Susan may get her wish..nadal has a great chance vs fed

[James Brown]

The way fed apparently played vs davydenko, i think fed is screwed. thats too bad. Nadal isnt good enough to beat him when fed is playing at his normal level (not even his best). Too bad, all were gonna hear about is about how this 17 year old beat no.1 in the world...wait til a regular tournament when fed demolishes him 6-2 6-1

 

[joebedford]

Fed will win.

 

[david aames]

The average level seems pretty bad over there right now. It has to do with the weather conditions. Gusty winds after all the rain interruptions...

 

[PureCarlosMoyaDrive]

Federer will beat Nadal, I'm sure of it. Winning the tournament with his supposed level of play, well that's different. Hopefully these winds will go away. All the big names were close today, cept Roddick.

 

[guernica1]

I agree this is Nadal's chance and unless Fed gets healthy quickly the odds are against him.

As much as Susan likes Nadal I'm sure she'd rather see him beat Fed at his best not when he's ill. At least that is what most classy fans do.

If this tourney continues to be windy it is Agassi's to lose. He is probably still the best player in windy conditions and like the Australian Open it will take a tremendous effort to beat him.

 

[guernica1]

Whoa the Fed-Nadal match is tomorrow night. Nadal might even get a walk-over win tomorrow night.

 

[ian mercier]

federer vs. nadal

let's not jump the gun too quickly here. After reading Federer's post-match interview it looks like the conditions were just as much of a factor as anything else in his match. He did say that he didn't feel well at all, but never mentioned anything about missing his match vs. Nadal. He commented on how he's gained a little familiarity with Rafa's game since losing to him and Robredo in doubles last week. Looks to me like he's geared up for the challenge. It should be an exciting match. I just hope the networks (i.e. ESPN) don't totally screw up and skip it for some other crap.

 

[sseemiller]

I read Roger's interview, and I agree with Ian -- Roger is looking ahead to playing Nadal. Roger wasn't at his best today, but I wasn't aware he was ill when I was watching it, although he certainly looked out of sorts. And I do hope he's okay for tomorrow's match. It's nice they are giving him additional time to recover before the next match.

And of course, Federer is going to beat Nadal if he's 100% (most likely). That's true of every guy on the Tour, not just Nadal.

But Nadal said it best:

"If it happens that I play my very best tennis and he doesn't play well, I think I can beat him. If everything goes normal, then I'm going to lose."

Anyway, of course, I'm pulling for Nadal. So let's see what happens. Doubt we'll get it on TV, though. Too many Williams sisters matches tomorrow, and only 2 hours of coverage.

Susan

 

[prince]

i saw fed played really awful , a lot of unforced errors but still managed to win .

I wont think he would play as bad as when he played davydenko though.

 

[SonicSpeed]

Should be interesting...

 

[@wright]

Federer will raise his level high enough to win, but if he's sick that could be more than even he could handle. He's just too good for someone to predict he'll lose to a 17 year old just because he was shanking a few balls the day before.

 

[guernica1]

Roger told the crowd when the Tennis Channel lady interviewed him after the match in stadium that he was unable to practice until the day before because of illness, nausea, vomit etc. This match won't be on TV.

 

[boris becker 1]

ouch. his uncle played for Barca and he supports the team we hate more than anything.

 

[MG1]

wow..even before there 1st match some people were expecting nadal to win.

 

[trilix]

wow..even before there 1st match some people were expecting nadal to win.

Yeah and even back then Fed was shanking and having a lot of UE's...

Go figure...

 

[Bud]

Good thread. Right before their first match ever in Miami round of 32.

Nadal d. Federer 6-3, 6-3

 

[MichaelNadal]

Im surprised so many people thought Rafa would win what had Rafa really done of note before then that made them think he was a challenge to Federer ? Im honestly curious bc I wasn't as hardcore about tennis then and can't remember. I was more into the WTA.

 

[Cup8489]

IIRC, part of the reason people expected a Nadal win was that Federer was either injured or ill.. I don't remember the reason, but it looks like people even brought that up in this thread.

 

[Sentinel]

Was Susan one of those old Nadal fans ... the predecessor of nadal_freak, or as some historians say "The Mother of all Nadal fans" ?

 

[BigServer1]

IIRC, part of the reason people expected a Nadal win was that Federer was either injured or ill.. I don't remember the reason, but it looks like people even brought that up in this thread.

He had a stomach bug during that tournament, but he mentioned being OK to play. I feel like if you show up, you're healthy...It is funny how people predicted Nadal to have an edge, even when the h2h was 0-0.

 

[roundiesee]

Was Susan one of those old Nadal fans ... the predecessor of nadal_freak, or as some historians say "The Mother of all Nadal fans" ?

Yes, Susan if I remember correctly was a very devoted Rafa fan, who even used the userid "VamosRafa", and I think even created a website for Rafa. She correctly recognised Rafa's success in tennis when Rafa was just entering the pro circuit. I wonder whether she still reads these boards.

 

[Bud]

Yes, Susan if I remember correctly was a very devoted Rafa fan, who even used the userid "VamosRafa", and I think even created a website for Rafa. She correctly recognised Rafa's success in tennis when Rafa was just entering the pro circuit. I wonder whether she still reads these boards.

I've heard she now goes by the initials... NSK :shock::mrgreen::lol:

 

[sseemiller]

Hi, all. It is the original "VamosRafa," the mother of all Rafa fans apparently. Lol. I did run a website for him during his early years. Now I just watch him as a fan. I have to say he has exceeded any expectations I had for him. But those expectations were not as low as most folks had for him back in the day. There was one prominent poster who thought he was another Michael Chang. He and I had many heated disagreements about that.

