Why do people say Nadal has crisis of confidence after 2014 Australian Open final...when he won his very next tournament?

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McEnroeisanartist

Hall of Fame
Why do people say Nadal had a crisis of confidence after 2014 Australian Open final, when he won his very next tournament?

Also, he won Madrid, and stormed through the French Open (lost one set) defeating Ferrer, Murray, and Djokovic.
 
The Blond Blur

The Blond Blur

G.O.A.T.
Did you see him play in Rio :unsure: He looked terrible, his back was still taped up, his serve, movement, and groundies looked awful compared to just a few months ago. Also, it was Rio, not like it had a great field there. He lost in Indian Wells to the Dog (never lost to him before) Got rekt by Joker in that Miami final. In MC he lost to his pidgeon Ferrer, In Madrid he only won because Glasshikori is gonna Glasshikori. And he lost to Joker again in Rome. He was a set and a break down against Ferrer in the RG QFs. Compared to his 2013 form, his 2014 form was God awful.
 
TheGhostOfAgassi

TheGhostOfAgassi

Talk Tennis Guru
At that time it felt like a miracle he won that slam.
Was sure he would lose it. Had lost several times to Novak before that.
 
Slightly Biased Nadal Fan

Slightly Biased Nadal Fan

New User
The AO14 final essentially was the end of Nadal’s prime as we knew it. 2017-present has been an incredible renaissance for him but as he said at Wimbledon this yr, he’s not at his physical peak and has lost a lot of physical attributes he’s had to compensate for by becoming a very different player, as far as style. That next tournament in Rio, he was match point down to andujar on clay and really didn’t look the same until RG. I don’t think 2014 was a bad RG at all, in fact idk how he pulled it together for this tournament because even improving in Madrid and Rome (still far from spectacular but improvement on the horrendous form in MC and barcelona), there was nothing to indicate he’d be able to play as well as he did that tournament (basically demolished everyone en route to the final including an underrated flawless beatdown of Murray in the semi) and ultimately take down Djokovic for the third straight yr. Even then, the back gave him problems at RG, as it was taped and he held back with the serve a lot. I still consider it a pretty clean tournament, but it was an aberration imo, with almost everything between AO and RG being pretty mediocre for himself and he took some losses in that period that were pretty damaging (in addition to the emotional toll of losing that AO final the way he did) and chipped away at his aura and confidence which snowballed into 2015-16
 
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S

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
Next tournament? That was Rio 500, and he had to save 2 matchpoints against Andujar. Then he played his worst clay season since 2004, and worst by a huge distance. In MC against Ferrer he hit 44 unforced errors. Ferrer was in usual choking mode, but Nadal was an unforced errors machine that day so the mental part didn't really matter. In Barcelona he lost against ALMAGRO. In Madrid he played a terrible final and only Nishikori's injury saved him in the end. A bit better in Rome (at least he started going for some shots) but still struggled against almost all players in the draw, and lost the final.

Yes, somehow he won RG, but he looked VERY vulnerable in that tournament. His opponents just played even worse. For me that was without doubt his worst slam win, and I had the feeling he was totally done until the end of the year at the least. Well, as we found out he was done for two years and a half. Took him 3 long years until he won another slam.

So yeah, AO 2014 was the end of his prime. That loss broke something, Nadal just wasn't the same player after it.
 
MichaelNadal

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
Slightly Biased Nadal Fan said:
The AO14 final essentially was the end of Nadal’s prime as we knew it. 2017-present has been an incredible renaissance for him but as he said at Wimbledon this yr, he’s not at his physical peak and has lost a lot of physical attributes he’s had to compensate for by becoming a very different player, as far as style. That next tournament in Rio, he was match point down to andujar on clay and really didn’t look the same until RG. I don’t think 2014 was a bad RG at all, in fact idk how he pulled it together for this tournament because even improving in Madrid and Rome (still far from spectacular but improvement on the horrendous form in MC and barcelona), there was nothing to indicate he’d be able to play as well as he did that tournament (basically demolished everyone en route to the final including an underrated flawless beatdown of Murray in the semi) and ultimately take down Djokovic for the third straight yr. Even then, the back gave him problems at RG (had it taped and was holding back with the serve a lot), but I still consider it a pretty clean tournament. I think it was an aberration tho, with almost everything between AO and RG being pretty mediocre for himself and he took some losses in that period that were pretty damaging (in addition to the emotional toll of losing that AO final the way he did) and chipped away at his aura and confidence which snowballed into 2015-16
Click to expand...

You beter slay with that epic Canada 2018 kit in the avi :p it was fire.

nadal-toronto-2018-knees.jpg
 
ollinger

ollinger

G.O.A.T.
McEnroeisanartist said:
Why do people say Nadal had a crisis of confidence after 2014 Australian Open final, when he won his very next tournament?

Also, he won Madrid, and stormed through the French Open (lost one set) defeating Ferrer, Murray, and Djokovic.
Click to expand...

Ummmm, WHO said he had a crisis of confidence?? Some documentation, please.
 
UnderratedSlam

UnderratedSlam

G.O.A.T.
McEnroeisanartist said:
Why do people say Nadal had a crisis of confidence after 2014 Australian Open final, when he won his very next tournament?

Also, he won Madrid, and stormed through the French Open (lost one set) defeating Ferrer, Murray, and Djokovic.
Click to expand...
He "won" Madrid because Nishikori got injured after having had trounced Rafa with a set and a break... Rafa knows he won that with plenty of luck.

Because it's obvious he lost confidence, from a lot of the other results in 2014, let alone 2015. He lost his clutchness and started losing many more matches than just a year earlier.
 
vernonbc

vernonbc

Legend
Rafa lost his confidence because he couldn't trust his body. He had fought back and dealt with so many injuries and the back was kind of the last straw. Treatment throughout the year helped but his back bothered him until he had a stem cell treatment on it in November and even still, he struggled mentally all through the next year and didn't work himself out of his 'crisis of confidence' until 2016.
 
octobrina10

octobrina10

Talk Tennis Guru
McEnroeisanartist said:
Why do people say Nadal had a crisis of confidence after 2014 Australian Open final, when he won his very next tournament?

Also, he won Madrid, and stormed through the French Open (lost one set) defeating Ferrer, Murray, and Djokovic.
Click to expand...

His back was taped at the French Open:

EHJhRe5WoAAxXPK
 
octobrina10

octobrina10

Talk Tennis Guru
McEnroeisanartist said:
Why do people say Nadal had a crisis of confidence after 2014 Australian Open final, when he won his very next tournament?

Also, he won Madrid, and stormed through the French Open (lost one set) defeating Ferrer, Murray, and Djokovic.
Click to expand...

Rafa lacked confidence in 2015 due to injuries he suffered in 2014.

U.Toni said in his interview with COP, a radio network in Spain, in Dec.2015: “Getting injured [in the lower back] in the AO 2014 final was a big blow. When he recovered [therapies helped him temporarily], the wrist issue happened [in July 2014]. All this caused him a huge stress and lack of confidence in his body [in the 2015 season]. He was going on court [in 2015] without knowing/trusting what his body would do.”

Rafa had different treatments on his back during 2014, they helped him feel better only for a few weeks. In Oct/Nov. 2014, he underwent stem cell treatment on his back. That treatment obviously helped him much more than previous ones, I haven't seen him having back issues after that.

.​
 
L

LETitBE

Hall of Fame
octobrina10 said:
Rafa lacked confidence in 2015 due to injuries he suffered in 2014.

U.Toni said in his interview with COP, a radio network in Spain, in Dec.2015: “Getting injured [in the lower back] in the AO 2014 final was a big blow. When he recovered [therapies helped him temporarily], the wrist issue happened [in July 2014]. All this caused him a huge stress and lack of confidence in his body [in the 2015 season]. He was going on court [in 2015] without knowing/trusting what his body would do.”

Rafa had different treatments on his back during 2014, they helped him feel better only for a few weeks. In Oct/Nov. 2014, he underwent stem cell treatment on his back. That treatment obviously helped him much more than previous ones, I haven't seen him having back issues after that.

.​
Click to expand...
and thats why he ripped the tour to shreds in 2015 isnt it :laughing:
 
Phoenix1983

Phoenix1983

G.O.A.T.
StrongRule said:
Next tournament? That was Rio 500, and he had to save 2 matchpoints against Andujar. Then he played his worst clay season since 2004, and worst by a huge distance. In MC against Ferrer he hit 44 unforced errors. Ferrer was in usual choking mode, but Nadal was an unforced errors machine that day so the mental part didn't really matter. In Barcelona he lost against ALMAGRO. In Madrid he played a terrible final and only Nishikori's injury saved him in the end. A bit better in Rome (at least he started going for some shots) but still struggled against almost all players in the draw, and lost the final.

Yes, somehow he won RG, but he looked VERY vulnerable in that tournament. His opponents just played even worse. For me that was without doubt his worst slam win, and I had the feeling he was totally done until the end of the year at the least. Well, as we found out he was done for two years and a half. Took him 3 long years until he won another slam.

So yeah, AO 2014 was the end of his prime. That loss broke something, Nadal just wasn't the same player after it.
Click to expand...

The man has won 6 slams since then (an ATG career by itself). So whatever kind of player he's been after it, it has hardly ruined his career.
 
ibbi

ibbi

G.O.A.T.
Because he said so? Because he didn't look very good in the months after? By the clay season he was alright again, but even then, to say he won Madrid is a stretch. He was handed the trophy after the flake that was whooping him up and down the street hurt himself.

The fact he even went to Rio suggests he was not feeling or acting normal post-Australia. The worst Indian Wells result of his life to follow it seems to further back that up.
 
victorcruz

victorcruz

Hall of Fame
AO14 Final was by far the lowest moment for me as part of the Rafa fam. Others may have felt lower elsewhere, but this was it for me. He had owned Stan, never even lost a set to him and he just gets whacked off the court because he couldn't move. This is why I do believe he is cursed down under. Plus I had woken up in the middle of the night to watch it. Add insult to injury. At least he's made up for it plenty since, but still chasing that elusive 2nd at AO. I'll live :)
 
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