The consistency that Nadal has shown at Grand Slams since 2017 AO with Carlos Moyá as his coach has been amazing

2017 AO: Lost in Final

2017 French Open: Won

2017 Wimbledon: Lost in 4th Round

2017 US Open: Won

2018 AO: Lost in Quarterfinal

2018 French Open: Won

2018 Wimbledon: Lost in Semifinal

2018 US Open: Lost in Semifinal

2019 AO: Lost in Final

2019 French Open: Won

2019 Wimbledon: Lost in Semifinal

2019 US Open: Won

2020 AO: Lost in Quarterfinal

2020 French Open: Won

Since the start of the 2017 AO, in his 14 Grand Slams appearances, Nadal has been to 13 Quarterfinals, 11 Semifinals, 8 Finals and won 6 slams.

Moyá has been an amazing coach for Nadal.
 

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
These kind of numbers from Nadal in his 30's are insane.

PizzaBurgers-3.jpg
 

GabeT

G.O.A.T.
Novak “returned” in mid 2018 but since then it looks as if both Nadal and Djokovic are battling it out while the rest just look from the sidelines. Since the 2018 AO (last slam won by Fed) 10 slams have been played. Novak won 5, Nadal won 4 and only Thiem managed to sneak in a win.

it’s hard to see this changing very dramatically. When I look at the next 8 slams I expect Nadal and Novak to win at least 6 of them.
 

r2473

G.O.A.T.
2017 AO: Lost in Final

2017 French Open: Won

2017 Wimbledon: Lost in 4th Round

2017 US Open: Won

2018 AO: Lost in Quarterfinal

2018 French Open: Won

2018 Wimbledon: Lost in Semifinal

2018 US Open: Lost in Semifinal

2019 AO: Lost in Final

2019 French Open: Won

2019 Wimbledon: Lost in Semifinal

2019 US Open: Won

2020 AO: Lost in Quarterfinal

2020 French Open: Won

Since the start of the 2017 AO, in his 14 Grand Slams appearances, Nadal has been to 13 Quarterfinals, 11 Semifinals, 8 Finals and won 6 slams.

Moyá has been an amazing coach for Nadal.
4 French Opens and 2 Slams without facing Djokovic


Novak “returned” in mid 2018 but since then it looks as if both Nadal and Djokovic are battling it out while the rest just look from the sidelines. Since the 2018 AO (last slam won by Fed) 10 slams have been played. Novak won 5, Nadal won 4 and only Thiem managed to sneak in a win.

it’s hard to see this changing very dramatically. When I look at the next 8 slams I expect Nadal and Novak to win at least 6 of them.
yup. Except they’ll win at least 8 of them
 

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
I’ll be honest and say that I never expected this second Renaissance from Nadal in his thirties considering that every expert thought that his body would break down first amongst the Big 3. When he lost the 2017 AO final, almost the entire tennis world thought that he lost his final chance to be the GOAT. Instead he now looks like he is on track to retire with his stated goal of 25 Slams (plus two Olympic singles gold medals). I am starting to think that Djokovic can’t catch his Slam count and will have only the #1 ranking weeks record when their careers are over.
 

DSH

Talk Tennis Guru
I’ll be honest and say that I never expected this second Renaissance from Nadal in his thirties considering that every expert thought that his body would break down first amongst the Big 3. When he lost the 2017 AO final, almost the entire tennis world thought that he lost his final chance to be the GOAT. Instead he now looks like he is on track to retire with his stated goal of 25 Slams (plus two Olympic singles gold medals). I am starting to think that Djokovic can’t catch his Slam count and will have only the #1 ranking weeks record when their careers are over.
 

clayqueen

Talk Tennis Guru
Rafael Nadal's dominance in numbers: 13 French Opens over 15 years, 100-2 win-loss record and more

Nadal, 34, claimed his 100th match win at Roland Garros against just two defeats since his 2005 debut. The Spaniard, the oldest champion in Paris since Andres Gimeno in 1972, claimed the title without dropping a set.

FP Sports October 12, 2020 00:06:23 IST

Rafael Nadal demolished Novak Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 to win his 13th French Open and equal Roger Federer's all-time record of 20 Grand Slam titles on Sunday.

For world number one Djokovic, the defeat ended his hopes of an 18th Slam and of becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four majors twice.

