To think federer was so close...

[Krish872007]

The tennis world has 1 major flaw - people suffer from short-termism. They either don't remember past patterns or choose to ignore everything and live only in the absolute present.

It is possible that Rafa gets close to 17, but it's also possible that Federer moves the goalposts further towards 19 (or even 20). It's then equally possible that Nadal wins tomorrow and then neither Fed nor Nadal win any more after that. Factor in Murray, who seems to have found his form again. And Novak, who may be in poor form now but can never be counted out - flip a switch, get motivation back and anything could happen. But most importantly, it's the next wave of players who will determine how many Slams the Big Boys rack up.

 

[Tennis_Hands]

Hope Stan wipes the floor with him tomorrow and all the fanboys implode

That never works.

They really have nothing else.

 

[Deleted member 307496]

These are just coincidences or patterns, i don't know why we behave as though they matter. It's not like he has been in 10 finals and won them all. The sample size is too small in Wawrinka's case.

Nadal has never lost and RG final, has he. NINE finals, all won. Right ?

Yeah true.

 

[Micheal Federer]

Wonder if Stan will recover by tomorrow.

Until now the fanboys used to complain that Rafa could not recover, now they are all silent. No one talking about Stan's semi. I guess I will be told that Stan should have finished his match in three sets. Which never occurs to them when Bull goes the distance.

Fan boys implode ? I can think of the injury excuses, fatigue, age, how tough the match against Thiem was, how brutal the season was, the wind, the umpire calling time violations, Wawrinka, the French crowd, the Atlantic Ocean, etc etc.

Lolz.

 

[KINGROGER]

You're assuming these bombs will land in. Thiem was unloading all day off both wings today. The problem was most of his shots sailed way long or were smothered in the bottom of the net. Stan can implode the same way.

Thiem is a brainless ball basher though who can redline on a particular day.

Wawrinka is a lot more consistent and hits with more spin/angles.

 

[Steve0904]

It never fails on this forum. If Nadal wins on Sunday the prevailing theme will be that he'll win 19 and surpass Federer, until he (likely) loses at Wimbledon, in which case he'll become a useless MUG who'll never win anything again. This forum is overreaction central. 15 for Nadal changes almost nothing in regards to his chances to pass Federer in slams. They are still extremely slim given that Nadal is 31 and has been generally lackluster at most slams since 2014 RG, and has not had a good result at Wimbledon since 2011.

Now could all that change? Absolutely, but it's not a crime against humanity to state that it's unlikely, given the facts that we have now. It was the same when Djokovic was dominant and some fans predicted he'd pass Federer. It might've sounded ok given that he was dominant at the time, but anybody who's watched tennis for a few eras knows that nobody wins forever and that 29-30 is usually the point where it either stops completely or delays a bit. The Nadal situation is no different. He's already been through the rough patch yes, but it's still a bit far fetched to just say he'll win 19 or that he can "easily win a few more."

 

[1477aces]

This debate is a waste of time. Nadal is currently playing very well. We will soon find out how long that lasts.

Sums up this forum

 

[TheMaestro1990]

You think Federer himself didn't know this? Instead of letting the pressure get to him, he lived in the moment and swung freely, enabling him to enjoy his finest 30 minutes on the court at the end - as he said so himself. He knew exactly what was at stake and he knew he was capable of producing the level of tennis required to get there.

Beautifully written.

 

[GabeT]

It never fails on this forum. If Nadal wins on Sunday the prevailing theme will be that he'll win 19 and surpass Federer, until he (likely) loses at Wimbledon, in which case he'll become a useless MUG who'll never win anything again. This forum is overreaction central. 15 for Nadal changes almost nothing in regards to his chances to pass Federer in slams. They are still extremely slim given that Nadal is 31 and has been generally lackluster at most slams since 2014 RG, and has not had a good result at Wimbledon since 2011.

Now could all that change? Absolutely, but it's not a crime against humanity to state that it's unlikely, given the facts that we have now. It was the same when Djokovic was dominant and some fans predicted he'd pass Federer. It might've sounded ok given that he was dominant at the time, but anybody who's watched tennis for a few eras knows that nobody wins forever and that 29-30 is usually the point where it either stops completely or delays a bit. The Nadal situation is no different. He's already been through the rough patch yes, but it's still a bit far fetched to just say he'll win 19 or that he can "easily win a few more."

