Title says it all. I think we should be able to see whether he really is in decline or was just not in form the past two weeks. If he doesnt at least defend most if not all of his points. I think we can say that he is in decline. the one excuse i can give him is not winning monte carlo (but getting to finals) considering djoko is going to play there this year.He has potential to gain points at madrid and rome as well. I think if he plays like he did 4th and 5th set of AO, he can beat djokovic. but we will see. again clay court will set the pace for the rest of his year as well.
We will see where Nadal really is during the clay court season.
- Thread starter y12.pats
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Clarky21
Banned
I think we have already seen where he really is,and clay is where he has declined the most. He was simply awful last year on clay,and got away with it due more to his clay aura then anything. That is until Djesus beat him easily twice on the surface last year,and didn't let him get away with playing so badly. His game on clay is likely to only worsen this year.
And I don't think Nadal will win anything on clay this year. Maybe Barca,but none of the clay masters or RG.
And I don't think Nadal will win anything on clay this year. Maybe Barca,but none of the clay masters or RG.
M
monfed
Guest
IDK how he'll fare but you can be rest assured that he'll be running around from pillar to post chasing down every ball with his supposed injured knees. :lol:
DjokovicForTheWin
Banned
LOL. These idiot ****s.
Towser83
G.O.A.T.
I know we disagree on this, but I think Nadal will get a clay masters, purely because I don't think Djokovic will be able to win 3 masters in a row in that time frame, plus RG. Other than Novak, don't see anyone beating Nadal even if he is really bad, apart from maybe Delpo or Federer at Madrid and nowhere else. And Djokovic is not the title gathering machine he was last year
D
Deleted member 21996
Guest
yeah. lets wait and see if we get Speedy Nadales back full force after another miraculous recovery of his knees thanks to the fine help of Dr. Fuentes
Yes i also think he will get at least one clay masters. Other than djokovic no one can take him out on clay (well at least last year they couldnt) and i see no reason to think his clay court game has diminished since last year. and anyone who thinks his game in general has diminished since last year just because of these past two weeks must have not watched AO12
Slice&Smash
Rookie
It's a serious injury. He even said he needs a "few days rest" which will be the longest ever for Nadal.
Last time he was injured he was back within a 3 minute MTO.
D
Deleted member 21996
Guest
the good Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes has great medicines no?
stringertom
Bionic Poster
He had better produce on Euroclay...it is the only part of the yearly schedule he has not curtailed or totally abandoned. Since the '11 Channel Slams, he played a short lead-up to the USO, missed part of the Asian swing, skipped all the EuroIndoor events, got bumrushed out of the WTF, took all the time off before IW, skipped DC. Obviously, the combination of his playing style and his lack of success vs Djok is wearing on his mind AND body.
D
decades
Guest
rafito is tired, no? he has played 2 1/2 tournaments in three months after all.
marc45
G.O.A.T.
out before third round every tournament
Clarky21
Banned
ZeroSkid
Banned
I don't his mind is fine either after he lost that AO to Nole
I think Murray has a good chance of beating Nadal on clay this year. He was close last year at MC and had multiple break points against Nadal at RG (I think he even had more BP than Nadal did so Nadal just played the bigger points better) so an upset wouldn't be out of the question.
Having said that though, Nadal hasn't lost to anyone on the BOF3 before the finals (Except for Ferrero 08) in the last 6 years so anything less than finals at all the masters would be an upset.
Having said that though, Nadal hasn't lost to anyone on the BOF3 before the finals (Except for Ferrero 08) in the last 6 years so anything less than finals at all the masters would be an upset.
I think he needs to get djokovic out of his head and at least stop thinking about him before he has to play him. He has lost so much confidence against even other weaker players because of djokovic's win streak against him. I mean did u see how defensive he played against tsonga once he got that break in the 2nd set? that is not the usual rafa. he goes after it no matter what the score. Djokovic has got to him and nadal doesn't feel comfortable in his own game anymore. hopefully the clay courts will bring back some of his confidence
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
I agree that the clay season will be very significant. Rafa needs a title badly and clay is usually where everything comes together for him. I hope he arrives all guns blazing. The good news is: other than Djoko, I really don't see any ominous threats for him on clay this year: he can handle the likes of Ferrer or Delpo I'm sure. The bad news is: how does he fend off Djoko even on clay? The other question mark is: will his knees hold up throughout the spring?
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
On clay?? Rafa made all clay finals last year and only lost to Djoko. So I don't think that's true at all. (Answering justbob)
Clarky21
Banned
Nadal will not make all of those clay finals again this year. And even if he did he would just lose to Djesus. He will not win crap on clay this year except for Barca,and even that isn't guaranteed.
nadal hater if I've ever seen one, how can you honestly, putting all bias aside think this. Nadal is still arguably the best clay courter of all time (maybe second to just Borg), I have seen nothing to tell me that he won't do well at these tournaments. AO12 he was outstanding, almost taking out djokovic in the 5th. Are u basing this just on the past two weeks? you can not count a player out just because of two bad weeks (mind u he still made semis and quarters) not very good but its not like he lost in the 2nd round.