Nadal, 34, claimed his 100th match win at Roland Garros against just two defeats since his 2005 debut. The Spaniard, the oldest champion in Paris since Andres Gimeno in 1972, claimed the title without dropping a set.

A statistical look at Nadal's achievement at Roland on Sunday:

13 - Nadal extended his tally of most Grand Slam titles won by an individual at same venue in the Open Era. No other player, male or female, has won as many titles at same venue at any tour level event. Nadal passed Martina Navratilova, who won 12 titles at Chicago between 1978 and 1992. Rafa has also succeeded 11 times each at Monte Carlo and Barcelona. Navratilova also won 11 titles at Eastbourne, while Federer has won in Basel 10 times.

20 - The big one. Nadal and Federer are now level on 20 Slams each - most among men in the Open Era. The last time they were equal was on 5 July, 2003 - the day before Federer won his first. Djokovic trails with 17 followed by retired Pete Sampras (14) and Roy Emerson (12).

100-2 - Nadal's improved record at Roland Garros reads a staggering 100-2. The other male player with 100 wins at a Grand Slam is Federer with 102 at Australian Open and 101 at Wimbledon. Overall, Chris Evert had 101 wins at US Open, Navratilova 120 at Wimbledon and Serena Williams has 106 at the US Open. The two defeats for Rafa have come against Robin Soderling and Djokovic himself.

21 - Nadal has now beaten the World No. 1 21 times - most by any player, male or female, since 1973. Next on the list are Boris Becker (19) and Navratilova (18). 7 of Nadal's wins have been against Djokovic, 14 against Federer

6 - Nadal is the oldest French Open champion since 1972 and the third oldest overall. He now has six Grand Slam titles since turning 30. Djokovic 5, Federer, Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall all won 4 each

4 - Nadal has now won four Grand Slam titles without dropping a set. Bjorn Borg won 3, Federer 2. Not so surprisingly, Rafa's previous runs came at French Open in 2008, 2010 and 2017

0 - It is the first time since 1955 that the men's and women's champions both went a Grand Slam without dropping a set. Iga Swiatek conceded 28 games in her first Slam run (four games per match), Nadal dropped 53 games (just over seven per match)

12 - It was the 12th time Nadal won a set 6-0 at a Grand Slam and incidentally the 12th time Djokovic was bageled in his career. It is the sixth instance in the Open Era of a 6-0 in the first set of a Major final. All of them went in the direction of the player who won the set except in 2004 when Guillermo Coria was beaten by Gaston Gaudio at the French Open

86 - Nadal has now won 86 career singles titles ahead of Djokovic (81) and John McEnroe (77) but trailing Jimmy Connors (109), Federer (103) and Lendl (94)

15 years - Nadal's first Grand Slam title, in Paris, came in 2005 and his latest comes in 2020 making it the second largest gap in the Open Era. Federer's 20 Grand Slam titles have spanned 14 years and 7 months. But leading the charts is Serena Williams with 17 years and 5 months between her 1999 US Open and 2017 Australian Open wins.

.
 

ForehandRF

Legend
The man has reached the greatest heights in this sport, alongside Federer and Djokovic, and deserves credit for what he has achieved in his illustrious career.
 

urban

Legend
Nadal has changed his game on clay in the last years. The young Nadal was fast and resilient, he ran everything down, hitting back from impossible positions. But sometimes like in the final with Puerta, he let the other guy dictate the game to counter. I never forget his first match at RG with Federer 2005, when at the very first point of the match, Fed hit a perfect forehand to follow it to the net. And he was stunned, when out of the corner, Nadal hit a forehand down the line for a clean winner. That was virtually the match and the whole RG rivalry, at the very first point.
In the last years at RG, Nadal plays more like Mike Tyson. He stays more on the baseline, and presses the other guy out of the court and completely dictates the flow of the match. Often the match is decided in the very first game. No more counterpunching, but heavy, heavy body blows. So he overpowers his opponent. He now plays more like Courier, who walked through a extremely tough draw at RG in 1992. Nadal now has that big overpowering forehand, and he is dealing constantly heavy blows. He even looks like Tyson, built like Vilas or Mancini, but hitting through the ball much, much more than those two, whose strength was absorbed by too much topspin. When i saw him against Diego, i thought he could not be beaten by Djoker. He looks like a cruiserweight, while Djoker looks frail, like a welterweight. Schwarzmann is equally strong bult, but more a pocket version of Nadal.
 

