Will Nadal beat Djokovic this year?

[Lsmkenpo]

Djokovic played a trashy match in the US Open final too, and Nadal didn't slice, come forward, hit inside out, or down the line with his FH or BH nearly as much as he did yesterday. There's not a tennis analyst on this planet that will say Rafa played better at the USO last year.

Nadal sliced more because the AO surface takes slice better than any other HC on tour, not because it is some great new tactic against Djokovic. As far as hitting inside out or down the line, Nadal didn't dictate the rallies nearly as much as Djokovic from the baseline. I believe they posted a stat at the end of the third set that Nadal was only winning 20% of his points from the baseline, not good. If anything his first serve accuracy on big points is the only thing that saved him from 3 set beat down.

 

[DeShaun]

Nadal sliced more because the AO surface takes slice better than any other HC on tour, not because it is some great new tactic against Djokovic. As far as hitting inside out or down the line, Nadal didn't dictate the rallies nearly as much as Djokovic from the baseline. I believe they posted a stat at the end of the third set that Nadal was only winning 20% of his points from the baseline, not good. If anything his first serve accuracy on big points is the only thing that saved him from 3 set beat down.

He did seem to be hitting his spots very well on serve; but he did that, too, against Federer, so, Rafa may believe that he must continue to serve better if he is to stay near the very top.

 

[namelessone]

There are two ways Nadal can look at this defeat -

1) I almost got him. Next time I'll get him.

2) I got so close yet couldn't do it. Don't think I'll ever get him again.

Most players generally go the second route. Will Nadal too?

Nadal isn't like most players IMO.

He has an amazing, almost delusional,way to take the positives out of anything and roll on.

After some of the very bitter pills he's swallowed over the years, he should have been wrecked mentally but he kept rolling along.

It will be very interesting to see how he prepares for the clay season.

 

[ThoughtCrime]

I think he will, probably in a Master tourney, the French, maybe Wimbledon?

 

[monfed]

Djokovic played a trashy match in the US Open final too, and Nadal didn't slice, come forward, hit inside out, or down the line with his FH or BH nearly as much as he did yesterday. There's not a tennis analyst on this planet that will say Rafa played better at the USO last year.

Djokovic hit 19 UEs in the first set alone. He was serving at 50% FS which is why he lost set 1. When he got his first serve perc up to a decent number, he kindof ran away with it in sets 2 and 3 and almost 4. It was pure determination and fighting spirit from Nadal that prevented the match from ending in 4.

 

[Day Tripper]

I think this match will be the closest Nadal gets all year. Novak served really badly and was half asleep during the first set. i thought Nadal played really well - especially his serving.
He simply doesn't have the weapons to hurt Djokovic. I am afraid that it is only going to get uglier for Nadal.

 

[monfed]

Do you know ANYTHING about Nadal? He got beaten 6 times in a row last year, did he get closer or farther this time? What did he say in his presser after the match? Surely you know the answer to this already.

I don't take Nadal's pressers seriously. He has a history of being dishonest(example - calling Federer the favourite before every RG final :lol and playing mindgames with his opponent. I don't take any players pressers seriously for that matter. Fed's been dishonest about his chances against Nadal before they play.

Like I said time will tell , but one thing Nadal does have in his favour is that all the majors are slow as s*** these days(40 shot rally on a HC,really?) which suits his game more than say Federer.
Another thing that works in Nadal's favour is that he's only losing to Djokovic in majors which means if for any reason Novak slips up, then its Nadal's slam to lose.

What I predict may happen after this loss is that he may not be able to pull out close matches out of his a** , like the one against Berdych ,where TBerd clearly blew it in that second set TB.
These great escapes that Nadal manages might become less of a certainty in future.

In short, mental clutchness might desert Nadal as he may start doubting himself more.

 

[nikefreekz]

not when he keeps standing 10ft behind the baseline receiving serve, with returns that drops on the service line...

 

[MichaelNadal]

I don't take Nadal's pressers seriously. He has a history of being dishonest(example - calling Federer the favourite before every RG final :lol and playing mindgames with his opponent. I don't take any players pressers seriously for that matter. Fed's been dishonest about his chances against Nadal before they play.

Like I said time will tell , but one thing Nadal does have in his favour is that all the majors are slow as s*** these days(40 shot rally on a HC,really?) which suits his game more than say Federer.
Another thing that works in Nadal's favour is that he's only losing to Djokovic in majors which means if for any reason Novak slips up, then its Nadal's slam to lose.

