MugOpponent
Hall of Fame
I think his scheduling possibilities are quite intriguing because there are so many permutations that are valid. I speculated that skipping IW/Miami might leave a lot more in the tank for Wimbledon. Sure enough, that seemed correct as he was essentially one point away from winning. I wonder if Rafa or his team might make that connection.
Selfishly I'd hate to see him skip IW as I'd like to attend. It'd also be a real shame if Nadal didn't win Miami. I'd say he probably could have won it last year if he had played but it was prudent to just recover for clay. Winning Miami is likely to be more difficult going forward with Djokovic back in form as it's one of Novak's best events. Although it's possible the court will play differently with a new venue.
He should skip Madrid because the timing of tournament is perfect for a break in the clay season to rest up for Rome and RG. It's by far the least favorable conditions for Rafa. However in the real world he isn't skipping a tournament in Spain or making an inadvertent political statement by playing Barcelona and not Madrid.
If I had to set up his schedule it'd go
Brisbane
Australian Open
Indian Wells
Miami
Monte Carlo
Barcelona
Rome
Roland Garros
Wimbledon
Canada
USO
Shanghai
I'd encourage one more tournament of his choice as 12 seems too light.
Antonio Puente
Hall of Fame
Give it a month or two.
Might end up being wishful thinking.
Might end up being wishful thinking.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Nadal will be 33 when the FO rolls around...... you really never know.
Mainad
Bionic Poster
No more attempts to win the WTF?
Antonio Puente
Hall of Fame
On the bright side, every other rival is as old as Rafa(or older) and in daily competition for the most washed up... among ATGs.
Julian Houston
Semi-Pro
To be fair Rafa overplayed this year, his slam matches in QF and SF. In future he should quit tennis outside clay.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
At 33, if he plays every tournament there is like 2017, his nico nico knees will get ground down into nico nico nothing
LOL
stringertom
Bionic Poster
Will stem cell cure salty crying pressers???
Shank Volley
Hall of Fame
For me the issue isn't so much that Nadal's body has broken down, it's that his physical advantage versus the field is essentially gone. It's getting to the stage where when Nadal takes the court with someone, the player who hits better shots will win, and Nadal has made a career of beating more traditional shotmakers by making them uncomfortable and wearing them down until they miss.
As someone who's had up and down fitness over the years I can attest to the fact that when you're the less fit player on the court the only way to win is to play with more precision, power, and guile than the opponent.
A player's ability to run is less effected by nerves than their ability to crush a forehand on the rise for a clean winner, hence Nadal's high break point save and conversion rates. This is the stage of his career when we'll really see how mentally strong he is.
As someone who's had up and down fitness over the years I can attest to the fact that when you're the less fit player on the court the only way to win is to play with more precision, power, and guile than the opponent.
A player's ability to run is less effected by nerves than their ability to crush a forehand on the rise for a clean winner, hence Nadal's high break point save and conversion rates. This is the stage of his career when we'll really see how mentally strong he is.
Tennis_Hands
Banned
dont hear too much about the knees or the congenital foot injuries these days do we?
quite remarkable
Well, they have done the job they were used for, haven't they?
There was a time when those were used as an explanation for why Nadal might eventually wind down or even stop playing. It is a kind of ridiculous to continue with that argument when he is running faster and more than 90% of the tour at 32.
the passport sort of brought it to an end i guessWell, they have done the job they were used for, haven't they?
There was a time when those were used as an explanation for why Nadal might eventually wind down or even stop playing. It is a kind of ridiculous to continue with that argument when he is running faster than 90% of the tour at 32.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
This is exactly it. It's taken a LONG time, but the guys on tour are finally as fit as he is (or close). He, along with Djokovic have made the tour a lot more physical, and the guys are used to it now. Peak Rafa could play all day knowing eventually his opponent would tire, but now he can't play a whole tournament that way, because everyone is used to playing the physical style he brings to the table.
Shank Volley
Hall of Fame
Nadal, Federer and Djokovic definitely changed the way people approach the game in terms of training and diet, but I think more than that it's the degradation of Nadal's speed. General physicality has been boosted but Nadal has had a significant downturn to meet it somewhere in the middle.
JasonG2019
Rookie
His playing style is horrendous he has no weapons it’s all grinding
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Fedforever
Hall of Fame
What an excellent post.
It's always annoyed me that people seem to make such simplistic judgements on "mental strength". I'm sure these players (like the rest of us) are a mixture of strength and weakness. Ironically all the guff about Nadal being this "mental titan" has probably meant he's had less respect for his actual tennis than he should have.
RaulRamirez
Legend
It's amazing that this weaponless player is one of the three best players in the Open Era. If only he had an ATG forehand, or off-the-charts speed, quickness and anticipation, or a remarkable transition game, or some of the best touch on tour, or the ability to change tactics mid-match, or...