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
In the last years at RG, Nadal plays more like Mike Tyson. He stays more on the baseline, and presses the other guy out of the court and completely dictates the flow of the match. Often the match is decided in the very first game. No more counterpunching, but heavy, heavy body blows. So he overpowers his opponent. He now plays more like Courier, who walked through a extremely tough draw at RG in 1992. Nadal now has that big overpowering forehand, and he is dealing constantly heavy blows. He even looks like Tyson, built like Vilas or Mancini, but hitting through the ball much, much more than those two, whose strength was absorbed by too much topspin. When i saw him against Diego, i thought he could not be beaten by Djoker. He looks like a cruiserweight, while Djoker looks frail, like a welterweight. Schwarzmann is equally strong bult, but more a pocket version of Nadal.

Did you watch many of Nadal‘s matches at this FO? Your description of a more offensive style maybe matches how he played during the last three years (2017-2019), but not in the slow, heavy conditions in 2020. He used a lot of variety (change of pace, slower/higher moonballs), many DTL BH shots, ad serves to the middle to get returns with less angles etc. to force longer points that he won by playing great defense. He hit big FHs only when he opened up space and he kept rallies going in the middle third of the court (rather than corners) a lot more than usual knowing that he could frustrate his opponents into making errors during longer rallies. I was amazed that he moved so well and played great defense at his current age - he got to Djokovic’s dropshots way better than younger players like Tsitsipas particularly because he anticipates so well.
 

octobrina10

Talk Tennis Guru
2017 AO: Lost in Final

2017 French Open: Won

2017 Wimbledon: Lost in 4th Round

2017 US Open: Won

2018 AO: Lost in Quarterfinal

2018 French Open: Won

2018 Wimbledon: Lost in Semifinal

2018 US Open: Lost in Semifinal

2019 AO: Lost in Final

2019 French Open: Won

2019 Wimbledon: Lost in Semifinal

2019 US Open: Won

2020 AO: Lost in Quarterfinal

2020 French Open: Won

Since the start of the 2017 AO, in his 14 Grand Slams appearances, Nadal has been to 13 Quarterfinals, 11 Semifinals, 8 Finals and won 6 slams.

Moyá has been an amazing coach for Nadal.

Before Carlos Moya agreed to become Rafa's coach, he asked Rafa if the latter was willing to do everything to win again GS tournaments.

An excerpt from C.Moya's interview with EL Espanol in January 2017 (Google translation from Spanish):

¤¤ Question: "How did the opportunity to coach Nadal appear?"
MOYA: "Toni Nadal called me when I was playing the IPTL. He knew that I was no longer with Raonic and asked if I wanted to be part of the Rafa team and work at the academy. I agreed in principle, but I said I needed to talk to Rafa. I needed to know if he was willing to do everything to win again Grand Slam tournaments, to become the world's number one again ... And yes, he did have a hunger to win. For me, that was fundamental."¤¤

EL Espanol: ¤¤ Carlos Moya: "Coaching Nadal is the biggest challenge I'll ever face" ¤¤
 

urban

Legend
That Nadal played strategically and tactically a smart match against Djoker, that he sometimes played high balls to retain his position, is correct. But nevertheless he plays now more on the baseline, with a very compact style of play, dictating and controlling rallies, and hits pounding shots with great length and also with extreme angles. I think, he won a greater percentage of shorter points (1-4 shots), than in longer rallies, where Dojokovic won quite a share of. He put enormous pressure on Djokovic, who constantly was driven out of his comfort zone and had to hit the lines to stay in the match. That is not Djokers style, who is more a counterpuncher, than a direct hardhitter.
 

Julian Houston

Semi-Pro
That Nadal played strategically and tactically a smart match against Djoker, that he sometimes played high balls to retain his position, is correct. But nevertheless he plays now more on the baseline, with a very compact style of play, dictating and controlling rallies, and hits pounding shots with great length and also with extreme angles. I think, he won a greater percentage of shorter points (1-4 shots), than in longer rallies, where Dojokovic won quite a share of. He put enormous pressure on Djokovic, who constantly was driven out of his comfort zone and had to hit the lines to stay in the match. That is not Djokers style, who is more a counterpuncher, than a direct hardhitter.
He needed to play this way under the roof. Djokovic seek to neutralize the ball and slowly attack, not gonna give him time to do it.
 
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