Wilander, Edberg, Mcenroe & Noah pick Nadal to win the Australian Open

abraxas21

Professional
Stefan Edberg
Winner - Rafael Nadal.
“The Australian Open is outdoors, it’s in the heat and I believe Rafa has to be the favourite and probably will be the winner. It is incredible what he has done over the past year and he does have a chance now to catch Federer (for the Grand Slam title record). It's not going to be easy, but he definitely has a chance. Federer is not finished yet, but Nadal is the favourite in Melbourne.”

Mats Wilander
Winner - Rafael Nadal.
“Nadal has improved more at Number One than Federer did when he was there. He has improved and he has changed his game, not drastically, but you can see the changes and improvements.
Federer has always played brilliant tennis but you never really saw Federer change, whereas Nadal has actually changed his game after getting beaten a couple of times last year.
I would definitely pick Nadal for the Australian Open.”

John McEnroe
Winner - Rafael Nadal.
“I would pick Nadal at the Australian because I think he’s much tougher to beat in longer matches. If he remains healthy then he’s the guy I would pick for every Major right now until proven otherwise. I would love to see a guy like Del Potro or one of the other guys like Djokovic or Murray step up and really make an impact and win some Majors.
I think that would be important for tennis, but Nadal is the favourite, just ahead of Federer.”

Yannick Noah
Winner - Rafael Nadal.
“Nadal is in great shape. When Nadal is healthy he is unbeatable because mentally he is also so strong. It’s amazing to watch how strong mentally this kid is. So if he’s healthy I think he’s the favourite for the Australian Open and I would say the same forever, anywhere.”
http://www.atpchampionstour.com/news138.html
 

Talker

Hall of Fame
I'm going with Fed.

What's got into those guys? They make it seem Nadal is miles ahead of everyone.

Anyways, it should be a heck of a tournament, there's plenty of story lines waiting. :)
 

OrangePower

Legend
Not that unusual. It's not like they're going out on a limb or anything - after all the guy is the world #1 and will be the #1 seed for the AO.

Although my pick (by a very very slight margin) is Fed, based on form over the last couple of months.
 

Cup8489

G.O.A.T.
hmm... some mention nadal's physicality.. but he just got done being ill last week... so idk what theyre thinking. He may be number 1, but his last 2 months hasn't been even remotely as good as that guy Federer's..
 

DragonBlaze

Hall of Fame
Good, good, let Rafa have the pressure on him for once. Hopefully the bookies have him as the favourite as well.
 
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1970CRBase

Guest
I would have picked Nadal if he hadn't chosen to play the rubbish indoor season which I hadn't believed he would do well in since he never did. Working on the beaches and babes from Flushing till Melbourne would've taken all the weight off those knees.:shock: He'd earned it. & in my mind he would have been top fav for AO2011. Still cannot fathom why Nadal had to keep playing so hard for nothing when he could have "lost" early etc.

Very disappointed that even Stefan, whom I respect so much, now joins this chorus and lowers himself to the level of people like Mac, Becker, Borg and Mats. People who were kissing Fed's butt in 2005/2006 and are now jumping on him every opportunity they get. Well just remember, people who kiss ur ass when ur on the way up r the same to stab you in the back when ur on the way down. Understandable why, at this point in Fed's slam record, these people are strongly motivated to not want him to add any more to the final tally. Don't wanna be cast too far back in the shadows of the Everest, do we? Nadal's their Saviour! Well, unless he wins more than they are comfortable with seeing. haha *Haven't forgotten Borg's petty behaviour in picking Sod over Nad and Bird over Nad last year.

Don't worry though, in not too many years time it will be Nadal's turn if he starts getting close to 14 and a new star rising and these same guys will be sagely saying the same stuff from the side lines about how it's nearly over for him too.

My 2 c
 
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cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
Mats Wilander
Winner - Rafael Nadal.
Federer has always played brilliant tennis but you never really saw Federer change, whereas Nadal has actually changed his game after getting beaten a couple of times last year

What is Wilander talking about? Federer HAS recently changed his game plan since hiring Paul Annacone. I seriously can't stand Wilander.
 

