Woz reminds me of Nadal

gopokes

Rookie
Maybe rewinding the clock 5-6 years, Woz has a lot of similar strengths to Rafa; great speed, high margin for error, ok serve - nice court sense, tough mental game, etc. I think as she gains confidence she'll win a bunch of majors, much as Rafa has done. I don't see anyone beating her consistently. Once she wins one slam, she'll win several more. Serena could handle her if she's playing well, but the rest of the field is too hit and miss to consistently do it imho. She still lacks the swagger necessary to dominate the game, but if she gets 1 slam under her belt, she'll be even tougher. Plus she's adding weapons to her arsenal already. She flat cracked a couple of bhs tonight against Maria. She's the real deal.
 

Murrayfan31

Hall of Fame
She reminds me way more of Murray. :) Nadal plays a different game for sure. Less of a counterpuncher. Her game suits hardcourts much like Murray.
 

ledwix

Hall of Fame
You're right. She has high net clearance, consistency, good defense, and a good mental game. I mentally made that comparison today, too, during the Sharapova match.
 

Manus Domini

Hall of Fame
Serena Williams reminds me a lot of Rafael Nadal. Injured whenever she loses, has won a good number of slams, two handed backhand, grunts, strong mental strength, muscles through the ball not finese
 
Just no. Nadal tries to open up the court much more with angles, depth and spin, and has a specific aggressive gameplan i.e. control the court with his forehand and get positions out of position with deep topspin shots. Wozniacki's, meanwhile is a counterpuncher's strategy, i.e. to play high percentage shots until she either coaxes an error or can step it up on a couple of shots.
 
What? o_o

Okay, I admit that I am biased against Wozniacki. Her endlessly sunny and cheerful disposition, while a breath of fresh air from the more explosive or grumblesome personalities in women's tennis, can get to be annoying after a while. I also just don't like the way she plays. Period. There is nothing beautiful, aesthetic, inspiring, or praiseworthy about it. That is not to discount her performance and her ability as a tennis player. Right now, compared with a lot of the other women, she is a good tennis player. I just don't like how she plays. I also dislike her counterpunching style. She is not a complete player yet. Perhaps some day she will be. We just have to wait.

Is she like Nadal was when he was younger? I don't think so. I think he was learning and growing and adapting a lot more quickly than Wozniacki is. Also, as someone else mentioned, clay isn't even Wozniacki's strength. A medium pace hard court suits her better. Morever, she does not have the mental strength that Nadal had.

Her win over Sharapova was good. Even though Sharapova is on the descent in her career in my opinion, she can still play solid tennis and is not necessarily a pushover. Maybe Wozniacki is the next Nadal for men, but I just don't see it at all.
 
Maybe rewinding the clock 5-6 years, Woz has a lot of similar strengths to Rafa; great speed, high margin for error, ok serve - nice court sense, tough mental game, etc. I think as she gains confidence she'll win a bunch of majors, much as Rafa has done. I don't see anyone beating her consistently. Once she wins one slam, she'll win several more. Serena could handle her if she's playing well, but the rest of the field is too hit and miss to consistently do it imho. She still lacks the swagger necessary to dominate the game, but if she gets 1 slam under her belt, she'll be even tougher. Plus she's adding weapons to her arsenal already. She flat cracked a couple of bhs tonight against Maria. She's the real deal.
Unfortunately, Caroline Hingis-Vicario doesn't have the necessary offensive weapons to make her more than a flash in the pan historically. Using Nadal was a very poor analogy because he is much more offensive-minded.

Cemented in her youthful vigor is the resolve that other players will have to blast her off-court in order to defeat her, and there are SO many out there who have the weapons to do that already (and have).

As these offensive-minded women continue to bludgeon Caroline Hingis-Vicario in the latter rounds of the grand slam events, it will psychologically take its toll, as she will likely have an on-court meltdown born from frustration that will cascade into a plummeting ranking. The Chunky Dane only has two or three good years left.

Caroline Hingis-Vicario isn't that great. She's just another one of those European, defensive wunderkids that the media has propped-up in the absence of true talent in the sport of women's tennis.

Mother Marjorie Ann
Undisputed Queen of Talk Tennis Warehouse
 
I don't understand why so many people think a comparision must always be read as 1:1? OP just says there are similarities, not that they are identical players.
Matt Cronin once said something similar about Wozniacki. "There are shadows of young Nadal in her game" is how I think he expressed it.
 

gopokes

Rookie
I'm even more convinced after today's match. I think what sets Rafa apart is his defense - he makes the court seem so small; same thing with Woz. I also rewound the clock on rafa several years in the OP. Obviously he is far more offensive-minded now than he was in '05 or '06. Remember that serve? He basically spun it in at 105 and played his way into the point. He also gives very little away in terms of unforced errors, and is more apt to work a point before hitting a winner, rather than smacking one outright like Fed. Woz does the same thing - she gets her opponent moving, opens up the court, and finishes. She has awesome hands too - like Rafa; you can't hit through her. I think she'll end up with more majors than Hingis, who played a similar game, just on a smaller scale.
 

SStrikerR

Hall of Fame
This is like saying Federer and Lendl are the same because they both had good forehands. Their game isn't anywhere near the same. Just because they both play defense well and don't implode during a match doesn't mean their game's are similar. Both cover the court well, but Rafa actually hits more than 3 winners a set. He attacks, tries to force errors. Woz just...hits it back.
 

THUNDERVOLLEY

G.O.A.T.
Just no. Nadal tries to open up the court much more with angles, depth and spin, and has a specific aggressive gameplan i.e. control the court with his forehand and get positions out of position with deep topspin shots. Wozniacki's, meanwhile is a counterpuncher's strategy, i.e. to play high percentage shots until she either coaxes an error or can step it up on a couple of shots.

Pretty accurate assessment, S_H_C.
 
Mother Marjorie feels that comparing Caroline Hingis-Vicario to Rafael Nadal is a very, very poor analogy.

1. Rafael Nadal excels in athleticism, Caroline Hingis-Vicario does not.

2. Rafael's game is much more offensive-minded than Caroline Hingis-Vicario which is why he has won grand slam singles titles and she hasn't.

3. Rafael's rise began very young for someone in the men's game. Caroline Hingis-Vicario is a late bloomer (historical comparison) who has yet to win a grand slam singles title.

4. Rafael has very low body fat. Caroline Hingis-Vicario is "The Chunky Dane".

5. How dare you compare Rafael Nadal, arguably on his way to becoming a GOAT contender to a player who has never won a grand slam title. How dare you!

Mother Marjorie Ann
Undisputed Queen of Talk Tennis Warehouse
 

Manus Domini

Hall of Fame
3. Rafael's rise began very young for someone in the men's game. Hingis is a late bloomer (historical comparison) who has yet to win a grand slam singles title.

I dunno bout Woz, but for Hingis:

wikipedia said:
In 1996, Hingis became the youngest Grand Slam champion of all time, when she teamed with Helena Suková at Wimbledon to win the women's doubles title at age 15 years and 9 months

Hingis also almost got the Grand Slam at 17, a helluva lot younger than Rafa's done...
 
Top