What would be a good result for Nadal at Wimbledon?

[Zaragoza]

It doesn´t matter if you´re a Nadal fan or not. After what round would you consider it is a good result for him?
Last year he reached the final but I think it would be unfair to say that anything under that would be a bad result this year.
If he reaches the QF I think it would be a decent result and if he goes further in the tournament it would be a great result IMO.
I think he still needs to get experienced on grass and keep improving his serve and volley and return. I was amazed how fast he adapted his game to grass last year but he needs to play more on grass to get experienced and progress in some areas of his game. That´s all I ask for. I think the more he plays the better he will be and results will come with time.

 

[ACE of Hearts]

It will depend on the draw, i will wait till it comes out.

 

[psamp14]

i would say the reaching the qtrfinals would be a good result for rafa....if he makes it past that then he's sort of like federer...better in the later rounds, and books a spot in the final

like ace of hearts said, it depends heavily on the draw...if nadal draws karlovic or some big huge server and is upset in rd 1, 2, or 3 but goes 5 sets, that could be considered a good effort, but bad luck to draw someone like karlovic so early

 

[caulcano]

The semi-finals would be good.

 

[pound cat]

He was in the finals last year, so why not again? His tennis is even better than it was last year.

 

[kimizz]

I voted for Finalist. He says hes playing better than ever, he says hes going for nr1 spot. So he better be in the final and defend the points from last year.

I dont think a big server is a problem to Nadal. Both Del Potro and Mirnyi are serving really well and Nadal won both of them in two sets at Queens. Problem with big servers is that if they lose their touch only for one game Nadal is going to break, after that there is no way to break back You cant beat Nadal if your game is completely dependant on serve.

What I saw in queens in the Del Potro and Mirnyi game was pretty awesome. Even the finnish eurosport commentator(knows what hes talking about) sayd Nadal is a big contender this year in Wimbledon. I knew allready in first set against Mahut that Rafa will lose. He didnt seem to be in a good mood. So im not worried about Nadal in Wimbledon.

 

[FiveO]

It will depend on the draw, i will wait till it comes out.

I agree. With last year's draw he should have made the final. Will he get that kind of dream draw again? We will have to wait and see.

 

[helloworld]

He should at least defend all his points to call it a good result.

 

[The Gorilla]

2nd round would be an amazing achievement imo

 

[Zaragoza]

I was a little surprised reading what Nadal said on Spanish sports newspaper Marca:

"Wimbledon is the worst Grand Slam for me even if I reached the final last year".
"I don´t think I will repeat what I did last year".

http://www.marca.com/edicion/marca/tenis/es/desarrollo/1006995.html

I think he is keeping the expectations low but he knows he can play well on grass too.

 

[Tchocky]

He's already been a finalist so the next step is to win the title. I haven't seen the draw but I think Nadal will be lucky to get to the final.

 

[slice bh compliment]

When does the draw come out? Next Thursday I'm guessing?
Well, we will know more then.

But I think Rafa can beat 80 or 90% of the players, even on grass, since the surface is just as much of a disadvantage to them as it is to him.

I feel, unless Raf runs into a guy who really 'gets' the grass game, he goes to the second week. Loses to a Baghdatis/Roddick type (someone who likes grass or someone like Berdych or Blake who enjoy playing Rafa) in the quarters or semis.
But deep down, I hope he and Roger get to the final. Again. Roger in four or five. Am I dreaming?

 

[nyaa]

Finalist, he's done it once, he's still not good enough on grass to win but he could make it to the final.

 

[BigServer1]

I voted finalist because I think he'll make it back, but if he makes the quarters or the semis I think that would be an impressive result. Grass isn't his best surface, and he already has a final to his name at 21. If he can repeat that result, it cements the fact that last year was not a fluke, and Nadal is continuing to improve on all surfaces (even clay...which is scary).

 

[slice bh compliment]

Oh yeah, and to answer the question...strictly opinion based and after bouncing it off a guy I hit with who played futures, and is from Spain, and knows Carlos Costa et al:

I'm thinkin' his team would be thrilled if he reached the final again. A hard fought loss in the semi (against a grasscourt top tenner) would be considered a 'good' result by his team, but anythign can happen. I reckon he could lose to a Welsey Moodie or a Robby Kendrick early on.

But deep down, I'm for another Rafa/Baghdatis semifinal. ANd either of those two (or even either of the Andys) giving Roger a tough final.

 

[Tchocky]

When does the draw come out? Next Thursday I'm guessing?
Well, we will know more then.

But I think Rafa can beat 80 or 90% of the players, even on grass, since the surface is just as much of a disadvantage to them as it is to him.

I feel, unless Raf runs into a guy who really 'gets' the grass game, he goes to the second week. Loses to a Baghdatis/Roddick type (someone who likes grass or someone like Berdych or Blake who enjoy playing Rafa) in the quarters or semis.
But deep down, I hope he and Roger get to the final. Again. Roger in four or five. Am I dreaming?