What I predict may happen after this loss is that he may not be able to pull out close matches out of his a** , like the one against Berdych ,where TBerd clearly blew it in that second set TB.
These great escapes that Nadal manages might become less of a certainty in future.

In short, mental clutchness might desert Nadal as he may start doubting himself more.

Well we can go back and forth all day, to me it's evident that Nadal is not the type of guy that is going to run scared, and he will never stop fighting for every single point, if you didn't notice that yesterday I don't know what else to say. It's hilarious that u think he's going to be a mental midget next time. He was completely clutch last night, when Novak was already supposedly deep in his head. How about we just enjoy the tennis year and see what happens next time they meet.

 

[Tennis_Hands]

It may very well happen, that Djokovic loses to Nadal in a clay court tournament prior to RG to give Nadal a false sense of security. Other than that I can see all their matches being competitive, with Djokovic having the edge everywhere except for Miami. Considering their current form, that is.

 

[adventure]

Andy has a very good chance of supplanting Nadal as world's no. 2 by the end of the year, or at least by A0 2013. Murray has a better overall skillset compared to Nadal, but lacks the confidence and composure right now to win a major.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Andy has a very good chance of supplanting Nadal as world's no. 2 by the end of the year, or at least by A0 2013. Murray has a better overall skillset compared to Nadal, but lacks the confidence and composure right now to win a major.

And how many years have we been saying this same thing now? Please. I love Murray but I don't know if he will ever quite get there.

 

[Talker]

I wouldn't give Nadal on clay any advantage anymore over Djokovic.
The reasons he won there was basically long high percentage rallies and wearing an opponent down.
Against Djokovic he doesn't have these advantages and Djokovic can outlast him even.

 

[monfed]

Well we can go back and forth all day, to me it's evident that Nadal is not the type of guy that is going to run scared, and he will never stop fighting for every single point, if you didn't notice that yesterday I don't know what else to say. It's hilarious that u think he's going to be a mental midget next time. He was completely clutch last night, when Novak was already supposedly deep in his head. How about we just enjoy the tennis year and see what happens next time they meet.

Nadal's probably the greatest fighter in tennis history. I didn't say he'll turn into a mental midget all of a sudden, "less clutch" is what I meant.
But you're right, we can't come to a conclusion unless we actually see some tennis in the coming events.

One thing that works in Nadal's favour is that he's got the entire clay season to get his confidence back as there aren't many who can beat him there.

 

[monfed]

And how many years have we been saying this same thing now? Please. I love Murray but I don't know if he will ever quite get there.

LOL Exactly. Let Murray atleast win a slam first. :lol:

 

[ChanceEncounter]

In all seriousness, I do think there is upside to Nadal's game, if he's committed to it. I've seen Nadal practice 2 times LIVE standing VERY close to where he was hitting the balls. I can tell you, he can generate pace and penetration like no one's business on a practice court. Of course a real match is different but he's definitely capable of offensive shotmaking.

He needs to force himself to get out of his comfort zone and try to have better court positioning and more aggression in all of his matches. Not just against Novak, but everyone right from round 1.

If he does this, he may have chances to beat Djoko in the future. If he doesn't, then he will NEVER beat Djoko again. I also hope that he can get some outside advice for his serve, ROS etc..

Almost anyone can generate pace and penetration on a practice court. That's why it's practice.

Nadal can step in and dictate points. He does this all the time on shortballs and against inferior opponents. The problem is that Djokovic is not an inferior opponent. He's arguably the only player on tour that's a superior opponent. Against players with Djokovic's offensive firepower, Nadal's natural instinct is to play defense. He's fighting with his nature to try to step against Djokovic, and ultimately, while he may win a lot of points, Djokovic is still better at playing offensively.

 

[cc0509]

Do you know ANYTHING about Nadal? He got beaten 6 times in a row last year, did he get closer or farther this time? What did he say in his presser after the match? Surely you know the answer to this already.

What Nadal said in his press conference about being ok after the match because he was closer to beating Djokovic and was mentally stronger this time is a bunch of BS if you ask me. He still lost, further eroding his confidence. No matter how you slice it, it is still a loss.

Don't get too caught up in what is said by a player who has been defeated many times by the same guy, because you will set yourself up for disappointment. Federer fans have been there. Can Nadal turn it around? Possibly, but the match-up/loss of confidence is probably a better predictor of future matches than anything else.

With that said, Nadal may have a better shot of defeating Novak at the FO than anywhere else, just depends what happens in the next few months.