How many HC finals has he reached this year? It hasn't been only clay. Unless he collapses in the next few weeks he is a favorite for the USO. Of course he can win a few more.

 

[Steve0904]

How many HC finals has he reached this year? It hasn't been only clay. Unless he collapses in the next few weeks he is a favorite for the USO. Of course he can win a few more.

You still haven't learned from Djokovic's decline. You're looking too far ahead. And even if I was to seriously answer the question it would be with another question. That question being: Who beat him in those HC finals? And after you answer that, explain to me how Nadal is the favourite for the USO (I mean, if we're looking that far ahead and all).

 

[GabeT]

You still haven't learned from Djokovic's decline. You're looking too far ahead. And even if I was to seriously answer the question it would be with another question. That question being: Who beat him in those HC finals? And after you answer that, explain to me how Nadal is the favourite for the USO (I mean, if we're looking that far ahead and all).

Agree it's far ahead. But that's what we do here, no? We speculate. Useless but fun?

I didn't say he is THE favorite, just one of them. That hasn't been true for the last 2-3 years.

 

[duaneeo]

You still haven't learned from Djokovic's decline. You're looking too far ahead.

Exactly, for heavens sakes. The USO?

 

[GabeT]

Exactly, for heavens sakes. The USO?

Yes, the USO. Nadal has reached seven finals this year, winning 3. Maybe 4 by tomorrow. If you had to list today the top 3-4 favorites to win the USO how would you not include the player that has won the most points so far this year?

 

[EdMcMush]

lol 5 finals a "fluke". One win against Roger who is the GOAT grass court player and was in his prime and another 5 setter against him. Don't talk about weak fields unless you want to talk about Feds first 7 slams or his head to head in slams and slam finals against Nadal and Djoker. Fed has 4 slams against those 2 players. Fed FEASTS on weak fields.....

mark philapousis , marcos bahgdatis, fernado Gonzales, a 35 year old aggasi. And no disrespect to safin, roddick and hewitt but they are no where close to the level of nadal, djokovic and even murray. His biggest competition was a 20 year old nadal who gave fed trouble on grass, which is agreed to be feds best surface and nadals worst. So fake goat if you ask me. Not even a nadal fan either. I do not have a horse in this race. I am just speaking facts. Facts dont care about your feelings.

 

[Steve0904]

Agree it's far ahead. But that's what we do here, no? We speculate. Useless but fun?

I didn't say he is THE favorite, just one of them. That hasn't been true for the last 2-3 years.

I agree that there is a possibility that Nadal can still surpass Federer in slams. All I'm saying is that it's extremely slim. I think many people look at a guy who is winning now and think it's easy that he'll win 2-3 more when in fact it's harder than most people realize. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like a lot of people talk like it's a 50/50 proposition that Nadal will surpass Federer (especially when he's close to winning another slam) when in fact it's probably more like 10/90 or 20/80 at most.

Either that or they throw out blanket statements like "If Nadal wins this slam, look out Fed...etc..." It's like fans of other players want us (Federer fans) to be worried when in fact there isn't much of anything to be worried about. This being especially true if, like me, you don't live and breathe tennis results like they affect how you live your life.

 

[mike danny]

mark philapousis , marcos bahgdatis, fernado Gonzales, a 35 year old aggasi. And no disrespect to safin, roddick and hewitt but they are no where close to the level of nadal, djokovic and even murray. His biggest competition was a 20 year old nadal who gave fed trouble on grass, which is agreed to be feds best surface and nadals worst. So fake goat if you ask me. Not even a nadal fan either. I do not have a horse in this race. I am just speaking facts. Facts dont care about your feelings.

One of the worst posts I have seen in quite a while.

 

[EdMcMush]

One of the worst posts I have seen in quite a while.

I disagree

 

[mike danny]

I disagree

If Federer is a fake goat, then everyone is.

How many players win GS's at 35 after 6 months off?

 

[Dedans Penthouse]

I must have missed the part where NaduII already won RG.