DragonBlaze

Hall of Fame
I would have picked Nadal if he hadn't chosen to play the rubbish indoor season which I hadn't believed he would do well in since he never did. Working on the beaches and babes from Flushing till Melbourne would've taken all the weight off those knees.:shock: He'd earned it. & in my mind he would have been top fav for AO2011. Still cannot fathom why Nadal had to keep playing so hard for nothing when he could have "lost" early etc.

Very disappointed that even Stefan, whom I respect so much, now joins this chorus and lowers himself to the level of people like Mac, Becker, Borg and Mats. People who were kissing Fed's butt in 2005/2006 and are now jumping on him every opportunity they get. Well just remember, people who kiss ur ass when ur on the way up r the same to stab you in the back when ur on the way down. Understandable why, at this point in Fed's slam record, these people are strongly motivated to not want him to add any more to the final tally. Don't wanna be cast too far back in the shadows of the Everest, do we? Nadal's their Saviour! Well, unless he wins more than they are comfortable with seeing. haha *Haven't forgotten Borg's petty behaviour in picking Sod over Nad and Bird over Nad last year.

Don't worry though, in not too many years time it will be Nadal's turn if he starts getting close to 14 and a new star rising and these same guys will be sagely saying the same stuff from the side lines about how it's nearly over for him too.

My 2 c

I love what Wilander says

Mats Wilander
Winner - Rafael Nadal.
Nadal has improved more at Number One than Federer did when he was there. He has improved and he has changed his game, not drastically, but you can see the changes and improvements.
Federer has always played brilliant tennis but you never really saw Federer change, whereas Nadal has actually changed his game after getting beaten a couple of times last year.
I would definitely pick Nadal for the Australian Open.”

Yea, that's right Mats, Federer didnt improve when he was number at all. That's why he has 237 consecutive weeks of being No. 1 :lol:

I mean if what he says is true, Federer went from being nothing to overnight playing brilliant tennis, after which he didnt improve and it still took his peers including Rafa 4.5 years to catchup to him.

That means at the start of those 4.5 years, the difference in playing levels between Fed and the rest of the tour must have been approximately this size.

Grand_Canyon_23.jpg


Yeah, nice one Mats :lol:
 
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nikdom

Guest
Nadal deserves favorite or co-favorite status just based on his ranking and as holder of the last 3 slams. What's surprising to me though, at least with Edberg, is how Roger has been written off. The guy has been on a tear coming into the year and he's played the best I've seen him in a long time at Doha. So they're willing to discount that and back a Nadal who, apart from an exo, really did not show anything most recently?

That tells me its more about band wagoning than anything else. And Wilander definitely hates Fed - his whole Rafa improved while Fed did not is really rubbish and uncalled for. Sounds more like sureshs than a former slam winner.
 

namelessone

Legend
I'm going with Fed.

What's got into those guys? They make it seem Nadal is miles ahead of everyone.

Anyways, it should be a heck of a tournament, there's plenty of story lines waiting. :)

Well, he is not that far ahead but Nadal has a history of proving people wrong over and over again and when he is motivated and healthy he is a very powerful force on tour. Granted, this will probably be his ONLY chance to make four in a row but being that he is nr.1 and is known to be mentally strong, I can see why so many pick him, despite some people being disappointed at these picks.

The only surprise is Edberg. Mac,Noah and Wilander have gushed over Rafa for some time now.
 
1

1970CRBase

Guest
That tells me its more about band wagoning than anything else. And Wilander definitely hates Fed - his whole Rafa improved while Fed did not is really rubbish and uncalled for. Sounds more like sureshs than a former slam winner.

The older these old folks get, the more apparent their pettiness and insecurities.

Tennis commentating has to be one of the dirtiest jobs.
 

namelessone

Legend
The older these old folks get, the more apparent their pettiness and insecurities.

Tennis commentating has to be one of the dirtiest jobs.

Trust me, this will happen to you as well. :)

I can sorta understand it. These guys were stars in their time and getting to around the 10 slam mark was considered something stupendous. Now here comes Federer who wins slams with the same ease as putting socks in the morning. That can't sit well with many of them. Watching Roger, people think Slams are easy peasy but they are actually f***ing hard to win. Look at Murray's problems. Hell, a monster talent like Nastase won just two slams, even though the won the year end championship four times.