The tournament starts next Monday. Next Thursday would be too late. The draw comes out this Friday.

 

[fastdunn]

Generally speaking, Nadal seems to be reach quarter finals or better
on slams on non-clay. Well, he got pretty lucky draw last year (although
#1 and #2 seeds tends to get such a draw.)

So I would say semi-final or better is an improvement of his performances on
fast surfaces.

 

[8PAQ]

A good result for Nadal would to beat guys like Roddick, Berdych, Gasquet, Murray, Hewitt, etc. Last year he didn't beat any top grass court players below the age of 36. BagDaddy doesn't count as one because he hasn't won a single ATP match on grass before 2006 Wimbledon.

If he can get to the quarter final playing following guys (non necesarly in that order):
R128 Gasquet, Richard
R64 Henman, Tim
R32 Mahut, Nicolas
R16 Berdych, Tomas
Q Ancic, Mario

that would a way more impressive than what he accomplished last year.

Coincidentally above is the draw Fed had last year. Now lets see if Nadal can handle a draw like that

 

[carol4832]

Rafa is a great player, he has the most intensity on the tour, he should make to quarts on grass, hell, if he picks his pirate shorts enough, we will probably see him in the final...

 

[kimizz]

A good result for Nadal would to beat guys like Roddick, Berdych, Gasquet, Murray, Hewitt, etc. Last year he didn't beat any top grass court players below the age of 36. BagDaddy doesn't count as one because he hasn't won a single ATP match on grass before 2006 Wimbledon.

If he can get to the quarter final playing following guys (non necesarly in that order):
R128 Gasquet, Richard
R64 Henman, Tim
R32 Mahut, Nicolas
R16 Berdych, Tomas
Q Ancic, Mario

that would a way more impressive than what he accomplished last year.

Coincidentally above is the draw Fed had last year. Now lets see if Nadal can handle a draw like that

Lol roddick and Hewitt were both in Rafas half of the draw. And they both got knocked out early. He didnt have an easy draw. Nadal was easily the second best player at Wimb 2006. Now things can change this year but saying last year was luck, it just makes you look like a troll who doesnt know much about tennis.

My theory is that Nadal shocked a lot of haters at 2006, they were all ready to start bashing when hes about to lose in the early rounds. But it never happened. This was something awful but haters will always keep on hating. Instead of saying "wow Nadal reached final im impressed, I didnt expect this" they started this "Nadal draw was the easiest ever, he was so lucky".

Its always possible to say someone can reach the 4th round with easy draw and MAYBE into quarters. But final is something different, it proves that the person who reaches the final has been in great form for the past two weeks.

 

[8PAQ]

Lol roddick and Hewitt were both in Rafas half of the draw. And they both got knocked out early. He didnt have an easy draw. Nadal was easily the second best player at Wimb 2006. Now things can change this year but saying last year was luck, it just makes you look like a troll who doesnt know much about tennis.

My theory is that Nadal shocked a lot of haters at 2006, they were all ready to start bashing when hes about to lose in the early rounds. But it never happened. This was something awful but haters will always keep on hating. Instead of saying "wow Nadal reached final im impressed, I didnt expect this" they started this "Nadal draw was the easiest ever, he was so lucky".

Its always possible to say someone can reach the 4th round with easy draw and MAYBE into quarters. But final is something different, it proves that the person who reaches the final has been in great form for the past two weeks.

Here is who Nadal played last year:

R128 Bogdanovic, Alex (GBR) 135
R64 Kendrick, Robert (USA) 237
R32 Agassi, Andre (USA) 20 (he was 36 and had bad back)
R16 Labadze, Irakli (GEO) 166 (he looked so overweight he made Nalby look like Davy)
Q Nieminen, Jarkko (FIN) 18 (never advanced past 3rd round before)
S Baghdatis, Marcos (CYP) 16 (never advanced past 1st round before)
F Federer, Roger (SUI) 1 (1st tough opponent and Nadal immediately gets bageled)

Getting to the final of any slam is impressive and a player that's not mentally tough wouldn't be able to do it no matter how easy of a draw he gets. All I am saying is that I am yet to see Nadal beat a top grass court player.

 

[kimizz]

Yeah well I get what your saying. This is something that could be debated forever. One could say there was top grass players in Nadals draw(hewitt, roddick), but there were some who took them out in early rounds,which might suggest that these players(who won hewitt and roddick) are even better on grass than Roddick or Hewitt, and this could lead to a conclusion that Nadal was the ultimate grass court player in hes half of the draw.

 

[federerfanatic]

Bumping this thread up now that the draw is seen.