And (at last count) TWELVE people have clicked "liked" to this fanboy swipe?

Stay classy fedfanboys...​

 

[Steve0904]

One of the worst posts I have seen in quite a while.

And that's saying a lot.

 

[augustobt]

mark philapousis , marcos bahgdatis, fernado Gonzales, a 35 year old aggasi. And no disrespect to safin, roddick and hewitt but they are no where close to the level of nadal, djokovic and even murray. His biggest competition was a 20 year old nadal who gave fed trouble on grass, which is agreed to be feds best surface and nadals worst. So fake goat if you ask me. Not even a nadal fan either. I do not have a horse in this race. I am just speaking facts. Facts dont care about your feelings.

You probably were on your diapers back then, so whatever you're saying is irrelevant.

 

[Krish872007]

One of the worst posts I have seen in quite a while.

I agree. There's so much wrong I wouldn't know where to start. The inability to spell every single player's name, I guess.

 

[icedevil0289]

i dont know why people fail to realize that murray, djokovic, and well i guess nadal is debatable, but certainly the former two were not part of fed's era. fed dominated his era, and you can argue back and forth to the moon about lack of competition, but fact is, since we are talking about facts, that he was heads and shoulders above his peers and dominated his own era and still managed to hang with the next era, which also speaks volumes about him as well. also why is 35 year old agassi indication of weak era, but if we bring up people taking advantage of a 35 year old fed, it's not fair. you cant have it both ways. so much embarrassment. the people who continue to drag fed and his accomplishments dont seem to realize what they are doing b/c by doing that, y'all make it sound like the players who beat him aren't all that amazing either. FACT is simply numbers speaking, his resume is one of the most complete

 

[Steve0904]

I agree. There's so much wrong I wouldn't know where to start. The inability to spell every single player's name, I guess.

In fairness, Scud's last name is hard to spell. Hence why I just called him Scud.

 

[icedevil0289]

lol 5 finals a "fluke". One win against Roger who is the GOAT grass court player and was in his prime and another 5 setter against him. Don't talk about weak fields unless you want to talk about Feds first 7 slams or his head to head in slams and slam finals against Nadal and Djoker. Fed has 4 slams against those 2 players. Fed FEASTS on weak fields.....

god you are so embarrassing its not even funny. why is it so ****ing hard for ****ing obnoxious rafa fans to give credit and admit that fed is just that good of a pleyer, keep downplaying fed and his accomplishments because it only makes the players who beat him, not that good either. fed dominated his era and continues to be relevant in the one after his. it is not his fault, that his peers couldnt keep up with him AND NEWS ****ING FLASH, MAYBE HE WAS JUST THAT GOOD, BUT NOPE THAT DOESNT SEEM TO ENTER YOUR BRAIN DOES IT.

 

[icedevil0289]

my god i forgot how utterly annoying and delusional rafa fans can be, i dont even think they understand what weak era means just keep tossing the word around when it suits them.

 

[Incognito]

my god i forgot how utterly annoying and delusional rafa fans can be, i dont even think they understand what weak era means just keep tossing the word around when it suits them.

You can say that about all fanbases basically

 

[Centre Court]

mark philapousis , marcos bahgdatis, fernado Gonzales, a 35 year old aggasi. And no disrespect to safin, roddick and hewitt but they are no where close to the level of nadal, djokovic and even murray. His biggest competition was a 20 year old nadal who gave fed trouble on grass, which is agreed to be feds best surface and nadals worst. So fake goat if you ask me. Not even a nadal fan either. I do not have a horse in this race. I am just speaking facts. Facts dont care about your feelings.[/QUOTE
Talking utter nonsense I see, It's like Djokovic winning his majors because nadal and federer were past their primes and he feasted on that, you can only beat who's in front of you

 

[icedevil0289]

The tennis world has 1 major flaw - people suffer from short-termism. They either don't remember past patterns or choose to ignore everything and live only in the absolute present.

