2014 Roland Garros QF: Nadal vs. Ferrer

[crystalfire]

cant believe ferrer actually said that. thats just lame. "lemme just quit when im ahead" might as well take a selfie when you are at it.

 

[Denis]

Just re-enforces what I've been saying for years about the ATP; GUTLESS! :nono uzzled :huh:

Yes, because Ferrer = ATP.

You're also out of your mind if you think Ferrer is gutless in general. A bad attitude in one match does not mean he's gutless throughout his career.

Maybe so, but Ferrer is often gutless against Nadal....

You know, virtually everyone around here says that Ferrer's problem is that he hasn't got enough big weapons to beat the Big 4. So only against Nadal he is "gutless?" You have to admit that some of that vitriol is because he didn't take Rafa out. (I doubt you'd say the same if he'd taken a set off of Djokovic before Novak got the better of him. And, btw, neither would I.)

No. I'd like to see Nadal reach the final.

Ferrer often folds like a cheap tent when he plays Nadal. Madrid last year, at least two occassions at RG. He might not have enough 'weapons', but you can at least make a competitive effort.

Don't be so blind in your hatred for me.

 

[brokenshoelace]

On one hand, I respect Ferrer for being this candid, on the other hand, this is a shameful attitude:

"(In the second set) Rafael started playing a lot better, making fewer mistakes, and then it's like I threw in the towel," said the fifth-seed, who lost in the all-Spanish final aganst Nadal at Roland Garros last year.

"I don't usually do this, but I thought, I'm not going to be able to come back into the match. I thought, No, no, not against Rafa. He's such good a player."

"I wouldn't even use the word 'frustration' you see. What I missed is perhaps strength or the appetite to win and the drive," he said.

The shameful part is not admitting to that. The shameful part is "throwing the towel" when tied a set apiece against an opponent who wasn't even playing that well.

Just re-enforces what I've been saying for years about the ATP; GUTLESS! :nono uzzled :huh:

Yes, because Ferrer = ATP.

You're also out of your mind if you think Ferrer is gutless in general. A bad attitude in one match does not mean he's gutless throughout his career.

Maybe so, but Ferrer is often gutless against Nadal....

Can you name me an instance other than this one?

Keep in mind, getting outplayed =/= being gutless.

 

[brokenshoelace]

To be clear, obviously Ferrer is not exactly a mental giant against Nadal. And yes, all of those losses to Rafa in the past surely race to his mind in close situations. But really, most of their matches are just a case of Nadal doing everything better.

Let's keep in mind, Ferrer holds two victories over Nadal at a major. How many people can actually say that? And yeah, I realize the 2nd one was a "victory" in which Nadal injured his hamstring in the 3rd game of the match, but hey, we were led to believe that Stan Wawrinka did amazingly well to recover against the same injured opponent in a similar scenario because it's apparently very difficult to maintain focus in those situations. Well, Ferrer never dropped a set in that match and was quite ruthless. Given the degree of difficulty required to beat an injured opponent (or at least that was the narrative a couple of months ago), it's safe to say David Ferrer is a mental giant!

OK that last part was tongue in cheek, but let's not be too hard on the guy. He had a terrible attitude today. No questions asked. But let's not let that cloud or judgement.

 

[TennisFanatic7]

Terrible comments from David to be honest, but unsurprising from a man who publicly admitted he doesn't believe he's good enough to win a grand slam earlier this year.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Terrible comments from David to be honest, but unsurprising from a man who publicly admitted he doesn't believe he's good enough to win a grand slam earlier this year.

In his defense, he's not...

 

[TennisFanatic7]

Terrible comments from David to be honest, but unsurprising from a man who publicly admitted he doesn't believe he's good enough to win a grand slam earlier this year.

In his defense, he's not...

Better player than Gaston Gaudio, Thomas Johansson, arguably Stan Wawrinka

 

[brokenshoelace]

Terrible comments from David to be honest, but unsurprising from a man who publicly admitted he doesn't believe he's good enough to win a grand slam earlier this year.

