He absolutely should beat those guys, even now. Fact is, he isn't. And saying he could "retrieve" the ball easier before is such a carefully selected word in order to not concede the argument. Yes, but why can't he retrieve as well? Movement. His movement isn't what it used to be, and as you surely know, movement isn't strictly an issue of how fast can you run after the ball, surely it's much more nuanced than that, and years of wear and tear, age, and knee injuries have taken their toll. That's always been my argument, and Nadal LITERALLY said as much last year, and yet I had Fed fans led by GSM explain to me about what Nadal REALLY meant, as if the following can have some ambiguously complicated meaning:
"It’s true that after 2012, what happened with my knees, [it’s] been tougher and tougher to compete on grass for me,”
he told reporters at the French Open. “But if I have pain on the knees, then I know from experience that it’s almost impossible because I need to feel strong, low and powerful legs. You need to play at a lower level."