It is possible that Rafa gets close to 17, but it's also possible that Federer moves the goalposts further towards 19 (or even 20). It's then equally possible that Nadal wins tomorrow and then neither Fed nor Nadal win any more after that. Factor in Murray, who seems to have found his form again. And Novak, who may be in poor form now but can never be counted out - flip a switch, get motivation back and anything could happen. But most importantly, it's the next wave of players who will determine how many Slams the Big Boys rack up.

great post

 

[icedevil0289]

You can say that about all fanbases basically

lol i'm aware and I've called out the annoying fed fanboys as well, but in this case it was very specific to rafa fans

 

[Tennisanity]

LOL Fed has won 2 slams in 7 years and you are ragging on Nadal not winning Wimby since 2010.

What's this got to do with Fed? It was about Nadal and whether his high level of play will continue. Obviously it can, but that's a completely meaningless statement, anything CAN happen. Recent history shows that it will not likely continue.

 

[GabeT]

I agree that there is a possibility that Nadal can still surpass Federer in slams. All I'm saying is that it's extremely slim. I think many people look at a guy who is winning now and think it's easy that he'll win 2-3 more when in fact it's harder than most people realize. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like a lot of people talk like it's a 50/50 proposition that Nadal will surpass Federer (especially when he's close to winning another slam) when in fact it's probably more like 10/90 or 20/80 at most.

Either that or they throw out blanket statements like "If Nadal wins this slam, look out Fed...etc..." It's like fans of other players want us (Federer fans) to be worried when in fact there isn't much of anything to be worried about. This being especially true if, like me, you don't live and breathe tennis results like they affect how you live your life.

All true

 

[Steve0904]

What's this got to do with Fed? It was about Nadal and whether his high level of play will continue. Obviously it can, but that's a completely meaningless statement, anything CAN happen. Recent history shows that it will not likely continue.

Amazing how a few are not getting this whether intentionally or otherwise. Yes, Nadal is playing as well as he has since 2014. You might even say he's "revived." Yes it could continue. Yes, Nadal could win Wimbledon this year, but I also wouldn't bet my house on it just because he's made 5 Wimbledon finals. That's not recent history.

That's where recent history helps. It's been an age since he's been good at Wimbledon and he's struggled at the USO in the last 3 years as well, and of course he only has 1 AO. Generally, Nadal is a clay dominator that usually doesn't win the other 3 slams, especially lately since he's hit 29-30. It's not a crime to state that.

And if Nadal goes on and has great results outside of clay this year all the Nadal fans can come back here and say Nadal changed his normal trend, but please don't pretend like you won't be shocked if he makes a Wimbledon final, or moderately surprised if he makes the USO final. There's a huge difference between realistic predictions and blind faith in your favourite player.

 

[GabeT]

Amazing how a few are not getting this whether intentionally or otherwise. Yes, Nadal is playing as well as he has since 2014. You might even say he's "revived." Yes it could continue. Yes, Nadal could win Wimbledon this year, but I also wouldn't bet my house on it just because he's made 5 Wimbledon finals. That's not recent history.

That's where recent history helps. It's been an age since he's been good at Wimbledon and he's struggled at the USO in the last 3 years as well, and of course he only has 1 AO. Generally, Nadal is a clay dominator that usually doesn't win the other 3 slams, especially lately since he's hit 29-30. It's not a crime to state that.

And if Nadal goes on and has great results outside of clay this year all the Nadal fans can come back here and say Nadal changed his normal trend, but please don't pretend like you won't be shocked if he makes a Wimbledon final, or moderately surprised if he makes the USO final. There's a huge difference between realistic predictions and blind faith in your favourite player.

I would be very surprised if Nadal reaches Wimby finals.

Not surprised at all if he reaches USO finals.

 

[Tennisanity]

Amazing how a few are not getting this whether intentionally or otherwise. Yes, Nadal is playing as well as he has since 2014. You might even say he's "revived." Yes it could continue. Yes, Nadal could win Wimbledon this year, but I also wouldn't bet my house on it just because he's made 5 Wimbledon finals. That's not recent history.

That's where recent history helps. It's been an age since he's been good at Wimbledon and he's struggled at the USO in the last 3 years as well, and of course he only has 1 AO. Generally, Nadal is a clay dominator that usually doesn't win the other 3 slams, especially lately since he's hit 29-30. It's not a crime to state that.

