Will Rafa ever win another title

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Since he lost today, the message is clear, he cannot win ..... This is the end of the road for Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic can still win titles and could sneak in a slam, but I must say the clock is ticking for him too, he should be on RED ALERT seeing Nadal's state today.
 
Razer said:
Since he lost today, the message is clear, he cannot win ..... This is the end of the road for Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic can still win titles and could sneak in a slam, but I must say the clock is ticking for him too, he should be on RED ALERT seeing Nadal's state today.
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Fortunately doesn’t need to win much now as he’s ended with the records. A few small titles to try catch Fed 103 titles would be nice though or try sneak out 1 more slam. We will see.
 
Never thought we would see this day when Nadal is so declined on clay..... but here we are in 2024... :eek:

Djokovic_is_the_best#1 said:
Fortunately doesn’t need to win much now as he’s ended with the records. A few small titles to try catch Fed 103 titles would be nice though or try sneak out 1 more slam. We will see.
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I want him to win the 25th Slam, number 25 is a must. After that he can become like Nadal, doesn't matter.

Connors's record can be chased, Djoker can always win 250s even at 40, I trust his fitness to last 3 more years, he won't become like Nadal so easily.

Federer was always the gold standard for maintaining level of play.... his level of play was the highest in his 20s and also in 30s, if his knees were fine we would have seen him maybe reach slam semis even now.
 
This was probably his last chance. I know he's still undecided about a retirement date, but it's unlikely he'll attend many 250s again (if any). He's in the farewell tour stage of playing the big events like the Olympics and the US Open.

If he plays a USO warmup, it'll probably be Cincinnati, which he certainly won't win.

He's already signed up for the Laver Cup, so he won't be playing either of the Asian 500s the week after.

Then we're on to the indoor season, which was a struggle even in his best years.

I think his best chance would be if he ends his season early after the Laver Cup, and works to come back strong in 2025 by winning one of the small pre-AO 250s when he's nice and fresh. Otherwise he'd have to wait all the way until the clay season and see if he can snag Barcelona one last time.
 
Razer said:
Never thought we would see this day when Nadal is so declined on clay..... but here we are in 2024... :eek:



I want him to win the 25th Slam, number 25 is a must. After that he can become like Nadal, doesn't matter.

Connors's record can be chased, Djoker can always win 250s even at 40, I trust his fitness to last 3 more years, he won't become like Nadal so easily.

Federer was always the gold standard for maintaining level of play.... his level if play was the highest in hsi 20s and also in 30s, if his knees were find we would have seen him maybe reach slam semis even now.
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I agree. I think while it will be difficult for Djokovic I still see him making deep runs in slams.

He still has the game and physicality to compete. He will just need some luck to win another and have some help from Alcaraz or sinner. It not in his hands now. Novak isn’t a favourite now but still a contender and a threat.

I agree 25 would be a great way to end with a few more small titles too. We will see. Whatever happens it been a great run.
 
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MeatTornado said:
This was probably his last chance. I know he's still undecided about a retirement date, but it's unlikely he'll attend many 250s again (if any). He's in the farewell tour stage of playing the big events like the Olympics and the US Open.

If he plays a USO warmup, it'll probably be Cincinnati, which he certainly won't win.

He's already signed up for the Laver Cup, so he won't be playing either of the Asian 500s the week after.

Then we're on to the indoor season, which was a struggle even in his best years.

I think his best chance would be if he ends his season early after the Laver Cup, and works to come back strong in 2025 by winning one of the small pre-AO 250s when he's nice and fresh. Otherwise he'd have to wait all the way until the clay season and see if he can snag Barcelona one last time.
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We still don’t know if he plays in 2025. He might still announce retirement at Olympics or laver cup this year.
 
I want Nadal to play 2025 French Open to mark his 20th Anniversary and then retire, not before.

Lavers Cup is a circus, it can be held next year, no need to retire this year at iit.

Djokovic_is_the_best#1 said:
I agree. I think while it will be difficult for Djokovic I still see him making deep runs in slams.

He still has the game and physicality to compete. He will just need some luck to win another and have some help from Alcaraz or sinner. It not in his hands now. Novak isn’t a favourite now but still a contender and a threat.

