]

he's better on clay than he is on grass

 

[wimble10]

It would be fun to see a Nadal/Djokovic match at RG. I assume this would be the final. I still have to give the edge to Nadal.

 

[Dunlop300t]

then any reason he lost last year... and if you look at novak's record he has done better on grass and other surfaces than clay... he is a better fast court player i think...

 

[Slice&Smash]

If he can keep his level, he will beat everyone on clay.

His game is best suited for the red dirt!!

 

[Xizel]

then any reason he lost last year... and if you look at novak's record he has done better on grass and other surfaces than clay... he is a better fast court player i think...

Lol... I'm not sure if you're new or just a troll.

 

[dr325i]

OP, downfall???
He lost a single clay match the whole season. Who else did it last year???
He is a human, too.
I think this time he is going to focus on the FO title rather than chasing all the Masters and 500 tournaments. He has only two goals left - the FO title and the Olympics, and 2012 is the year to try that. He is aware that the RF slam record is not possible to break and he is fine with that. He has already achieved 3 of his main goals (at the age of 24) - Q1 spot and Wimbledon. Now, he plays to enjoy it and get a few extra side-goals

 

[cork_screw]

RG has become the most boring slam. Nadal will win. If it was that close against novak on hardcourt, just think what he'll do on clay. Nobody beats rafael on clay, besides an odd fluke.

 

[Sentinel]

OP, downfall???
He lost a single clay match the whole season. Who else did it last year???
He is a human, too.
I think this time he is going to focus on the FO title rather than chasing all the Masters and 500 tournaments. He has only two goals left - the FO title and the Olympics, and 2012 is the year to try that. He is aware that the RF slam record is not possible to break and he is fine with that. He has already achieved 3 of his main goals (at the age of 24) - Q1 spot and Wimbledon. Now, he plays to enjoy it and get a few extra side-goals

Why is that ? Anyway, one thing at a time.

First RG and Olympics, perhaps the real Grand Slam, then he can worry about racking up slams.

 

[Masayoshi]

OP, downfall???
He lost a single clay match the whole season. Who else did it last year???
He is a human, too.
I think this time he is going to focus on the FO title rather than chasing all the Masters and 500 tournaments. He has only two goals left - the FO title and the Olympics, and 2012 is the year to try that. He is aware that the RF slam record is not possible to break and he is fine with that. He has already achieved 3 of his main goals (at the age of 24) - Q1 spot and Wimbledon. Now, he plays to enjoy it and get a few extra side-goals

Why would Djokovic think that the Fed 16 is impossible to break? From our outside perspective, it may look that way, but I feel that Djokovic has an insane amount of belief in himself, judging by the way he approaches his matches. He may be just crazy enough to think he'll get 11 more majors...

(and there'd be a small but non-zero chance he'd be right!)

 

[Bartelby]

Roland Gallows would have been funnier.

 

[Lsmkenpo]

Roland Garrows 2012 the downfall of the Nadal.

Nadal will not make the semis the giant hitting Swede is expected to return and will likely beat Nadal there once again, Nadal has never defeated a 100% healthy Robin Soderling on clay. It is Nadal's worst nightmare, after his last defeat it took him over a year to recover. I fear the next loss will be too much and Nadal will announce his retirement in the post match press conference, than collapse and have to be rushed to a mental hospital, where he will spend the rest of his life ........muttering to himself...Bo Carl...Bo Carl...Bo Carl over and over, as he arranges the empty water bottles of fellow patients he pulls out of the trash cans on the floor in front of him.

Uncle Toni will visit him once a year on his birthday to bring him a banana.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Nadal will not make the semis the giant hitting Swede is expected to return and will likely beat Nadal there once again, Nadal has never defeated a 100% healthy Robin Soderling on clay. It is Nadal's worst nightmare, after his last defeat it took him over a year to recover. I fear the next loss will be too much and Nadal will announce his retirement in the post match press conference, than collapse and have to be rushed to a mental hospital, where he will spend the rest of his life ........muttering to himself...Bo Carl...Bo Carl...Bo Carl over and over, as he arranges the empty water bottles of fellow patients he pulls out of the trash cans on the floor in front of him.