Federer's success(who, without Nadal, would easily have 20 slams by now) makes their success, in their own times, seem obsolete and mundane. Remember Borg's 11 and channel slam? Channel Slam has been done and Federer is getting close to 17, 6 more slams. Sampras doesn't really have anything major left over Federer. The rest I won't even into. Only Laver basically has something over Federer.

As I've said on this site Federer is a victim of his own success. He does things too easily, too perfect at times if you will and it makes others efforts seem not that good.
 
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nikdom

Guest
Trust me, this will happen to you as well. :)

I can sorta understand it. These guys were stars in their time and getting to around the 10 slam mark was considered something stupendous. Now here comes Federer who wins slams with the same ease as putting socks in the morning. That can't sit well with many of them. Watching Roger, people think Slams are easy peasy but they are actually f***ing hard to win. Look at Murray's problems. Hell, a monster talent like Nastase won just two slams, even though the won the year end championship four times.

Federer's success(who, without Nadal, would easily have 20 slams by now) makes their success, in their own times, seem obsolete and mundane. Remember Borg's 11 and channel slam? Channel Slam has been done and Federer is getting close to 17, 6 more slams. Sampras doesn't really have anything major left over Federer. The rest I won't even into. Only Laver basically has something over Federer.

As I've said on this site Federer is a victim of his own success. He does things too easily, too perfect at times if you will and it makes others efforts seem not that good.

That is indeed true. Very good post
 
Trust me, this will happen to you as well. :)

I can sorta understand it. These guys were stars in their time and getting to around the 10 slam mark was considered something stupendous. Now here comes Federer who wins slams with the same ease as putting socks in the morning. That can't sit well with many of them. Watching Roger, people think Slams are easy peasy but they are actually f***ing hard to win. Look at Murray's problems. Hell, a monster talent like Nastase won just two slams, even though the won the year end championship four times.

Federer's success(who, without Nadal, would easily have 20 slams by now) makes their success, in their own times, seem obsolete and mundane. Remember Borg's 11 and channel slam? Channel Slam has been done and Federer is getting close to 17, 6 more slams. Sampras doesn't really have anything major left over Federer. The rest I won't even into. Only Laver basically has something over Federer.

As I've said on this site Federer is a victim of his own success. He does things too easily, too perfect at times if you will and it makes others efforts seem not that good.

Federer should count himself lucky that he only had Rafa to worry about. Saying "without Nadal, would easily have 20 slams by now" is like saying "If McEnroe didn't have to play Connors, Becker, Lendl he would have 25 slams by now" LOL
 
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nikdom

Guest
Federer should count himself lucky that he only had Rafa to worry about. Saying "without Nadal, would easily have 20 slams by now" is like saying "If McEnroe didn't have to play Connors, Becker, Lendl he would have 25 slams by now" LOL

Nadal is lucky he went with the lefty thing. Without it, he would have nothing. He would be just another Ferrer.:twisted:
 

tlm

G.O.A.T.
The difference is these guys can see reality, they don't worship fed like many here do.
 

bolo

G.O.A.T.
I would have picked Nadal if he hadn't chosen to play the rubbish indoor season which I hadn't believed he would do well in since he never did. Working on the beaches and babes from Flushing till Melbourne would've taken all the weight off those knees.:shock: He'd earned it. & in my mind he would have been top fav for AO2011. Still cannot fathom why Nadal had to keep playing so hard for nothing when he could have "lost" early etc.

Very disappointed that even Stefan, whom I respect so much, now joins this chorus and lowers himself to the level of people like Mac, Becker, Borg and Mats. People who were kissing Fed's butt in 2005/2006 and are now jumping on him every opportunity they get. Well just remember, people who kiss ur ass when ur on the way up r the same to stab you in the back when ur on the way down. Understandable why, at this point in Fed's slam record, these people are strongly motivated to not want him to add any more to the final tally. Don't wanna be cast too far back in the shadows of the Everest, do we? Nadal's their Saviour! Well, unless he wins more than they are comfortable with seeing. haha *Haven't forgotten Borg's petty behaviour in picking Sod over Nad and Bird over Nad last year.

Don't worry though, in not too many years time it will be Nadal's turn if he starts getting close to 14 and a new star rising and these same guys will be sagely saying the same stuff from the side lines about how it's nearly over for him too.