I agree 25 would be a great way to end with a few more small titles too. We will see. Whatever happens it being a great run.
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See Djoker's physicality has always been better than Federer's, but Federer's racquet skills stand out above Novak's/anybody's. So now in old age, Djoker's physicality is sadly not enough to take on Alcaraz who is young and Djoker's racquet skills are also not enough to beat Alcaraz, so he is in a tough spot now. Someone will have to take out Alcaraz, so Novak will have to rely on his "friends" Med and Zed to do the dirty work, only they have the strength to beat Alcaraz by shocking him, or maybe an injury to Alcaraz but that is unlikely, Alcaraaz is at an age where he will be fit for a slam if he wants because in young age everything heals at superfast pace. So I guess Novak's fate rests on Med & Zed :rolleyes:
 
I wouldn’t count Rafa out if he decides to play South American season in 2025

But it look like in the overall titles won, RF may have the last laugh. Didn’t imagine that few months ago when Djokovic was beating the tour like a drum, even at 36 years. King Carlos had other plans
 
thrust said:
I am pretty sure Rafa will never win another slam or anything above a 250 title. IMO, both he and perhaps Novak, should retire after this year at the latest so as to not hurt their great legacies.
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I think Novak can still win smaller events if he decides to play them. He can make deeper slam runs but actually winning another slam will be very difficult and not as likely.

I agree that Rafa is done though.
 
Only 2 people who can save Novak. I would have put Sinner in this category too but it seems he too could be an obstacle if he wins over Alcaraz.

Med and Zed will handover the trophy to Djokovic

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He had a decent chance, as some would say, to vulture this title, in the absence of a couple of high ranked players, with Ruud and Rublev going out.

He struggled in his last two matches leading into the final, played a qualifier in his last match who basically had won like five matches in his career in tournament play, and played his second longest three set match on clay the round before.....in the final he was playing someone who had never played in a final.

This was a 250 on clay and was as good as a chance for it, and he was flat as a pancake in the final, that he fought so hard to get to. A brutal week but against no name players, that he made look like titans.

It is possible this match gives him a reality check on where he stands.

He looked old this week, lost his serve three times or more per set in almost every set he played, lost his mental focus numerous times. His grit and determination were solid, but that alone isn't going to win titles for you when everything else is diminished. He is an old man at 38.
 
ND-13 said:
I wouldn’t count Rafa out if he decides to play South American season in 2025

But it look like in the overall titles won, RF may have the last laugh. Didn’t imagine that few months ago when Djokovic was beating the tour like a drum, even at 36 years. King Carlos had other plans
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Connors has the record, it's not Federer who actually has the record for overall titles won.

Djokovic actually has the records for most slams, most masters, most YEC.
 
I said this in 2022, then felt like an idiot with the way he whacked all those top 10 players to win RG and crushed the ball vs Novak and pulled out all those passing shots vs Abuserev... but here goes again:

I think clay is now Nadal's worst surface. He needs to be able to hit through the court and he can't do that on so many of the clay courts nowadays. HC suits his need for aggression more, and his all round game and tennis IQ immediately makes him more of a contender on grass (you couldn't imagine Borges beating him 6-3, 6-2 there for example)
 
Hitman said:
Connors has the record, it's not Federer who actually has the record for overall titles won.

Djokovic actually has the records for most slams, most masters, most YEC.
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Don’t be so insecure . I never took away those records from Novak.

And you know well that the comparison was between the big 3
 
jl809 said:
I said this in 2022, then felt like an idiot with the way he whacked all those top 10 players to win RG and crushed the ball vs Novak and pulled out all those passing shots vs Abuserev... but here goes again:

I think clay is now Nadal's worst surface. He needs to be able to hit through the court and he can't do that on so many of the clay courts nowadays. HC suits his need for aggression more, and his all round game and tennis IQ immediately makes him more of a contender on grass (you couldn't imagine Borges beating him 6-3, 6-2 there for example)
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He's going to get blasted off the court on HC, his movement will be even more exposed there. On clay, at least he some time to set up his shots and move further back behind the baseline to get balls back.
 
As for the Olympics, though, let's bear in mind... the forecast for Paris in late July is hot and sunny af and not very humid. On paper these are literally the best conditions he could ask for for the tournament...