Clarky21
Banned
I'm not a "Nadal hater". I am a realist,and with Djesus around,Nadal ain't winning squat on clay this year,and will be fortunate to win any titles at all anywhere with things going the way they are.
Towser83
G.O.A.T.
The thing is, even playing badly there's not anyone besides Djokovic who can beat him on clay. Federer might have a small chance at Madrid, maybe Delpo if he can pick up his form, but those are small chances. On the otherhand Djokovic could lose to Federer or Murray (lost to Fed last year, almost lost to Murray)
Djokovic could play crap in a final. But if he plays well and nadal doesn't improve then it's likely that Novak will beat him again on clay. We could see a situation where Nadal has a better chance of making the final, but Novak has the better chance of winning of the two, if he makes the final.
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
I will bet you right now you are wrong here and that Nadal will defeat Djokovic in the clay season. This Djokovic so far in 2012 is not the Djokovic of 2011 except in spurts. Djokovic is going to have to raise his game to defeat Nadal on clay IMO.
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
Not the Novak I am seeing so far this year. If Novak does not raise his level he will not defeat Nadal on clay.
Towser83
G.O.A.T.
I agree he needs to raise his level a bit, but he might even get by through being in Nadal's head. Maybe not. But all i'm saying is even if does improve his game and he is killing nadal on clay he still might lose to other people like he did last year at the french.
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
Nadal needs to break through that mental barrier and beat Djokovic on clay before the FO and at the FO or else Nadal will be in big trouble for the rest of the season. Having Djokovic beat Nadal at the FO would be too much for Nadal I think so Nadal is going to fight like a demon to prevent that from happening. Whether he will be successful or not, who knows.
Towser83
G.O.A.T.
yeah it's the crunch time of the season for Nadal, it would be a huge blow to lose there especially to Djokovic.
Clarky21
Banned
No way. Nadal can't even get out of his own way anymore. He will not beat FrankenCvac anywhere this year much less on clay.
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
:lol::lol:
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
Clarky21
Banned
Laugh if you must,but with Nadal's level being the way it is he will not beat Djesus on clay or anywhere else for that matter. Just wait and see for yourself.
And he's not practicing,or in MC right now like that dufus Mary Carillo said. He is in Mallorca and is scheduled to have prp treatment done on his knees some time this week.
I agree with towser. Nadal needs to get past the mental barrier (which is entirely possible… coming out at the AO12 after 6 losses and playing his heart out shows his mental toughness, plus his tendency to look at the positives of things and his adaptations will help him) I think as long as he gets deep into MC and is feeling good mentally about his wins he has what it takes to take down djokovic, especially if djokovic plays the way he played this week, unforced errors all over the place
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
If Djokovic finds his consistent 2011 level then you are right, Djokovic will beat Nadal again and again, but if Djokovic does not keep his best level Nadal may creep in and find a way to beat him. Will be interesting to see what happens. Right now Djokovic is the man to beat for sure.
Vernon is that you? :lol:
tlm
G.O.A.T.
Ya and he probably won 5 more majors after you started saying it to. I heard this crap for the last 6 years but rafa is still here.
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
Some people in this thread would do well to remember that Rafa was the finalist in the last 4 slams (and the winner in 1 of the 4). Despite some trolls' eagerness to bury Rafa prematurely, he is still the favorite in every single slam after Djokovic. (And Djoko won't win them all, so draw the conclusions yourself).
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
You are right, Nadal is the second favorite next to Djokovic but Nadal needs to start winning these finals. Runner-up means nothing to a great player's legacy unfortunately.
tlm
G.O.A.T.
Whatever you say there hater, look joker is playing unbelievable tennis. He is the best player hands down, but rafa is the 2nd as proven by the slam finals. Joker is playing at another level from everyone else, he is playing better than fed ever did against better competition.
tlm
G.O.A.T.
Ya he doesn't have what it takes even though he has beat him many times. Right now joker is the best no doubt but the question is how long can he maintain it. At least rafa still makes it to the slams finals which makes him the 2nd best.
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
I am not a hater at all. The fact is that it is true Nadal is the second favorite to win every slam but what good is that if he can't win them and Djokovic is winning every time? All I am saying is Nadal needs to reverse the mental ownage fast or it will be even tougher for him to defeat Djokovic. If you want to ignore that fact as a *******, fine with me, do it at your own peril. I think Nadal can beat Djokovic again and I have said that over and over on here so don't call me a hater. I am just saying the longer the losing streak goes the harder it will be for Nadal to pick himself up. The losing streak Nadal has had with Djokovic is much worse than what Federer had with Nadal in Federer's prime so pipe down.
Re Djokovic playing better than Federer did in his prime and against better competition, if that is what you need to believe for your own sanity go ahead. No sane tennis expert would believe that however.
gregor.b
Professional
Reminds of another once invincible player named Roger something or other.
Clarky21
Banned
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
True, he did manage to win at least one slam last year but for him that is not so great compared to previous years. Let's all be honest, he needs to reverse the Djokovic losing trend and the faster he does that the better it will be for him. If he can't do it he still has 10 slams and will always be considered one of the greatest so it is all gravy really.
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
Phew! :lol:
