N
nikdom
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Nadal's recent form
Simply - he's been the best hardcourt player coming into the USO. Nadal has been showing us some nice aggressive shot making combined with his usual defensive skills and mental fortitude. Steve Tignor made a very astute comment about Nadal the other day. He writes, "In tight moments, Nadal is the rare player who can find the right balance of aggression and margin".
The USO rewards obviously the most aggressive players, but over 5 sets, low percentage shot making won't cut it. Rafa's gears give him the ability to shift up when needed yet his trademark top-spin game gives him plenty of room.
Federer
Now to the part about being a Fed fan and why this is a departure for me. It isn't like I don't want Roger to win. That's always a Federer fan's *wish*. But that can only happen if Roger is in good form and playing well. And to be honest, I don't enjoy Roger winning ugly. His game was made to flourish and for us fans to enjoy that free-floating, creative genius in full flow.
This hasn't been his summer or even year. I'm hoping by the fall indoor season he finds his mojo again, but right now we'll have to see. I'd be very pleasantly surprised if he does get through 2 of the Top 4 to win the USO.
The Rest
As for Djokovic or Murray, my personal preference is aggressive, creative players and surprisingly Nadal is the one out of those 3 that can do it and take it up a notch. Murray and Djokovic have been lackluster but we'll have to see how things go.
JMDP, Berdych and other dark horses unfortunately haven't proven themselves coming into the open. It'll take a great performance by someone to upset the Top 4 to corner yet another slam.
GOAT Challenge
Some of you may be wondering why a Fed fan would wish his nemesis in the slam race pick up another slam and narrow the GS title gap. I'm supposed to wish that Nadal not win another slam ever again and Federer always remain the slam king.
The truth is we don't know what is going to happen. Fed may not win a slam again and Nadal could catch up, or not. Fed could add 1 or more slams still and make it more difficult.
All the numbers aside, I've come to a point where philosophically I think it is immature to desire Nadal somehow fall off the radar. Let the guy play and let the better man come out on top in the history books. If it is Nadal, so be it - it isn't like he's going to do it by winning some lottery. He'll have to win it just like Roger did.
I've come to realize that although I'm not a Nadal fan, I despise his juvenile fans more than the tennis player himself. If I ignore all the antics and just focus on his tennis shot making between the lines, he's a phenomenal player who will go down as one of the Top 5 best male players of all time even if he doesn't win one more title ever!
So to ignore all that good and just focus on the negative aspects I don't like is not right. I still wish and hope Roger remains the champ in the GS department, but not going to do it by rooting against Nadal.
Simply - he's been the best hardcourt player coming into the USO. Nadal has been showing us some nice aggressive shot making combined with his usual defensive skills and mental fortitude. Steve Tignor made a very astute comment about Nadal the other day. He writes, "In tight moments, Nadal is the rare player who can find the right balance of aggression and margin".
The USO rewards obviously the most aggressive players, but over 5 sets, low percentage shot making won't cut it. Rafa's gears give him the ability to shift up when needed yet his trademark top-spin game gives him plenty of room.
Federer
Now to the part about being a Fed fan and why this is a departure for me. It isn't like I don't want Roger to win. That's always a Federer fan's *wish*. But that can only happen if Roger is in good form and playing well. And to be honest, I don't enjoy Roger winning ugly. His game was made to flourish and for us fans to enjoy that free-floating, creative genius in full flow.
This hasn't been his summer or even year. I'm hoping by the fall indoor season he finds his mojo again, but right now we'll have to see. I'd be very pleasantly surprised if he does get through 2 of the Top 4 to win the USO.
The Rest
As for Djokovic or Murray, my personal preference is aggressive, creative players and surprisingly Nadal is the one out of those 3 that can do it and take it up a notch. Murray and Djokovic have been lackluster but we'll have to see how things go.
JMDP, Berdych and other dark horses unfortunately haven't proven themselves coming into the open. It'll take a great performance by someone to upset the Top 4 to corner yet another slam.
GOAT Challenge
Some of you may be wondering why a Fed fan would wish his nemesis in the slam race pick up another slam and narrow the GS title gap. I'm supposed to wish that Nadal not win another slam ever again and Federer always remain the slam king.
The truth is we don't know what is going to happen. Fed may not win a slam again and Nadal could catch up, or not. Fed could add 1 or more slams still and make it more difficult.
All the numbers aside, I've come to a point where philosophically I think it is immature to desire Nadal somehow fall off the radar. Let the guy play and let the better man come out on top in the history books. If it is Nadal, so be it - it isn't like he's going to do it by winning some lottery. He'll have to win it just like Roger did.
I've come to realize that although I'm not a Nadal fan, I despise his juvenile fans more than the tennis player himself. If I ignore all the antics and just focus on his tennis shot making between the lines, he's a phenomenal player who will go down as one of the Top 5 best male players of all time even if he doesn't win one more title ever!
So to ignore all that good and just focus on the negative aspects I don't like is not right. I still wish and hope Roger remains the champ in the GS department, but not going to do it by rooting against Nadal.
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Great post, I respect you mate 