And if Nadal goes on and has great results outside of clay this year all the Nadal fans can come back here and say Nadal changed his normal trend, but please don't pretend like you won't be shocked if he makes a Wimbledon final, or moderately surprised if he makes the USO final. There's a huge difference between realistic predictions and blind faith in your favourite player.

All true. Some people just argue for the sake of it on meaningless points.

 

[Steve0904]

I would be very surprised if Nadal reaches Wimby finals.

Not surprised at all if he reaches USO finals.

I would have to see what his summer HC form looks like tbh. Last time he made the USO final he also won Canada and Cincy. Also his draw at the USO could be important (whereas at this RG I don't think it mattered). If he draws someone like Kyrgios for example, an upset might happen.

 

[Jonas78]

Don't be 100% sure that Nadal will win Roland Garros. Not the same case, but many favored him to win the Australian Open final.

Finals not final, both 2014 and 2017...

I favour Rafa, but most bookies give 9/2. Thats too much, Stan would win more than 1 out of 4.5 matches.

 

[Charlemagne]

If Nadal gets to 18 with more RG titles... Idk, can you really say he's the goat?

 

[jimmy0slams]

I reckon Nadal will end on about 23/24 slams , who can stop him ???
He will for sure win Wimbledon and USO after this demolish of Wavrinka - he is just too good.
And he says he is playing for the 1st time in his life without pain - like he is getting younger !! wtf!!
Also AO 2018 will give him the only double career slam player in history .
truly depressing.

 

[Surion]

I reckon Nadal will end on about 23/24 slams , who can stop him ???
He will for sure win Wimbledon and USO after this demolish of Wavrinka - he is just too good.
And he says he is playing for the 1st time in his life without pain - like he is getting younger !! wtf!!
Also AO 2018 will give him the only double career slam player in history .
truly depressing.

Not even a good trolling attempt. Pathetic.

 

[tennisaddict]

The tennis world has 1 major flaw - people suffer from short-termism. They either don't remember past patterns or choose to ignore everything and live only in the absolute present.

It is possible that Rafa gets close to 17, but it's also possible that Federer moves the goalposts further towards 19 (or even 20). It's then equally possible that Nadal wins tomorrow and then neither Fed nor Nadal win any more after that. Factor in Murray, who seems to have found his form again. And Novak, who may be in poor form now but can never be counted out - flip a switch, get motivation back and anything could happen. But most importantly, it's the next wave of players who will determine how many Slams the Big Boys rack up.

Just like how they have stopped the big boys from winning in the past . LOL

 

[HipRotation]

Just imagine if there were 2 Clay slams and not 2 Hards

 

[augustobt]

Just imagine if there were 2 Clay slams and not 2 Hards

Now imagine if were 3 grass and 1 clay like it was used to be.

 

[HipRotation]

Now imagine if were 3 grass and 1 clay like it was used to be.

Spoiler

You mean 3 slams?

 

[TimeToPlaySets]

Great observation.
It would have been amazing to have Rafa within 1 (at age 31)

It's nuts that his entire legacy came down to that AO 5th set.
He may never live that down.

 

[Antonio Puente]

To think federer was so close...

To almost losing his slam advantage vs Nadal.

Give it a year or so.

 

[augustobt]

Give it a year or so.

So you're here again! Great. I remember you saying, two months ago, that Federer wins over nadal were irrelevant because he was just a shadow of his former self. Funny how things can change, eh?

 

[Antonio Puente]

So you're here again! Great. I remember you saying, two months ago, that Federer wins over nadal were irrelevant because he was just a shadow of his former self. Funny how things can change, eh?

You and Fed fans have said for ten years that all H2H is irrelevant, so why are you talking H2H? Funny how things can change, eh?

 

[Centre Court]

Let's hope Roger Wins Wimbledon and extends it back to 4, can't have Rafa with the most majors , not happening !

 

[augustobt]

You and Fed fans have said for ten years that all H2H is irrelevant, so why are you talking H2H? Funny how things can change, eh?

Actually, it's just making the point we've ben saying for over 10 years: Nadal is 5 years younger and relies on the body. When it tear down, by the end of their careers, we actually can see matches without the handicap.