My 2 c

this post is my favorite so far. :)
 
Nadal is lucky he went with the lefty thing. Without it, he would have nothing. He would be just another Ferrer.:twisted:

Federer leads Marcelo Rios 2-0
Federer leads Feliciano Lopez 7-0
Federer leads Greg Rusedski 4-1
Federer leads Fernando Verdasco 4-0
Federer leads Goran Ivanisevic 2-0
Federer leads Jarkko Nieminen 11-0
Federer leads Gilles Muller 3-0
Federer leads Stefan Koubek 4-1
Federer leads Michael Llodra 1-0
Federer leads Irakli Labadze 1-0
Federer leads Thomas Schoorel 1-0
Kenneth Carlsen leads Federer 1-0
Rafael Nadal leads Federer 14-8

When playing Federer, being left-handed is a disadvantage, even for talents like Rios, Rusedski and Goran.
 

veroniquem

Bionic Poster
Tears....commence.....now. :)
Ha ha so it seems with all the Fed fans reactions in this thread!
I hope all this "picking" doesn't jinx Rafa. I think they didn't dare go against Rafa for 2 reasons: hard to go against the guy who won the last 3 slams and Rafa being so clutch when the stakes are very high.
For all the success Fed has had recently, most of it came in small events and none of it came in best of 5 format.
If it comes to Rafa vs Fed in the end, I think their pick makes sense but so far it has never been a given that Rafa would make the final at AO.
If he uses the USO serve though, good luck to anyone to beat him...
I have to say this makes for very pleasant reading in any case, it's not every day those guys have been so complimentary about Rafa :)
 
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Sid_Vicious

G.O.A.T.
Nothing bold here. Just some guys picking the world number 1 to win the AO. Now if any of these guys had balls (ahem Wilander?), they would pick Donald Young or Tomic to win.
 

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
Nothing bold here. Just some guys picking the world number 1 to win the AO. Now if any of these guys had balls (ahem Wilander?), they would pick Donald Young or Tomic to win.

Exactly. Lord forbid they pick the number 1 player in the world and the guy who has won the last 3 straight majors o_O
 
If he uses the USO serve though, good luck to anyone to beat him...

Important point, and not many people have mentioned this, that his US Open serve is a major problem for opponents because they already have to worry about the other strengths of his game. If Rafa serves like USO then there simply isn't any way to hurt him.
 
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nikdom

Guest
Federer leads Marcelo Rios 2-0
Federer leads Feliciano Lopez 7-0
Federer leads Greg Rusedski 4-1
Federer leads Fernando Verdasco 4-0
Federer leads Goran Ivanisevic 2-0
Federer leads Jarkko Nieminen 11-0
Federer leads Gilles Muller 3-0
Federer leads Stefan Koubek 4-1
Federer leads Michael Llodra 1-0
Federer leads Irakli Labadze 1-0
Federer leads Thomas Schoorel 1-0
Kenneth Carlsen leads Federer 1-0
Rafael Nadal leads Federer 14-8

When playing Federer, being left-handed is a disadvantage, even for talents like Rios, Rusedski and Goran.

Take it easy. Was just riffing on your "lucky" theme. Neither of those guys are lucky to b anything. They worked for it.
 

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
The difference is these guys can see reality, they don't worship fed like many here do.

They sure worshipped Federer for many years. Used to be he could do no wrong in their eyes, especially McEnroe. McEnroe gushed about Federer any chance he could.
Now they are on to their next victim--i.e. Nadal.
 

kishnabe

Talk Tennis Guru
Yeah Nadal would do good...but all of them don't even acknowedge Fed except Stefan. Mats is a clown for saying that Fed didn't improve during his domination.

McEnroe same speal for every guy who plays the game well. Noah...he seems like he doesn't really mean it!

Some of the guys here at TW say better stuff than these guys in terms who is the favourite!

BTW...murray is the favourite...for obvious reasons ;)!
 
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nikdom

Guest
They sure worshipped Federer for many years. Used to be he could do no wrong in their eyes, especially McEnroe. McEnroe gushed about Federer any chance he could.
Now they are on to their next victim--i.e. Nadal.

McEnroe is the only one who gushed about Roger. Stefan was always been understated. The other two have never really been Fed likers.
 

tlm

G.O.A.T.
They sure worshipped Federer for many years. Used to be he could do no wrong in their eyes, especially McEnroe. McEnroe gushed about Federer any chance he could.
Now they are on to their next victim--i.e. Nadal.

