Will anyone stop the Clay cleansweep, if so who?

Will anyone beat Nadal in clay masters/RG

  • No, he will win 3 masters and RG

    Votes: 22 55.0%

  • No, but he'll withdraw from a masters or RG

    Votes: 5 12.5%

  • Yes, Djokovic

    Votes: 6 15.0%

  • Yes, Dimitrov

    Votes: 3 7.5%

  • yes, Zverev

    Votes: 1 2.5%

  • Yes, Cilic

    Votes: 2 5.0%

  • yes, Theim

    Votes: 4 10.0%

  • Yes, Nishikori

    Votes: 3 7.5%

  • Yes, someone else

    Votes: 4 10.0%

  • yes, del potro

    Votes: 3 7.5%
  • Total voters
    40
  • Poll closed .
Towser83

Towser83

G.O.A.T.
Since 2005 when he won his first clay masters and RG, Nadal has played 13 seasons but only once captured the 3 masters plus RG (in 2010)

This year, will he repeat that feat or is it too much (especially if you factor in Barca) can he go undefeated in masters and RG?

It should be worth noting Djokovic has inflicted 7 of Nadal's clay losses, and he's in no way the same player. It's also worth noting Nadal had a rough couple of years and now looks much better.

Just to be thorough let's look at each year

2005 and 2006 - did not play Hamburg, but won MC, Rome and RG.
2007 - lost to Federer in Hamburg
2008 - lost to Ferrero in Rome
2009 - lost to Federer in Madrid and Soderling at RG
2010 - won 3 masters and RG, but I think he skipped Barca that year
2011 - lost to Djokovic in Rome and Madrid
2012 - lost to Verdasco in Madrid
2013 - lost to Djokovic in MC
2014 - lost to Ferrer in MC and Djokovic in Rome
2015 - lost to Djokovic in MC, Wawrinka in Rome, Murray in Madrid and Djokovic at RG
2016 - lost to Djokovic in Rome and Murray in Madrid
2017 - lost to Theim in Rome

Personally I think he's looking good for RG and 2 masters, probably Barca as well. Just a question of if at nearly 32 he can manage to not have an off day mentally or physically. The history says he will probably lose a match but I think it'll take someone in really good form and Nadal being tired/having an off day. 3 masters and RG is possible, but playing deep into Barca is going to make it tricky, not sure who has the best shot, maybe Zverev
 
kishnabe said:
Nadal winning MC, Barcelona, Rome and Madrid. Then tiring himself out to a 2nd week loss at RG would be great.
Click to expand...

After winning MC, B, R and M with scores like 60 61 in each match, you have high hoaps that Nadl will be tired at RG.He'll actually be rusty from the poor competition and therefore perform not too stellarly on grass.

Smasher08 said:
sureshs ftw
Click to expand...
I think now we can elevate him to Srsh or something. Like Fedr and Nadl.
 
Three M1000 plus RG is a tough ask. I'm thinking the usual two plus RG again this year. He will have an off day at some stage and bow out of one of the three Masters events.
 
Towser83 said:
Since 2005 when he won his first clay masters and RG, Nadal has played 13 seasons but only once captured the 3 masters plus RG (in 2010)

This year, will he repeat that feat or is it too much (especially if you factor in Barca) can he go undefeated in masters and RG?

It should be worth noting Djokovic has inflicted 7 of Nadal's clay losses, and he's in no way the same player. It's also worth noting Nadal had a rough couple of years and now looks much better.

Just to be thorough let's look at each year

2005 and 2006 - did not play Hamburg, but won MC, Rome and RG.
2007 - lost to Federer in Hamburg
2008 - lost to Ferrero in Rome
2009 - lost to Federer in Madrid and Soderling at RG
2010 - won 3 masters and RG, but I think he skipped Barca that year
2011 - lost to Djokovic in Rome and Madrid
2012 - lost to Verdasco in Madrid
2013 - lost to Djokovic in MC
2014 - lost to Ferrer in MC and Djokovic in Rome
2015 - lost to Djokovic in MC, Wawrinka in Rome, Murray in Madrid and Djokovic at RG
2016 - lost to Djokovic in Rome and Murray in Madrid
2017 - lost to Theim in Rome

Personally I think he's looking good for RG and 2 masters, probably Barca as well. Just a question of if at nearly 32 he can manage to not have an off day mentally or physically. The history says he will probably lose a match but I think it'll take someone in really good form and Nadal being tired/having an off day. 3 masters and RG is possible, but playing deep into Barca is going to make it tricky, not sure who has the best shot, maybe Zverev
Click to expand...