In his defense, he's not...

Better player than Gaston Gaudio, Thomas Johansson, arguably Stan Wawrinka

Gaston Gaudio and Thomas Johansson did not win their slams in an era of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray. Ferrer's comments are a direct result of him being stuck behind those guys for what must feel like an eternity. It's a different case altogether.

Ferrer is better than Wawrinka in the sense that he's more consistent. But if both are going to produce their highest level of tennis, then Stan is obviously the more dangerous player, hence his AO run.

 

[Fiero425]

Terrible comments from David to be honest, but unsurprising from a man who publicly admitted he doesn't believe he's good enough to win a grand slam earlier this year.

In his defense, he's not...

Better player than Gaston Gaudio, Thomas Johansson, arguably Stan Wawrinka

I believe he has the weapons; just doesn't think on court like so many of these ball bashers! Hitting the ball hard isn't enough; attack is necessary sometime! If you feel you're going to lose, you might as well try something different instead of going down in flames the same way over and over again!

 

[Moxie]

^ He didn't exactly "quit while he was ahead." He got down an early break in the 2nd and lost his chances to get back on serve. That lost him the 2nd. Then he was down a break immediately in the 3rd. So the mountain he was climbing got bigger and bigger. He admits he lost focus. He also says the 3rd set is something he'd like to forget. He's had tough losses against Nadal on clay, and esp. at RG…he could be forgiven for getting discouraged.

 

[TennisFanatic7]

Terrible comments from David to be honest, but unsurprising from a man who publicly admitted he doesn't believe he's good enough to win a grand slam earlier this year.

In his defense, he's not...

Better player than Gaston Gaudio, Thomas Johansson, arguably Stan Wawrinka

Gaston Gaudio and Thomas Johansson did not win their slams in an era of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray. Ferrer's comments are a direct result of him being stuck behind those guys for what must feel like an eternity. It's a different case altogether.

Ferrer is better than Wawrinka in the sense that he's more consistent. But if both are going to produce their highest level of tennis, then Stan is obviously the more dangerous player, hence his AO run.

We can argue the intricacies of this particular argument for several pages but that's not for this thread.

The point I'm making is that you just don't see players come out and say that they're not good enough to win a slam, whether it's true or not. That's a really shocking attitude to have and it'll lead to you getting absolutely gobbled up by your opponent in the latter stages of a major, if you're similarly matched but he knows you don't believe you can get the job done. You just don't say that in public, even if you are mentally weak (or some might say realistic) enough to give up on achieving your dream, it's madness!

And similarly, you don't see people come out after a match and say they pretty much gave up. What if you were to go watch him play Rafa at Wimbledon in a few weeks having heard those comments at Roland Garros, as soon as Nadal got a foothold in the match you'd lose interest because you know Ferrer doesn't believe he can fight back, and may, therefore, not even bother to try his hardest to do so.

 

[Fiero425]

^ He didn't exactly "quit while he was ahead." He got down an early break in the 2nd and lost his chances to get back on serve. That lost him the 2nd. Then he was down a break immediately in the 3rd. So the mountain he was climbing got bigger and bigger. He admits he lost focus. He also says the 3rd set is something he'd like to forget. He's had tough losses against Nadal on clay, and esp. at RG…he could be forgiven for getting discouraged.

Nope! If you feel like that in the top 10, you need to get out; go teach maybe! You know what they say; "those who can 'do,' while those who can't 'teach'!" I taught tennis in the 70's and 80's so I know what I'm talking about! :clap :snigger :lolz: :laydownlaughing :angel:

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

You know what, if David said something like " I tried , I gave everything, I left it all out there and it just was not my day" , it would have been worse...it would have been a blatant lie. At least he is honest here, as bad as it sounds.

 

[Moxie]

Just re-enforces what I've been saying for years about the ATP; GUTLESS! :nono uzzled :huh:

Yes, because Ferrer = ATP.

You're also out of your mind if you think Ferrer is gutless in general. A bad attitude in one match does not mean he's gutless throughout his career.

