The 2021 Rome masters 1000 R16 matchup :- (2) Rafael Nadal [ESP] versus (13) Denis Shapovalov [CAN]

Win prediction poll


  • Total voters
    33
  • Poll closed .

aman92

Legend
Just the kind of match that will do wonders for Nadal's mental confidence... Physically the workout he needed and just showed enough to get over the line over an inspired opponent. No doubt he'll take it up a notch at RG
 

Ray Mercer

Hall of Fame
Excellent post.
I've said this 10 times, RG is looking open this year.
Nadal is a pale shadow of what he used to be. The worst clay tennis, as bad as 2015.

If there were any young great players out there Nadal would be toast. The competition is pathetic. Nadal is not anywhere near the retriever he was 10-15 years ago. I watched highlights of the 2007 French final yesterday and it’s crazy how much faster both Fed and Nadal moved back then. The level of tennis in that match is insane.
 

Nadal_King

Hall of Fame
I always find it amazing how Nadal never seems to make unforced errors when match point down. You might beat him but you have to really take it to him, he won't just hand it to you. As someone who always roots for his opponent it's incredibly frustrating but in fairness Shapovalov wasn't as aggressive as he should've been, especially as both mps were in open play so I don't really feel too sorry for him. He who dares wins.
Yes watching his matches you feel some patterns like if he is serving to stay in it then 1st point he looks nervy 30-30 looks nervy and when match point down suddenly becomes a wall
 

tudwell

G.O.A.T.
Now watch Nadal winning tournament as he will have a bye at SF (Delbonis or Opelka) and you can’t bet on someone like Zverev beating him two weeks in a row. If Nishikori upsets Zverev, no doubt he is on the final. He will probably get the day semifinal as well and that is a huge advantage.
Yeah, I'd be surprised if he doesn't make the final now. Zverev has a chance at taking him out, but Madrid conditions are much more favorable, and as you note, it would be quite an achievement for a player of Zverev's caliber to beat Nadal twice in the span of a week. Meanwhile, the top half has Djokovic, Tsitsipas, Thiem, and Rublev all beating each other up – whoever comes through will probably be worn down the final.
 

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
Nadal is not old or in decline until he plays poorly at RG. He has already matched his 2020 Rome result, and he outperformed his Monte Carlo-Barcelona-Madrid results from 2019 already as well. You people act like it's your first day here.
In 2019 he at least won Rome. This year it's definitely tougher because he got the toughest possible draw here. But sorry, the MC loss to Rublev was pathetic. THAT was not a tough draw by any means.
 

clout

Hall of Fame
Nasal has FAA/Delbonis/Opelka in SF anyway.
woman-using-nasal-spray-for-controlling-rhinitis-596316348-5867ef0b5f9b586e025c30c6.jpg
 

weakera

Talk Tennis Guru
Also, it's not Shapovalov who blew this match, it's Nadal. Nadal was the clear better player in sets 2 and 3 and missed an absurd number of chances to put the match away in the 3rd. Shapovalov did well to get to match points and a tiebreak.
 

weakera

Talk Tennis Guru
No, but as I said, he at least improved in 2019 before RG. This year he didn't improve.

He has absolutely improved from his level in Monte Carlo. He's a bit more up and down this year I grant you, but better than he looked getting killed against Schwartzman in Rome 2020. And again, until he struggles at RG, it's all meaningless.
 

WhiskeyEE

G.O.A.T.
He has absolutely improved from his level in Monte Carlo. He's a bit more up and down this year I grant you, but better than he looked getting killed against Schwartzman in Rome 2020. And again, until he struggles at RG, it's all meaningless.

Nadal has never lost at all 3 clay masters outside of 2015. And we all know what happened that year.

So it's not exactly meaningless if he doesn't manage to win the title here.
 

aman92

Legend
Just the kind of match that will do wonders for Nadal's mental confidence... Physically the workout he needed and just showed enough to get over the line over an inspired opponent. No doubt he'll take it up a notch at RG
 

RoS

Semi-Pro
If there were any young great players out there Nadal would be toast. The competition is pathetic. Nadal is not anywhere near the retriever he was 10-15 years ago. I watched highlights of the 2007 French final yesterday and it’s crazy how much faster both Fed and Nadal moved back then. The level of tennis in that match is insane.

And Rome 2005 and Rome 2006

Federer is crying with De Niro. If he was younger, he would destroy badly this version of Nadal but he faced Peak Claydal. 2011-2016 Djokovic would have beaten Nadal today 6-0 6-3. He WOULD never choke like Shapovalov did.

I love Nadal but this is the worst i have seen of him. He didn't win the match. It's Shapovalov who gifted to him.

But he is the ultimate fighter. Nadal won't give you anything, you MUST take the match from him.

This match show perfectly that Nadal will win the FO again

No matter how old he is, now matter how bad he is playing, the Next-Gen will always find a way to choke. They have no balls.

Before Tsitsipas, now Shapovalov.
 

WhiskeyEE

G.O.A.T.
Meaningless and stupid factoid, unless he actually loses at RG. His form at Rome 2020 was far more ominously poor, especially headed to cool, damp conditions at Roland Garros.