Is he playing like a near 32 year old though? He may have a strategic loss in the QF/SF of Rome just to make sure he keeps the number one ranking.

Other than that, he's unstoppable unless he gets injured.
 
Steve0904 said:
Nadal will stop it himself by doing what he did last year. Semi tanking Rome to save energy for RG.
Click to expand...
I won't be surprised if that doesn't happen at all and he wins every tournament on clay he enters. He skipped everything after the AO (where he reached the QF compared to the F last year), so he's as fresh as ever.
 
Pagoo said:
Is he playing like a near 32 year old though? He may have a strategic loss in the QF/SF of Rome just to make sure he keeps the number one ranking.

Other than that, he's unstoppable unless he gets injured.
Click to expand...

He's playing great but like Federer, you can't totally discount age. Plus he has had the odd unnexpected loss even on clay before, though since 2010 it's been either Djokovic stopping him or he's been way below his current form. I still think he can do it but it's going to be tough. I think he should skip Barca
 
Towser83 said:
He's playing great but like Federer, you can't totally discount age. Plus he has had the odd unnexpected loss even on clay before, though since 2010 it's been either Djokovic stopping him or he's been way below his current form. I still think he can do it but it's going to be tough. I think he should skip Barca
Click to expand...

I will believe it when I see it, especially with the current field.
 
I can’t see anyone this year unless Djoko suddenly starts beasting. Tiredness/overplaying/bad day at the office will probably be Nadal’s main challenge. Shame that we don’t have a big rivalry on clay but that’s the tour’s fault. Most players specialize in the majority surface nowadays, which keeps gaining ground over the other 2...
 
Towser83 said:
. I think he should skip Barca
Click to expand...
Not sure about that. He’s not a title contender at this point anyway. And he needs match play, to get into some kind of rhythm. As long as he loses before semi/final, he’s better off entering a lot of events.
ETA: oh were you talking about Nadal? My bad, I thought you meant Djoko. It’s hard for Nadal to skip Barca because it’s his home tournament. Easier for him to let go of Rome if he has to prioritize.
 
He should ideally skip Barca but we know that's not going to happen. At a guess I'll say he'll lose at Masrid but win everywhere else.
 
Nope. Only way he’ll lose is if he plays a servebot playing out of his mind, and getting lucky in a TB. Otherwise, no one has the weapons to compete with him.
 
Thiem and Del Po. Because of his clay aura, most younglings go south mentaly against him. Juan Martin is an experienced warrior and he could be a challenge
 
veroniquem said:
Not sure about that. He’s not a title contender at this point anyway. And he needs match play, to get into some kind of rhythm. As long as he loses before semi/final, he’s better off entering a lot of events.
ETA: oh were you talking about Nadal? My bad, I thought you meant Djoko. It’s hard for Nadal to skip Barca because it’s his home tournament. Easier for him to let go of Rome if he has to prioritize.
Click to expand...

Yeah I meant Nadal. I think either Barca or Madrid needs to go, I mean he can probably play them all but it does seem a lot
 
51.png
 
It has to be a perfect draw alignment . You need multiple pushers to get Rafa little tired and hopefully a red hot Delpo can get him out

Chances are 1 in a million
 
this will be the first time in history where someone sweeps the entire clay court season without dropping a single set, let alone losing 6 games in a set.
 
My briefest "Nadal Decline Poetry" contribution to that epic thread 5.5 years ago still has legs:

Rafa' s true and total lament
"On the tour, why so much cement?
Why can't we play on clay?
Always, forever, every day?"
 
stringertom said:
My briefest "Nadal Decline Poetry" contribution to that epic thread 5.5 years ago still has legs:

Rafa' s true and total lament
"On the tour, why so much cement?
Why can't we play on clay?
Always, forever, every day?"
Click to expand...

Lol..nice one! :)

"The clay, the clay, the lovely red clay,
It's just brick dust really,
But nicer to say."

(With apologies to The Great MacGonagall).
 
Last edited:
As near invincible as he is, Rafa will be visibly tired in Rome.

A fresh Tier 2 player(No Tier 1 player on clay) playing well has a good chance of causing an upset.
 
It needs to be a big hitter who can overpower him-- that's the only thing that has ever worked.

Tiafoe, Khachanov, Rublev.
 
titoelcolombiano said:
Three M1000 plus RG is a tough ask. I'm thinking the usual two plus RG again this year. He will have an off day at some stage and bow out of one of the three Masters events.
Click to expand...
He tanked last year (wisely) in Rome in order to rest for RG. That's the only tournament that matters on clay for Rafa's legacy. However, this year's field is so pathetic and Nadal is sooo much better than anyone on clay, maybe he shouldn't deliberately lose early in either Madrid or Rome. His matches have been so easy he's got to have plenty left in the tank.

Anyway, back to the poll question. I think the only man capable of offering eve moderate resistance to Rafa on clay is--
tumblr_mxki2dvsDS1stlfaoo1_400.gif
 
Wish there was a betting prop where one could bet on nadal to not drop a set at all during the clay season. Would be a steal.
 
BeatlesFan said:
He tanked last year (wisely) in Rome in order to rest for RG. That's the only tournament that matters on clay for Rafa's legacy. However, this year's field is so pathetic and Nadal is sooo much better than anyone on clay, maybe he shouldn't deliberately lose early in either Madrid or Rome. His matches have been so easy he's got to have plenty left in the tank.

Anyway, back to the poll question. I think the only man capable of offering eve moderate resistance to Rafa on clay is--
tumblr_mxki2dvsDS1stlfaoo1_400.gif
Click to expand...

Given delpo's high ranking, he will be 5th seed, so no chance of meeting rafa before the QF even if they both are in the same draw...
And there is also a chance that juan will be on the other side of draw, so even if he gets to face rafa in the final; he will be so tired as he has ATG level weapon in his FH, but his body is definitely not holding quite longer on clay
 
BeatlesFan said:
He tanked last year (wisely) in Rome in order to rest for RG. That's the only tournament that matters on clay for Rafa's legacy. However, this year's field is so pathetic and Nadal is sooo much better than anyone on clay, maybe he shouldn't deliberately lose early in either Madrid or Rome. His matches have been so easy he's got to have plenty left in the tank.

Anyway, back to the poll question. I think the only man capable of offering eve moderate resistance to Rafa on clay is--
tumblr_mxki2dvsDS1stlfaoo1_400.gif
Click to expand...

Given delpo's high ranking, he will be 5th seed, so no chance of meeting rafa before the QF even if they both are in the same draw...
And there is also a chance that juan will be on the other side of draw, so even if he gets to face rafa in the final; he will be so tired as he has ATG level weapon in his FH, but his body is definitely not holding quite longer on clay
 
BeatlesFan said:
He tanked last year (wisely) in Rome in order to rest for RG. That's the only tournament that matters on clay for Rafa's legacy. However, this year's field is so pathetic and Nadal is sooo much better than anyone on clay, maybe he shouldn't deliberately lose early in either Madrid or Rome. His matches have been so easy he's got to have plenty left in the tank.

Anyway, back to the poll question. I think the only man capable of offering eve moderate resistance to Rafa on clay is--
tumblr_mxki2dvsDS1stlfaoo1_400.gif
Click to expand...

Given delpo's high ranking, he will be 5th seed, so no chance of meeting rafa before the QF even if they both are in the same draw...
And there is also a chance that juan will be on the other side of draw, so even if he gets to face rafa in the final; he will be so tired as he has ATG level weapon in his FH, but his body is definitely not holding quite longer on clay
 
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