Maybe so, but Ferrer is often gutless against Nadal....

You know, virtually everyone around here says that Ferrer's problem is that he hasn't got enough big weapons to beat the Big 4. So only against Nadal he is "gutless?" You have to admit that some of that vitriol is because he didn't take Rafa out. (I doubt you'd say the same if he'd taken a set off of Djokovic before Novak got the better of him. And, btw, neither would I.)

No. I'd like to see Nadal reach the final.

Ferrer often folds like a cheap tent when he plays Nadal. Madrid last year, at least two occassions at RG. He might not have enough 'weapons', but you can at least make a competitive effort.

Don't be so blind in your hatred for me.

I made a fair point: that everyone considers that Ferrer doesn't have the weapons. I don't hate you. For goodness sake. Don't be so self-involved. Though, you might consider debating the point I made.

Actually, I see above that you state that Ferrer has the weapons (to beat top 4 players, I'm presuming you mean.) That's cool, then, though slightly against the perceived wisdom.

 

[DarthFed]

Pathetic comments from an overrated competitor. Ferrer can beat the lesser guys and has made a lot of his limited game but his attitude when facing the top guys has always been poor. No need to defend the indefensible. This isn't your "typical" Nadal, Ferrer just beat him 5 weeks ago, Rafa suffered a couple other losses, and it was tied at a set each. To throw in the towel at that point is clownish at best.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Pathetic comments from an overrated competitor. Ferrer can beat the lesser guys and has made a lot of his limited game but his attitude when facing the top guys has always been poor. No need to defend the indefensible. This isn't your "typical" Nadal, Ferrer just beat him 5 weeks ago, Rafa suffered a couple other losses, and it was tied at a set each. To throw in the towel at that point is clownish at best.

Yeah, I think that ranks right up there with the golfer David Love who once said that he was in Fear of Tiger Woods if he had to face him one on one in match competition or the final round of a tourney.

I dont even think Berdych would say such a thing as throw in the towel.. maybe something got mis or lost in translation.

 

[Front242]

The best attitude all week is from Ernests Gulbis: "I've been playing very well in France," said Gulbis, who is 6-0 in ATP finals. "I won tournaments in Marseille and Nice and hopefully Paris is the next one."

That's quite far removed from the bs attitude displayed by Ferrer which I was pretty shocked to read.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

On one hand, I respect Ferrer for being this candid, on the other hand, this is a shameful attitude:

"(In the second set) Rafael started playing a lot better, making fewer mistakes, and then it's like I threw in the towel," said the fifth-seed, who lost in the all-Spanish final aganst Nadal at Roland Garros last year.

"I don't usually do this, but I thought, I'm not going to be able to come back into the match. I thought, No, no, not against Rafa. He's such good a player."

"I wouldn't even use the word 'frustration' you see. What I missed is perhaps strength or the appetite to win and the drive," he said.

The shameful part is not admitting to that. The shameful part is "throwing the towel" when tied a set apiece against an opponent who wasn't even playing that well.

just when we thought his mental midgetness was fading vs rafa..WRONG. uzzled it is v much still in evidence..

in fact its worse than being mentally weak, which unfortunately is a reality of some/alot of players..he isn't being a man.:ras:

good job I chose murray/monfeil to watch, at least it was unpredictable (apart from gael falling apart at the end..which was quite predictable.)

 

[Moxie]

just when we thought his mental midgetness was fading vs rafa..WRONG. uzzled it is v much still in evidence..

in fact its worse than being mentally weak, which unfortunately is a reality of some/alot of players..he isn't being a man.:ras:

good job I chose murray/monfeil to watch, at least it was unpredictable (apart from gael falling apart at the end..which was quite predictable.)

What a ridiculous thing to say, that Ferrer wasn't being a "man." The lot of you should try to play Nadal at RG and see how that works out for you.

 

[crystalfire]

wonder what ferrers gonna do next time these two face off. is he just gonna withdraw? or just play for the sake of playing.