The entire rest of the tour was playing on hard court like 1-2 weeks before RG last year. Anything from last year is irrelevant.
 

weakera

Talk Tennis Guru
The entire rest of the tour was playing on hard court like 1-2 weeks before RG last year. Anything from last year is irrelevant.


Lol. You could have given the rest of the tour three months of clay practice leading in and it would not have made a damn difference.
 

WhiskeyEE

G.O.A.T.
Lol. You could have given the rest of the tour three months of clay practice leading in and it would not have made a damn difference.

This year is an anomaly for Nadal whether you want to accept it or not. The only other similar year is 2015. All good (and bad) things come to an end.
 

weakera

Talk Tennis Guru
Once again, how could anyone have expected anything different? Shapo was never going to win this match. Nadal's mental strength, even at nearly 35, crushes all the next gen.

Unfortunately it's still showing cracks though. Tsitsipas AO and Medvedev WTF match were just so brutal. Hopefully his RG aura prevents any of that this year.
 

weakera

Talk Tennis Guru
This year is an anomaly for Nadal whether you want to accept it or not. The only other similar year is 2015. All good (and bad) things come to an end.

You may be right, but that doesn't change the fact that Nadal has arrived at RG in worse form and won with ease. And in addition to last year, Nadal was lucky to win a clay masters in 2014 with Nishikori getting hurt when up in the Madrid final. Nadal arrived at RG in bad form and still sleptwalk to the RG title, beating prime Djokovic.
 

Backspin1183

Talk Tennis Guru
Nadal was hitting short in set 1. Even in sets 2 and 3, he didn't dictate points like vintage Rafa on clay. His form is still a concern IMO.
 

WhiskeyEE

G.O.A.T.
You may be right, but that doesn't change the fact that Nadal has arrived at RG in worse form and won with ease. And in addition to last year, Nadal was lucky to win a clay masters in 2014 with Nishikori getting hurt when up in the Madrid final. Nadal arrived at RG in bad form and still sleptwalk to the RG title, beating prime Djokovic.

Everyone knows Nishikori choked that final. He didn't get hurt. I think that Nishikori beats this Nadal. The choking wouldn't have been enough for this Nadal to cross the finish line.
 

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
Everyone knows Nishikori choked that final. He didn't get hurt. I think that Nishikori beats this Nadal. The choking wouldn't have been enough for this Nadal to cross the finish line.
Lol, Nadal right now still plays better than he did during most of the 2014 clay season. This is actually the one time when he managed to improve specifically for RG. Though this year much more players believe they can beat him than in 2014, that is the problem.
 

WhiskeyEE

G.O.A.T.
Lol, Nadal right now still plays better than he did during most of the 2014 clay season. This is actually the one time when he managed to improve specifically for RG. Though this year much more players believe they can beat him than in 2014, that is the problem.

I do not think Nadal is better this year than 2014. His offense is awol and if he's going to rely on his defense to win matches the 35 year old is in for a(nother) rude awakening once he faces a well rounded top player who doesn't shank on every big point.
 

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
I do not think Nadal is better this year than 2014. His offense is awol and if he's going to rely on his defense to win matches the 35 year old is in for a rude awakening once he faces a well rounded top player who doesn't shank on every big point.
Look how passive he was in Rome 2014 final against Djokovic. And this was actually an improvement compared to the horrible level he showed in MC, Barcelona and Madrid 2014.
 

InvisibleSoul

Hall of Fame
Shapo is so frustrating to watch. He blasts these beautiful serves and forehands and then gifts a bunch of brutal unforced errors. He’s been like this since he burst onto the scene 4 years ago. I don’t think this is ever going to change. He will always be that guy that can cause an upset but will never be able to string enough consistency together to win a slam. He’s lacking something in the mental department unfortunately.
Well, yes and no... early on, he was always touting having "ice in his veins"... and it did seem like he did well in the pressure moments and wasn't prone to choking.

But yeah, that's more or less how I evaluated him even from early on... when he's in the zone, he can take out any player... but he can't sustain that type of level day in day out.
 
D

Deleted member 770948

Guest
Father Time getting closer and closer. :cry:
Father Time peaked last year when Nadal lost 62 75 to Schwartzman at Rome........but then father time declined when Nadal beat Schwartzman 63 63 76(0) at Roland Garros.
Or, some people still don't understand the difference between Roland Garros and everywhere else....
 

clayqueen

Talk Tennis Guru
I spent the whole match sitting on the edge of my chair. I didn't want to give up but I was almost 100% sure Shapo would win the match. There areno easy rounds these days. All the young players are very hungry for their slice of the cake.
 
D

Deleted member 770948

Guest
Nadal might just turn Up his form in RG.

But right now he is lacking in every single manner possible.

Tense Misfiring FH, Meek serve. Only the BH is somewhat of a saving grace.

Hate that Zverev might get his second win over Nadal.
The same thing happened in 2019 when Nadal lost 3 consecutive claycourt Semis, and in 2020 when Nadal lost to Diego in straight sets at Rome.
Best-of-3-sets is for children........while best-of-5-sets is for grown-ups.
It's like you were born yesterday....
 
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