Fedforever
Hall of Fame
It's part of the stupidity of the simplistic "Fedal: Study in contrasts" narrative. It was good marketing but it's crap
Federer never gets enough credit for his mental toughness and Nadal never gets enough credit for his skill.
RaulRamirez
Legend
I agree completely, and have posted several times about both/all parts of this equation: lazy media and fans and how narratives die slowly, if ever; Fed's resilience and toughness; and the subtleties of Nadal's game.
King No1e
G.O.A.T.
Everytime we mention those years, it always amazes me how all his #1 years (after 2008) were comeback seasons.
Cabeza del Demonio
Professional
GOAT post.At 33, if he plays every tournament there is like 2017, his nico nico knees will get ground down into nico nico nothing
Nico Nico Niidal
Decent thread, then all the trolls appear talking about how hes always healthy for clay.
A lot of really bitter people towards Nadal for some reason.
He may have missed a decent chunk of WTF's in his career, but lets not forget hes only ever missed 2 USO, 3 Wimbledons, and a couple of AO's. in almost 16 years on the tour.
So about 60 slams he has missed a massive 7
Pure jealousy of Nadal, not so much from Djokovic fans, it is mainly Federer fans.
Tennis_Hands
Banned
MeatTornado
Talk Tennis Guru
Another day, another hard court retirement.
I think this is actually good for him. He's already had plenty of match-play this year to get into form, and this will force him to skip Miami and take a little time off so he's fully rested for the clay season.
I think this is actually good for him. He's already had plenty of match-play this year to get into form, and this will force him to skip Miami and take a little time off so he's fully rested for the clay season.
Hasnt played a full season since 2011. Will struggle to play 10 events this year. I think there is a reason he is almost pro level at golf....
And whats the problem? If he wins FO then he was right no?
Dlabsiladan
New User
octobrina10
Talk Tennis Guru
Keystoner
Semi-Pro
Disclaimer: Fed is my guy.
I think Nadal should take a page from Federer's book. Fed took 6 months off in '16 and has never shown signs of that injury recurring. Nadal has had this recurring knee thing for how long now? I'm not a doctor but I think he should take an extended period of time off so that the knee will fully heal. Then he should be selective about his yearly schedule. He might not be able to earn enough points to hold #1 but he may be able to extend his career in years and GS total to Fed territory. I don't want to see him exceed Fed but I don't want to constantly see him go lame in the middle of a match.
I think Nadal should take a page from Federer's book. Fed took 6 months off in '16 and has never shown signs of that injury recurring. Nadal has had this recurring knee thing for how long now? I'm not a doctor but I think he should take an extended period of time off so that the knee will fully heal. Then he should be selective about his yearly schedule. He might not be able to earn enough points to hold #1 but he may be able to extend his career in years and GS total to Fed territory. I don't want to see him exceed Fed but I don't want to constantly see him go lame in the middle of a match.
His wrist was injured, remember?
I didn't watch Nadal's match against Khachanov but was already wondering which excuse he'd make had he lost to Fed this morning.
D
Deleted member 688153
Guest
kevaninho
Hall of Fame
Um....different type of injury. Rafas 'knee thing' will never go away. Its wear and tear. He can manage it on certain surfaces, for a certain period of time, but its becoming less every year. It just depends from here in, how much Rafa fancies going through this same injury, then treatment, then rest, and then hoping to keep the pain at bay for the next tournament.
He will eventually have to give up most HC events very soon. Federer if I remember tore a meniscus, that can be fixed, with the person resuming normal acivities without pain.
CentreCourt
Rookie
Nadal also took a long period of time off in 2016 too. He just has a style which is more punishing on the body. If Nadal wants to really extend his career, he needs to alter how he plays.
He has the longest average set time of every player in the top 100 in 2018 and is significantly longer, on average, than Federer across their careers. All that extra running and grinding he does is impressive, but it shaves time off your career. Often no need for it as well - he has one of the very best forehands in the game.
Kalin
Legend
He should do some bench presses...
Keystoner
Semi-Pro
What's his knee thing that will never go away? Is surgery an option?
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
Question is Will RAFA have lighter schedule during this clay season to be 100 % for sure at Paris ? I think lighter schedule might be better for RAFA like Skipping the Italian open would be Optimal. and Avoid Novak til French open time.
kevaninho
Hall of Fame
Tendonitis. wear and tear etc. It cant just be fixed with rest or surgery. He has tried resting it pretty much most of his career at certain points, but it just keep coming back more frequently as he ages.
I know this feeling all too well, as I used to do a particular physical job, that after 6-7 years of doing the same grind, my knee joints were starting to ache. But after I left the job my knees were fine. I know that if I went back there tomorrow, though, that in a few weeks time, id start getting pains.
jon70
Semi-Pro
In that situation how does the money work out? Is the pay for pulling out of the SF the same as winning the QF? Just wondering if they can make pulling out of a match without a ball being hit a disincentive.
As far as I know you get the prizemoney as if you'd played the match.
Can anybody else confirm?
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