Rafa is the king of clay, no doubt. He also is one of the best players who ever played the game. Period. Whether he is in GOAT contention is the subject of debate. But I will say that no one ever thought he'd be part of that discussion when he burst onto the scene. It has been a pleasure watching his career, and I am glad it isn't over yet. Vamos Rafa!

Susan

 

[sseemiller]

It is a great day when you get a like from Rod Laver. Thank you, Mr. Laver. All the best to Rafa at The Laver Cup -- Although technically I should be rooting for Team World. Like everyone else, I am hoping Rafa and Roger play doubles.

 

[NEW_BORN]

Susan & Suresh - match made in heaven - polar opposites as far as post count is concerned.
Bow down to the "Godparents" of TTW.

 

[every7]

The rarest of rarities......the double thread revival with 2004-2012 and 2012-2017 intervals between exhumations. Maximum epicity achieved.

Credit to @MG1 and @sseemiller for the respective revivals.

 

[Tennis_Hands]

Well, Nadal's win was put in perspective with this thread for those who did not witness the tournament themselves.

Also, Susan, you started a monster in your prodigy.

Any ideas for how to stop it from devouring our civilization?

 

[Deleted member 512391]

Well, Nadal's win was put in perspective with this thread for those who did not witness the tournament themselves.

Also, Susan, you started a monster in your prodigy.

Any ideas for how to stop it from devouring our civilization?

The 2004 Nadal was really fun to watch and his mindset was completely different from what we've been witnessing since 2005. Still remember his match against Hewitt in Australia that year, there was a kid who went for his FH whenever he had a chance, who was receiving serves while standing on the baseline and who was extremely aggressive returner (the difference between this and their 2005 AO match was enormous). He was very entertaining player back then, at least to me.

I don't know why he decided to give up on power tennis and start playing physical tennis, but with 16 Majors in his pocket...well, it's hard to argue against it. The sad thing is that I believe he would've been as successful had he kept his aggressive mindset (and would've been more fun to watch ).

 

[KINGROGER]

The 2004 Nadal was really fun to watch and his mindset was completely different from what we've been witnessing since 2005. Still remember his match against Hewitt in Australia that year, there was a kid who went for his FH whenever he had a chance, who was receiving serves while standing on the baseline and who was extremely aggressive returner (the difference between this and their 2005 AO match was enormous). He was very entertaining player back then, at least to me.

I don't know why he decided to give up on power tennis and start playing physical tennis, but with 16 Majors in his pocket...well, it's hard to argue against it. The sad thing is that I believe he would've been as successful had he kept his aggressive mindset (and would've been more fun to watch ).

Uncle Toni?

I agree Young aggressive Nadal was more fun to watch. He didn't even grunt as much back then.

 

[Fedforever]

Hi, all. It is the original "VamosRafa," the mother of all Rafa fans apparently. Lol. I did run a website for him during his early years. Now I just watch him as a fan. I have to say he has exceeded any expectations I had for him. But those expectations were not as low as most folks had for him back in the day. There was one prominent poster who thought he was another Michael Chang. He and I had many heated disagreements about that.

Rafa is the king of clay, no doubt. He also is one of the best players who ever played the game. Period. Whether he is in GOAT contention is the subject of debate. But I will say that no one ever thought he'd be part of that discussion when he burst onto the scene. It has been a pleasure watching his career, and I am glad it isn't over yet. Vamos Rafa!

Susan

What a nice post and congratulations on your talent spotting.

 

[RF-18]

The 2004 Nadal was really fun to watch and his mindset was completely different from what we've been witnessing since 2005. Still remember his match against Hewitt in Australia that year, there was a kid who went for his FH whenever he had a chance, who was receiving serves while standing on the baseline and who was extremely aggressive returner (the difference between this and their 2005 AO match was enormous). He was very entertaining player back then, at least to me.

I don't know why he decided to give up on power tennis and start playing physical tennis, but with 16 Majors in his pocket...well, it's hard to argue against it. The sad thing is that I believe he would've been as successful had he kept his aggressive mindset (and would've been more fun to watch ).

Cause he knows what he is doing. Going for it at every shot is not gonna win you many titles or let you be consistent at all.

 

[mike danny]

Cause he knows what he is doing. Going for it at every shot is not gonna win you many titles or let you be consistent at all.

Federer isn't going for it at every shot. Yet he is still more aggressive than Nadal.

 

[RF-18]

Federer isn't going for it at every shot. Yet he is still more aggressive than Nadal.

So? What does that have to do with my post?

MartinJ was talking about how Nadal was letting go of his FH in his younger days and how he can't understand why he didn't keep playing like that.

I responded that Nadal knew what he was doing with the changes he made and that you need a bit of control in your game. Look at his career as a result.

 

[Deleted member 512391]

Cause he knows what he is doing. Going for it at every shot is not gonna win you many titles or let you be consistent at all.

So? What does that have to do with my post?

MartinJ was talking about how Nadal was letting go of his FH in his younger days and how he can't understand why he didn't keep playing like that.

I responded that Nadal knew what he was doing with the changes he made and that you need a bit of control in your game. Look at his career as a result.

Your responses would make perfect sense if I said that Nadal was a ballbasher, which I didn't. He was simply more aggressive and more entertaining (at least to me) and had a potential to be as successful with his old game, but he (or the Tio) decided to change the initial strategy and had moved back (from the baseline).

Mike Danny's response is exactly the point I was trying to make.

 

[Gazelle]

Nadal looked like an Apache Indian.