Uncle Toni will visit him once a year on his birthday to bring him a banana.

 

[Mike Sams]

Federer/Nadal on the same side of the draw hopefully. Not that Federer has a chance in hell of beating Nadal at the French but at least it'll be fun to have a few more of these Fedal meetings while Federer's still capable of playing at a high level and with no pressure.

 

[Masayoshi]

Nadal will not make the semis the giant hitting Swede is expected to return and will likely beat Nadal there once again, Nadal has never defeated a 100% healthy Robin Soderling on clay. It is Nadal's worst nightmare, after his last defeat it took him over a year to recover.

With Soderling having taking out the #1 player (and #1 seed) in the world TWICE at the French Open (Nadal 2009, Federer 2010), who also comprise the #1 & #2 best clay courters of the current era, it would be very poetic for him to take out new #1 Djokovic as well. In addition, the Serbian at this point has to be ranked among the top 3 clay courters of today (given his almost undefeated clay season last year), which makes it even more fitting.

Even if Soderling never wins a major, taking out these three at Roland Garros would be one hell of a legacy to leave! And if he does succeed with Novak, I'd hope he at least wins the whole tourney for once.

 

[nadalwon2012]

Even if Soderling played exactly the same way he played at 2009 RG, he wouldn't be assured of beating Nadal. Nadal still took Soderling to a 4th set tie-breaker in that match.

 

[MixieP]

By the time Roland Garrote comes along dear old Rafa may have lost eleven finals in a row to Novak, but of course his confidence will be sky high so, yes, a very tough match it will be, for sure.

 

[JoelDali]

Roland Garrows -VS- Djoko would be an epic battle.

 

[celoft]

Roger with a comeback this year or someone else would be refreshing.

 

[Tammo]

Nadal will always have Barcelona, where there are no Novaks.

 

[nadalwon2012]

It would be depressing and hilarious at the same time if Nadal and Federer meet in the final again. Djok vs Nadal is the final everyone wants.

 

[Wilander Fan]

It would be depressing and hilarious at the same time if Nadal and Federer meet in the final again. Djok vs Nadal is the final everyone wants.

If I were Nadal, I would not want this matchup. Being grand slammed by one player is a pretty infamous achievement.

 

[nadalwon2012]

If I were Nadal, I would not want this matchup. Being grand slammed by one player is a pretty infamous achievement.

Nah, Nadal needs as many slam finals vs Djok as possible. Beating Federer doesn't help Nadal's legacy. He's been there and done that. Nadal needs to increase his lead over Djok. 16-14 is not enough (and 5-3 at slams). Djok's 7-0 streak has made it essential that Nadal returns the favor, rather than simply avoids him. I don't think people will be too impressed if Nadal wins a slam without beating Djok, from now on. Nadal is into challenges. He's not like the posters here at tennis talk.

 

[TTMR]

Nah, Nadal needs as many slam finals vs Djok as possible. Beating Federer doesn't help Nadal's legacy. He's been there and done that. Nadal needs to increase his lead over Djok. 16-14 is not enough (and 5-3 at slams). Djok's 7-0 streak has made it essential that Nadal returns the favor, rather than simply avoids him. I don't think people will be too impressed if Nadal wins a slam without beating Djok, from now on. Nadal is into challenges. He's not like the posters here at tennis talk.

On Planet TW, a "strategic loss" to Murray or Chela in the SFs would be better for Nadal's image than making another final and losing to the world #1. It is better to lose to the many, than to be 'owned' by one.

 

[fednad]

Lol... I'm not sure if you're new or just a troll.

He is a mathematical union of the two. He is a new troll.

 

[nadalwon2012]

On Planet TW, a "strategic loss" to Murray or Chela in the SFs would be better for Nadal's image than making another final and losing to the world #1. It is better to lose to the many, than to be 'owned' by one.