Now ofc he could get screwed hilariously by the draw like he was at RG, and tbh I think that the run of Wednesday 31st R16 - Friday 2nd SFs could well be too much tennis in a short space of time. But either way I am interested to watch
 
Hitman said:
He's going to get blasted off the court on HC, his movement will be even more exposed there. On clay, at least he some time to set up his shots and move further back behind the baseline to get balls back.
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Fair point.... I just think the best he's played all year in 2024 was right at the start in Australia, and he got blasted off the court at Rome by Hurkacz anyway, so it will just happen regardless now I think. Meanwhile back in 2022 I still think he peaked at Acapulco even if he did play some incredible stuff in the RG 22 QF and F too. Perhaps that is a moot point though if we take it for granted that he will not recover his 2022 movement
 
jl809 said:
Fair point.... I just think the best he's played all year in 2024 was right at the start in Australia, and he got blasted off the court at Rome by Hurkacz anyway, so it will just happen regardless now I think. Meanwhile back in 2022 I still think he peaked at Acapulco even if he did play some incredible stuff in the RG 22 QF and F too. Perhaps that is a moot point though if we take it for granted that he will not recover his 2022 movement
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There is a BIG difference between the Nadal we saw post his Wimbledon 2022 injury and after it. Whatever took place in that Fritz match spelled doom for him.

He can never get back to any level or form that resembles him pre injury.

I honestly think this is as good as it gets out there for him, he pushed as hard as possible, and barely made the final.
 
Hitman said:
Yes, because Novak certainly isn't winning anything ever again. If he does, I am sure you will be the first to celebrate it.
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I would like it to be a tight contest and see it as a close finish. This is a let down after what we saw from Cincinnati 2023
 
ND-13 said:
Sports moves on . It does not wait for anyone . Records are meant to be broken.
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You spoke before about Djokovic should potentially retire so he doesn't lose to Alcaraz so many times in slam matches because future generations will think poorly of him.

Do you have the same feelings now for Federer, who went 0-3 in W finals to Djokovic, do you feel it hurt his legacy and people see him poorly and his grass GOAT creditonals are damaged?
 
Rafa is Done, tennis left him last year. I wonder how much time he needs to digest this fact and quit tennis, It took 2 years for Roger.
Retirement after Olympics would be a wise choice, unless he decides not to listen his body and ruin his future comfort like Delpo.
 
ND-13 said:
I would like it to be a tight contest and see it as a close finish. This is a let down after what we saw from Cincinnati 2023
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Maybe you will, unless you actually think Novak is retiring.

You are really looking for any breadcrumbs you can get now isn't it. Imagine feasting on major records as a Fed fan for years, to be relegated to picking up crumbs for second place on someone else's record. How the mighty have fallen.
 
Hitman said:
Maybe you will, unless you actually think Novak is retiring.

You are really looking for any breadcrumbs you can get now isn't it. Imagine feasting on major records as a Fed fan for years, to be relegated to picking up crumbs for second place on someone else's record. How the mighty have fallen.
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LOL, it is not that serious bud.

RF has moved the sport and billions of fans in a way that only he could. The 20 or 22 majors does not impact him or for me at the end of the day.

I don’t know why you feel belittled when j say Novak may fall short of the overall titles . It is not that deep.
 
Hitman said:
He had a decent chance, as some would say, to vulture this title, in the absence of a couple of high ranked players, with Ruud and Rublev going out.

He struggled in his last two matches leading into the final, played a qualifier in his last match who basically had won like five matches in his career in tournament play, and played his second longest three set match on clay the round before.....in the final he was playing someone who had never played in a final.

This was a 250 on clay and was as good as a chance for it, and he was flat as a pancake in the final, that he fought so hard to get to. A brutal week but against no name players, that he made look like titans.

It is possible this match gives him a reality check on where he stands.

He looked old this week, lost his serve three times or more per set in almost every set he played, lost his mental focus numerous times. His grit and determination were solid, but that alone isn't going to win titles for you when everything else is diminished. He is an old man at 38.
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Harsh but I can’t argue with it, no matter how much I wish it were otherwise. :( He’s not an old man though. 38 (off a tennis court) is not even middle aged these days lol

He was completely out of gas coming into the final and it showed. Unless something convinces him otherwise, I see him competing at the Olympics and LC and calling it a day.
 
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