Djokovic has yet to put up better results to be included in a discussion with names like Federer and Nadal. So yeah, come back when it happens.
Why the fatigue excuse for Nadal
- Thread starter abudhabi tennis
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Djokovic has yet to put up better results to be included in a discussion with names like Federer and Nadal. So yeah, come back when it happens.
Yeah, I heard his credit score's so bad he can't get a loan.
vtmike
Banned
LMAO!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:
cknobman
Legend
Since when is a master series final not a big match? Especially one that if he had won Nadal would have been the only player in history to win all 3 clay masters in a single season.
I think it was a big match. Maybe not GS big but still ranks high enough up there. And since when did Nadal stop going for it in any match?
Nadal was exhausted at the AO but he found just that extra energy to come through. This time it just wasn't there - he didn't go into top gear the way he did at the AO and I still think he could have - but RG is so soon so why strain himself
kraggy
Banned
I don't think the physical and mental tiredness can be used as an excuse in the sense of " the match doesn't count" . That would be very foolish to say especially when a lot of Nadal's victories are precisely because he beats his opponents by wearing them down physically and mentally! If you are fit enough to play through a match , the result always counts!
That being said, just in terms of the fight Nadal put in , I wouldn't rate Madrid as one of his best efforts. Of course Federer executed his gameplan quite beautifully. But I could almost see Nadal resigned to his fate after Fed took the lead in the first set, rather than the Nadal who usually goes from 100% to 120%, when he is down. I don't think Nadal would have gone down so tamely had this been the FO final. As regards to the comparison with the AO final where Nadal has played a brutal 5-setter in the semi, I don't think you can deny that winning the AO ( his first hardcourt slam) meant a lot more to Nadal than winning the Madrid event.
Of course, this is all fairly subjective. I do believe the FO will be a much better indication though of whether Fed and Djoker have actually caught up to Nadal or whether Madrid was just a one off thing. Should be very interesting.
That being said, just in terms of the fight Nadal put in , I wouldn't rate Madrid as one of his best efforts. Of course Federer executed his gameplan quite beautifully. But I could almost see Nadal resigned to his fate after Fed took the lead in the first set, rather than the Nadal who usually goes from 100% to 120%, when he is down. I don't think Nadal would have gone down so tamely had this been the FO final. As regards to the comparison with the AO final where Nadal has played a brutal 5-setter in the semi, I don't think you can deny that winning the AO ( his first hardcourt slam) meant a lot more to Nadal than winning the Madrid event.
Of course, this is all fairly subjective. I do believe the FO will be a much better indication though of whether Fed and Djoker have actually caught up to Nadal or whether Madrid was just a one off thing. Should be very interesting.
I guess you could say the same thing about some of Federer's losses to Nadal. There are times he probably didn't have 100% desire to win, which was clear by the FO 2008 final where he gave up long before the match was over.
I definitely think that Madrid is very different than FO because of the court surface, and that Nadal didn't have the desire to win it. Probably because he knew it would be a challenge ahead of time due to the surface and that it was so close to FO and too risky to burn himself out.
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I think the main point is that this shows that 1) Nadal does have to try his best to beat the likes of Federer and even Djokovic these days, and 2) His grinding style of game takes a very real toll on his mind and body. This is why I don't think his domination will remain for very long. There is no way he is at #1 for more than 2 years total in my book.
kraggy
Banned
So i partially agree with you here. Nadal's USP is a combination of his talent and mental will/physical ability. Federer's USP is mainly his talent. If the two were to play a casual game of street tennis where only talent played a role, I think more often than not Federer would win. But when they play a serious match, the mental aspect plays a big role and hence Nadal wins a lot. Based on this, I would say that Nadal's sort of 'giving up' at Madrid was more uncharacteristic of him than Feds 'giving up' at the FO 2008.
I do disagree however that he only has a 2 yr shelf life. I think Nadal is constantly evolving and he and Uncle Tony will definitely focus on an improved serve to win some more Free points. We have already seen how he has been able to improve on difference surfaces, improve his backhand etc.
Also if you look at the points race, Nadal doesnt really need to play as many tournaments as he does! He has a 4000 pt lead . He doesn't need such a huge lead. He can remain number 1 for more than 2 yrs if he schedules his tournaments intelligently and aims at having a 1k lead rather than a 4k one!
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