Should Rafa turn into a 90's Spaniard ?

[tennisaddict]

Back in the 90's , you had the famous Clay court specialist Spaniards who would win French or go deep in the tournament. Then they will not even play at Wimbledon , since they will not be ranked higher there. They will skip or if the play lose in the first or second round. Infact you will not hear about them till the next French open.

Will Nadal operate on the same mode, playing only on clay and skip all hard courts to take care of his knee and prolong his career , not really caring about the rankings ?

Is it possible that Nadal wins French and gets exempt from hard court masters and other slams without penalty ? In the worst case, he can just tank them.

What do you think ?

 

[Prisoner of Birth]

Back in the 90's , you had the famous Clay court specialist Spaniards who would win French or go deep in the tournament. Then they will not even play at Wimbledon , since they will not be ranked higher there. They will skip or if the play lose in the first or second round.

Will Nadal operate on the same mode, playing only on clay and skip all hard courts to take care of his knee and prolong his career , not really caring about the rankings ?

Is it possible that Nadal wins French and gets exempt from hard court masters and other slams without penalty ? In the worst case, he can just tank them.

What do you think ?

I think "No."

 

[PeteD]

You're right -- off clay, these guys never posed a threat to anyone

 

[Mustard]

You're right -- off clay, these guys never posed a threat to anyone

The guy on the left is a Brazilian

That Brazilian also won the 2000 Masters Cup (now World Tour Finals) and 2001 Cincinnati.

Even the Spaniard on the right won 2002 Cincinnati, reached the 1997 Australian Open final and the semi finals of the 1998 US Open.

 

[tennisaddict]

Thread bump...

 

[ManFed]

Moya was not a threat at all on hard court not even AO. When he reached the final, Petros kicked his ass real bad and playing more than half of the games from the baseline.

 

[Mustard]

Moya was not a threat at all on hard court not even AO. When he reached the final, Petros kicked his ass real bad and playing more than half of the games from the baseline.

At the 1997 Australian Open, Moya beat defending champion, Becker, and beat Chang, both big upsets. Okay, Moya lost the final pretty badly, but to say that he wasn't a threat at all on hardcourt is incorrect.

 

[Murrayfan31]

Nadal is just a better version of the 90's Spaniard.

 

[zam88]

if i were nadal i wouldn't play another tournament off of a natural surface.

IF he could get his knee back to 80%, you could have a really nice career just winning a couple clay masters a year and RG for the next 2-4 years.

Other than pride, i can't see any reason why this wouldn't be a really great plan.

 

[mariecon]

He certainly has the knees of a 90 year old Spaniard. :twisted:

 

[Devilito]

Nadal has always been a 90s Spaniard. The only difference now is that the courts suit that game style more

 

[ViscaB]

Nadal has always been a 90s Spaniard. The only difference now is that the courts suit that game style more

I read an interview with Sergi Bruguera the other day. He said he was glad he was not in Rafa's era. As he would have stood no chance.

Rafa will not skip Wimbledon unless he's injured. The grass is good on his knees and he's a Wimbledon legend.

 

[MasturB]

Are you suggesting he implement a silent ban on all non-clay court events?

 

[Clay lover]

Well, he is much more accomplished than any spaniard on non-dirt surfaces, so I think he will still have the confidence to go for the big non-clay titles.

Are people serious when they say Nadal has in fact been a 90's spaniard? Forget about his non-clay titles, does his clay resume shout out "90's Spaniard" to anyone? No Spaniard has ever come close to his achievements on clay.

 

[Major]

if i were nadal i wouldn't play another tournament off of a natural surface.

IF he could get his knee back to 80%, you could have a really nice career just winning a couple clay masters a year and RG for the next 2-4 years.

Other than pride, i can't see any reason why this wouldn't be a really great plan.

This is what I would do if I were him. Strictly clay and grass.

 

[tacou]

He shouldn't skip hc altogether but playing 1 hc tournament between December and July is a great schedule for Nadal.

After a long Wimbledon rest, play Canada/Cinci/USO then essentially hang it up for the season

 

[tennisaddict]

Gulbis quotes are relevant here after his poor loss to Falla in 2010 -

Nothing worked. I was just running like a Spanish player standing on the baseline and pushing the ball back. Women's tennis.

 

[YouCantBeSerious]

Well, he is much more accomplished than any spaniard on non-dirt surfaces, so I think he will still have the confidence to go for the big non-clay titles.

Are people serious when they say Nadal has in fact been a 90's spaniard? Forget about his non-clay titles, does his clay resume shout out "90's Spaniard" to anyone? No Spaniard has ever come close to his achievements on clay.

I think by "90's Spaniard" they simply mean clay specialist with no chances on other surfaces, which is obviously an exaggeration.

 

[tennisaddict]

Well, this thread was made in 2012 when he had the knee issues.

To all of our surprise, Rafa did what he only could do with the USO series swing and the FO.

However the current HC losses are truly excruciating.

That begs the question - is it time for Rafa to turn into a 90's Spaniard ?

 

[West Coast Ace]

No. He'd lose his endorsements.

I don't think these losses bother him.

But the 1st time he loses at RG now, he'll exit the entire tour quickly. The big question is will that be this year or next.

 

[moonballs]

Well, this thread was made in 2012 when he had the knee issues.

To all of our surprise, Rafa did what he only could do with the USO series swing and the FO.

However the current HC losses are truly excruciating.

That begs the question - is it time for Rafa to turn into a 90's Spaniard ?

His decline now can't be all mental. His knees are good now; his wrist and back issues are in check; his appendix surgery should be long healed. We can't make an intelligent guess if we don't know what exact physical issue is bothering him.

 

[Rock Strongo]

Gulbis quotes are relevant here after his poor loss to Falla in 2010 -

Nothing worked. I was just running like a Spanish player standing on the baseline and pushing the ball back. Women's tennis.

LOL did he really say that?

 

[The Green Mile]

LOL did he really say that?

Here's a few of his best quotes. Enjoy - http://tenngrand.com/2013/02/27/the-30-best-quotes-of-ernests-gulbis-career/

 

[stringertom]

Because he is FINNISH he should retire and then join this board as "90's Spaniard". Then he could have good dialogues with "90's Clay". Expect longer than usual time delays between responses with your favorite mod in the chair issuing regular time violation warnings.