Doesn't work that way. The damage has already been done. The only way Nadal can restore his image is by beating Djok over and over again. Avoiding Djok, only hurts Nadal's image. Nadal needs as many meetings with Djok as possible, to overshadow that 0-7 with a 7-0 in return. There is no other option. It is pointless for Nadal to avoid Djok. And if Nadal loses to Djok more times, that is worthwhile, just so Nadal can have the opportunity to turn it around.

 

[Lsmkenpo]

By the time Roland Garrote comes along dear old Rafa may have lost eleven finals in a row to Novak, but of course his confidence will be sky high so, yes, a very tough match it will be, for sure.

The more Nadal loses the stronger his fighting spirit becomes, I can only imagine the level of fight in Nadal after 11 final defeats in a row.

He would probably do a machine gun hip thrust after winning the coin flip, then defer with a mean scowl on his face.

 

[zapvor]

Roland Gallows would have been funnier.

yea what the hell garrows???? some tennis fans on here are unbelievable

 

[wimble10]

^^^^^ hahaha no u didn

 

[mcenroefan]

Federer/Nadal on the same side of the draw hopefully. Not that Federer has a chance in hell of beating Nadal at the French but at least it'll be fun to have a few more of these Fedal meetings while Federer's still capable of playing at a high level and with no pressure.

I think Fed can play a competitive match against Nadal at the FO if he's serving lights out. Lighter balls equal more aces, unreturnable serves.

Anyway, I don't see Nadal beating Nole at the FO unless Nole chokes under the pressure of 4 in a row.

We'll have a better sense after a few clay tourneys.

 

[nadalwon2012]

I think Fed can play a competitive match against Nadal at the FO if he's serving lights out. Lighter balls equal more aces, unreturnable serves.

Anyway, I don't see Nadal beating Nole at the FO unless Nole chokes under the pressure of 4 in a row.

We'll have a better sense after a few clay tourneys.

Roland Garros is different to the other clay tournaments, so I wouldn't go by anything.

 

[mcenroefan]

Roland Garros is different to the other clay tournaments, so I wouldn't go by anything.

Well, it's 5 sets, some additional pressure, and they are using slightly lighter balls than the other clay tourneys.

Nevertheless, being that Nadal plays every tourney the same, I think the other tourneys tell us something.

 

[wimble10]

they are using slightly lighter balls than the other clay tourneys.

I think the clay is heavier at RG too.

 

[Sentinel]

The more Nadal loses the stronger his fighting spirit becomes, I can only imagine the level of fight in Nadal after 11 final defeats in a row.

He would probably do a machine gun hip thrust after winning the coin flip, then defer with a mean scowl on his face.

He will also fall down on the ground with joy after each UE by Nole.

 

[dr325i]

Why would Djokovic think that the Fed 16 is impossible to break? From our outside perspective, it may look that way, but I feel that Djokovic has an insane amount of belief in himself, judging by the way he approaches his matches. He may be just crazy enough to think he'll get 11 more majors...

(and there'd be a small but non-zero chance he'd be right!)

I agree with you on his belief and self confidence, however, he needs 12 slams to break 16. That would be 6 years of 2 per year at least... He is 25.

I believe it is unrealistic, plus, he's (just like me) Serbian. Goes against our character

 

[MixieP]

The more Nadal loses the stronger his fighting spirit becomes, I can only imagine the level of fight in Nadal after 11 final defeats in a row.

He would probably do a machine gun hip thrust after winning the coin flip, then defer with a mean scowl on his face.

He will also fall down on the ground with joy after each UE by Nole.

And while lying on the ground he'll be fistpumping madly with both hands while kicking his legs high up in the air.

Rafa is going to take his antics to the next level this spring.

 

[MariaRafael]

Even if Soderling never wins a major, taking out these three at Roland Garros would be one hell of a legacy to leave! And if he does succeed with Novak, I'd hope he at least wins the whole tourney for once.

I thought that Soderling had gone top Valhalla to drink their heavily. Haven't heard about him playing tennis for about a year. Has he been resurrected?

 

[dominikk1985]

he's better on clay than he is on grass

yes. it seems the slower the court the better novak is.

last year all people were saying that nadal will turn it around on clay after losing several times on hardcourt.
But the opposite happened: novak beat him up even MORE on clay than he did on hardcourt.

novak lost a close match to an on fire roger. had he won that match I'm sure he would have beat nadal. nadal can reall be thankful to roger.

 

[Feather]

Doesn't work that way. The damage has already been done. The only way Nadal can restore his image is by beating Djok over and over again. Avoiding Djok, only hurts Nadal's image. Nadal needs as many meetings with Djok as possible, to overshadow that 0-7 with a 7-0 in return. There is no other option. It is pointless for Nadal to avoid Djok. And if Nadal loses to Djok more times, that is worthwhile, just so Nadal can have the opportunity to turn it around.

I kind of wonder, are you being sarcastic ? Your confidence should be "amazing" if you really think that Rafael Nadal is gonna beat Novak Djokovic seven times in a row. Oh wait, you expect Rafa to pick up RG Grand Slams for another five years in a row

 

[dominikk1985]

I kind of wonder, are you being sarcastic ? Your confidence should be "amazing" if you really think that Rafael Nadal is gonna beat Novak Djokovic seven times in a row. Oh wait, you expect Rafa to pick up RG Grand Slams for another five years in a row

you are right. however whether it's 0-7 or 0-16 doesn't really matter. both is absolutely devastating.

it can't really get worse for nadal than now so he must at least try it.

however I also think that mentally it will be nearly impossible to come back from that.

 

[Dilettante]

Threads are becoming more and more bad, but thread titles are getting better.

 

[Mike Sams]

It would be depressing and hilarious at the same time if Nadal and Federer meet in the final again. Djok vs Nadal is the final everyone wants.

Federer won't beat Djokovic at Roland Garros this time. Even their 2011 meeting took a bit of luck for Federer to win. 2 tiebreakers and having to come back from a break against a so-so Djokovic who seemed to be mentally out of it (probably thanks to McEnroe kissing his behind a day earlier about his crazy streak). Can't see Federer stopping Djokovic this year. Federer's performance against Nadal at the AO shows again that his form is on and off. Djokovic will be stronger this time. Ain't no old fart gonna stop him from his destiny.

 

[MurrayMyInspiration]

Murray to win!

 

[devila]

mcenroe brothers have the bitter gene. no matter how hard they fly federina up like a kite, djoker always cuts the string and federer crashes.

nadal has a cute "play innocent" personality. his metrosexual smile & hair & perfect sized biceps & wedgy-inducing butt are good for tennis.
the hair should be long again.

djoker has wisdom & sexy face & gestures, even though he won't let people see his serious brooding mature hunk side. the only thing he needs to do is grow his abundant hair because the smoldering sexuality should rival the latin players. these things add up to goat status.

 

[wimble10]

^^^Djoker should get a goatee.

 

[Logan71]

I think he will win the FO as he has time for an all out effort,but the problem starts at Wimbledon.Winning 2 slams in 4 weeks,the Olympics and the USopen all by September.

Can he find new levels of fitness?

 

[MDCCLXXVI]

Soderling is a troll.

 

[Masayoshi]

Soderling is a troll.

I think he should take out Djokovic in an early round and then crash and burn in a later one. It will be poetic, to have done that to the top 3 players of this era

Or, if he can somehow mow through Djokovic, Federer, AND Nadal all in a row, that would be even better. The ultimate troll

 

[Sentinel]

And while lying on the ground he'll be fistpumping madly with both hands while kicking his legs high up in the air.

Rafa is going to take his antics to the next level this spring.

Expecting cart-wheels after holding serve, back-flips after getting a break-point, and climbing the stands and hugging Toni if he actually breaks serve. He'll need to take gymnastics lessons for the new level, though.

 

[FearOfTheDark]

Poll is very close!