 

[cc0509]

Nadal isn't like most players IMO.

He has an amazing, almost delusional,way to take the positives out of anything and roll on.

After some of the very bitter pills he's swallowed over the years, he should have been wrecked mentally but he kept rolling along.

It will be very interesting to see how he prepares for the clay season.

What bitter pills? He has been beating everybody for the most part up until the 2011 Djokovic.

 

[cc0509]

I don't take Nadal's pressers seriously. He has a history of being dishonest(example - calling Federer the favourite before every RG final :lol and playing mindgames with his opponent. I don't take any players pressers seriously for that matter. Fed's been dishonest about his chances against Nadal before they play.

Yep, they all tell you how they will play differently next time and how they will take positives from the loss. It is all a bunch of BS in essence. A mixture of PR propaganda and trying to convince themselves.

 

[cc0509]

Well we can go back and forth all day, to me it's evident that Nadal is not the type of guy that is going to run scared, and he will never stop fighting for every single point, if you didn't notice that yesterday I don't know what else to say. It's hilarious that u think he's going to be a mental midget next time. He was completely clutch last night, when Novak was already supposedly deep in his head. How about we just enjoy the tennis year and see what happens next time they meet.

You weren't thinking that so much in the past few months and your posts on here reflected that pessimism.

 

[y12.pats]

Nadal does seem to take positives out of everything. I mean look at his 2009 season after RG where he lost to Soderling in the 4th round! then he didn't play wimbledon, lost in the semis at the US and won no tournaments after the spring of that year. What did he do? he came back and had a SPECTACULAR 2010 season. trust me 2012 is going to be a comeback year for Rafa, already he improved his Aussie from last year (losing in the QF) look for him to step up in the clay court season to regain his confidence and maybe win one of the american hard court tourneys.
oh and to all of those who already think murray will surpass Rafa,
PLEASE. get real.

 

[Tony48]

Only if gluten deficiency becomes illegal

 

[MichaelNadal]

You weren't thinking that so much in the past few months and your posts on here reflected that pessimism.

You're right, bc Nadal clearly didn't want to be playing tennis last year, and basically said he felt like he had been playing 100 years and his motivation wasn't there. This year, it has been, and he's not going anywhere.

 

[Clarky21]

You're right, bc Nadal clearly didn't want to be playing tennis last year, and basically said he felt like he had been playing 100 years and his motivation wasn't there. This year, it has been, and he's not going anywhere.

Exactly. I have been dogging Nadal for while now because he just wasn't fighting or changing things up enough. I saw some things I liked in that final,and even though he lost I think he knows he is closer now than he was all year last year at beating Magneto. People have very short memories,and cannot see past the present. Magneto won't always be at the top,people. Noone is. He will eventually start to lose just like they all do.

 

[cc0509]

Exactly. I have been dogging Nadal for while now because he just wasn't fighting or changing things up enough. I saw some things I liked in that final,and even though he lost I think he knows he is closer now than he was all year last year at beating Magneto. People have very short memories,and cannot see past the present. Magneto won't always be at the top,people. Noone is. He will eventually start to lose just like they all do.

Eventually? He just started his run and is in peak form. Sure he will lose eventually but I don't think eventually is right now.

 

[SLD76]

What Nadal said in his press conference about being ok after the match because he was closer to beating Djokovic and was mentally stronger this time is a bunch of BS if you ask me. He still lost, further eroding his confidence. No matter how you slice it, it is still a loss.

Don't get too caught up in what is said by a player who has been defeated many times by the same guy, because you will set yourself up for disappointment. Federer fans have been there. Can Nadal turn it around? Possibly, but the match-up/loss of confidence is probably a better predictor of future matches than anything else.

With that said, Nadal may have a better shot of defeating Novak at the FO than anywhere else, just depends what happens in the next few months.

Agreed..anybody who watched Miami last year knew the AO final would be closer.

But considering that the conditions favored Rafa's game, despite it being Djoker's best surface and that Djoker was half dead for 2+ hrs of the match AND that rafa had the match on his raquet at one point then well.....


Either rafa is lying or he is just delusional.

 

[Sentinel]

Nadal could easily come back strong and win the RG Wimbledon double.

Yes, Nadal could win slam titles in the doubles events.

 

[papertank]

The AO final proved beyond a doubt that Nadal is VERY capable of beating Djokovic this year. I think it will come on clay, but hard courts are still possible too. The more he loses, the harder he will try in the next match. It's only a matter of time.