 

[Andres]

A good result for Nadal would to beat guys like Roddick, Berdych, Gasquet, Murray, Hewitt, etc. Last year he didn't beat any top grass court players below the age of 36. BagDaddy doesn't count as one because he hasn't won a single ATP match on grass before 2006 Wimbledon.

That's odd, specially after reaching SF in 's-Hertogenbosch the week before Wimbledon, losing to Ancic. And he had some success on grass in the Nothingham Challenger 2005, reaching SF and losing by injury there.

 

[Andres]

S Baghdatis, Marcos (CYP) 16 (never advanced past 1st round before)

But reached a grass SF the week before Wimbledon, losing to Ancic, who's arguably in the Top5 of grasscourters around.

 

[fastdunn]

So far Nadal's results on non-clay slams have been around quarter-finals
on average. Anything less than quarter-final would be a disappointment.

 

[navratilovafan]

So far Nadal's results on non-clay slams have been around quarter-finals
on average. Anything less than quarter-final would be a disappointment.

He has Youzhny in the 4th round. That would be a tough match for Nadal and I think he would probably lose.

 

[Fedace]

Rafa's toughest test will be Berdych in the quarters, if he can get by him then there is no stopping nadal from winning his first wimby title. Roger will still be trembling in his knees from all the beating he took on clay courts by rafa, so i predict good 4 sets win by rafa over federer.

 

[fastdunn]

If we have Federer-Nadal final again at Wimbledon,
I conclude this is G.O.A.T rivalry.

 

[The tennis guy]

Rafa's toughest test will be Berdych in the quarters, if he can get by him then there is no stopping nadal from winning his first wimby title. Roger will still be trembling in his knees from all the beating he took on clay courts by rafa, so i predict good 4 sets win by rafa over federer.

What happened last year, moron? Federer lost to Nadal 4 straight times arleady before Wimbledon final last year.

 

[Fedace]

What happened last year, moron? Federer lost to Nadal 4 straight times arleady before Wimbledon final last year.

Difference is mopad, this year, the losses affected federer so much that he had to skip Halle. and this year federer literally was crushed after the loss, even refusing some of the interview. and did you see his face? Plus rafa came very close to beating federer at wimby finals. if he just pulled out that 2nd set with his serve, rafa would have taken fed to 5th set, and we all know what can happen in 5th sets.

 

[slice bh compliment]

Nadal plays Fish in the first round this year.
I realize Fish is very erratic (and not always in match shape), but this could be a good one.

 

[GRANITECHIEF]

Nadal plays Fish in the first round this year.
I realize Fish is very erratic (and not always in match shape), but this could be a good one.

It should be a very entertaining match.

 

[kimrey]

Fish is the type of player, like Robert Kendrick last year, who could just step it up with the serve and volley game and maybe stun Nadal

 

[slice bh compliment]

Yeah, Fish has done well on grass in the past, too.

I was just thinking of the variables in this year's Wimbledon...and how exciting it is already. More than usual.

I mean, personally, I'd be happy with the Rafa/Roger repeat final. Then again, you've got all sorts of people anticipating early round losses for both Rog and Raf. And with Roddick, Djoker, Berdych, Baghdatis, Haas and a handful of others who don't hate grass....this could be good. ALso, Ljubo is playing well on grass this week for basically the first time in his career. Hmm.

 

[carol4832]

Rafa's gots his hands full, if Mardy Fish does not take him out in the 1st round then Sebastian Grosjean can take him out.

 

[NamRanger]

Fish was looking good at the Australian, didn't seem to look good at all middle of the year. However, he should rebound on grass.

 

[Albinoswordfish]

Personally I don't think Rafa will get to the Wimbledon finals again. Nadal's game just isn't suited for grass or hardcourt. But he is a great athlete and plays with lots of aggression so I think Rafa will probably get into the quarter finals. So I think a good result of Nadal will be anything past the fourth round. This way he won't lose too many of his ranking points he has to defend.

 

[slice bh compliment]

a great athlete with lots of aggression...

Yeah. He passes really, really, well. Comes to the net more. Not really known for his volleying skills, but, he's fairly rangy and he's actually got good hands. I think the fact that he doesn't stick incredible volleys ends up not really hurting him on grass -- the grass court sort of takes care of his volleys. Like Borg, his volleys die. Even if it is not a putaway, the next ball often is.

So, I think Raf is better on grass than on a hardcourt, in a way.

That said, I caNNOT wait for the Nadal/Fish match. I think it could go either way for about 4 sets. If it goes five, I think Rafa will outlast the Fish.

 

[federerfanatic]

Look at this clown expert who says Berdych isnt even any trouble to Nadal should they play:

http://www.tennisserver.com/lines/lines.html

Berdych's triumph at Halle raises his credentials here, but even on grass his fine serving and hitting are not likely to trouble Rafa.

Do some of these people even watch tennis.