You may be right about this.
 

angiebaby

Semi-Pro
Nadal deserves favorite or co-favorite status just based on his ranking and as holder of the last 3 slams. What's surprising to me though, at least with Edberg, is how Roger has been written off. The guy has been on a tear coming into the year and he's played the best I've seen him in a long time at Doha. So they're willing to discount that and back a Nadal who, apart from an exo, really did not show anything most recently?

That tells me its more about band wagoning than anything else. And Wilander definitely hates Fed - his whole Rafa improved while Fed did not is really rubbish and uncalled for. Sounds more like sureshs than a former slam winner.

They're not writing Roger off. They're putting Rafa ahead of Federer as the favourite. Not quite the same thing.


Exactly. Lord forbid they pick the number 1 player in the world and the guy who has won the last 3 straight majors o_O

Indeed. What on earth is wrong with these guys? :rolleyes:
 

namelessone

Legend
BTW, upon reading Wilander's comments about Fed not changing his game I would like to take back my comments about Wilander ever liking Federer. Clearly I was wrong.

Like or hate Fed, but saying that he did not change aspects of his game in 04-07 is pure bull.
 
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nikdom

Guest
They're not writing Roger off. They're putting Rafa ahead of Federer as the favourite. Not quite the same thing.

If they choose to not even mention Roger despite his recent form, then its writing him off.

Plus some of the things said have nothing to do with why Nadal should be the favorite (see wilanders statement). Its plain and simple Fed hate. No one is grudging Nadal getting his due.
 
BTW, upon reading Wilander's comments about Fed not changing his game I would like to take back my comments about Wilander ever liking Federer. Clearly I was wrong.

Like or hate Fed, but saying that he did not change aspects of his game in 04-07 is pure bull.

He stopped coming to the net, his netgame was rarely used and consequently his skills declined somewhat (based on what we've seen of his netgame over the last couple of years, easy misses, indecisiveness etc.).
 

JustBob

Hall of Fame
3 straight slams, #1 player in the world, it's hardly surprising that Nadal is the favorite. But Nadal is hardly unbeatable on hard courts and based on current form I'd pick Federer.
 
3 straight slams, #1 player in the world, it's hardly surprising that Nadal is the favorite. But Nadal is hardly unbeatable on hard courts and based on current form I'd pick Federer.

Rafa was unbeatable at the US Open with the addition of the killer serve, but I agree Federer is the favorite here down-under.
 

Bobby Jr

G.O.A.T.
Career results:
Federer: hard court slams = 9
Nadal: hard court slams = 2

2010 results:
Hard court tournament wins/runner ups
Federer = 5 / 2
Nadal = 2 / 2

Career-wise and previous last season-wise Federer still smokes Nadal in terms of hard court form.
 
Career results:
Federer: hard court slams = 9
Nadal: hard court slams = 2

2010 results:
Hard court tournament wins/runner ups
Federer = 5 / 2
Nadal = 2 / 2

Career-wise and previous last season-wise Federer still smokes Nadal in terms of hard court form.

So it should, it's Rafa's weakest surface and in addition to that he's only 24, so he's had 5 years less than Federer to attain hardcourt titles. What did Federer have on clay at age 24?
 
D

Deleted member 77403

Guest
Rafa is the favorite for me, and I'm a Roger fan. I put Roger in second place, after Rafa.

I want Rafa to deal with all the pressure, and now with all these greats calling him the favorite, let him go ahead and prove they were right!!!!

Vamos Rafa, beat Del Potro, Davydenko, Murray, Djokovic and Federer, and prove you are best!!!!! :)
 

BukShy

Rookie
haha.its nice how ppl can write down Fed, after even rafa told them to not too.
Federer is the greatest
 

Bobby Jr

G.O.A.T.
So it should, it's Rafa's weakest surface and in addition to that he's only 24, so he's had 5 years less than Federer to attain hardcourt titles. What did Federer have on clay at age 24?
Yet even the 2010 hard-court results are massively in Federer's favour.

I'll take a bet with you that Nadal wont win the Aussie Open this year. Friendly bet or monetary if you wanna back your convictions.
 
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