Barcelona 500 - 18th April to 24th April 2016

[the AntiPusher]

At this point for Nadal, it is just matter of finishing any match in a positive way. In my opinion, one of his main problems is that he allows his opponents to stay around after playing a marvelous set of tennis. And when his opponents start firing in all cylinders then he gets nervous and starts playing tentatively.

The past two tournaments , Rafa has been able to handle his business as for as finishing sets very strong.. This will build with confidence.. very good point "1992"

And that's why he has all this confidence in the world right now, AP. He is finishing matches he is supposed to finish and not letting his opponents beat him to the finish line. Last year, he could not sustain any momentum even if he was playing well because he could not finish his matches at all.

This year, especially since Monte Carlo, he is finishing off his opponents even after he started a great match.

Let's just hope he could do this all the way to Roland Garros...

That's why I want Rafa to face Djoker Now.. while he is all tuned and lather up with agression.. The Fog(Murray also) is the perfect pre Djoker battle. Very similar ball striking but less defense and consistenty with the Fog but the same Novak 's drop shots and etc.

 

[Kieran]

I don't think Rafa is near ready for Novak yet, but he's growing his backbone again, which is where it all begins...

 

[Carol]

Not my "dearest poster", he wants/needs to learn from the best clay player, if he would want to keep an eye to some suspicious he should go maybe to Swizerland?

Not if you read his interview. He's suspicious of players playing 6 hour matches and not getting tired. That narrows it down to 2 players.

narrows down to 2 players

you are excluding the all time GS titles leader..he has had some 5 hour matches (also Verdasco)

Of course Roger has played many times many hours but I think Front has very mad memory....poor thing.....:cover :cry

 

[the AntiPusher]

I don't think Rafa is near ready for Novak yet, but he's growing his backbone again, which is where it all begins...

Brother, the only thing from what I can see he needs to improve upon is his serve.. Your thoughts my friend

 

[the AntiPusher]

Not if you read his interview. He's suspicious of players playing 6 hour matches and not getting tired. That narrows it down to 2 players.

narrows down to 2 players

you are excluding the all time GS titles leader..he has had some 5 hour matches (also Verdasco)

Of course Roger has played many times many hours but I think Front has very mad memory....poor thing.....:cover :cry

All due respect Miss Carol, Front suffers more from "selective amnesia" than bad memory

 

[Kieran]

narrows down to 2 players

you are excluding the all time GS titles leader..he has had some 5 hour matches (also Verdasco)

Of course Roger has played many times many hours but I think Front has very mad memory....poor thing.....:cover :cry

All due respect Miss Carol, Front suffers more from "selective amnesia" than bad memory

He suffers from Nadalitis. Symptoms include incoherence, illogic and contradiction. There's no known cure for this disease...

 

[Kieran]

I don't think Rafa is near ready for Novak yet, but he's growing his backbone again, which is where it all begins...

Brother, the only thing from what I can see he needs to improve upon is his serve.. Your thoughts my friend

I think this is true, because the forehand is a hammer again, and the backhand looks better than it has in centuries. It's a solid shot and he seems to enjoy playing it. I think he's still not mentally the fullest yet. He got a dose of the jitters today but he handled it well. I'd like to see him win here, beating Kei in the final, before I'd start to make predictions regarding Djoker....

 

[the AntiPusher]

I don't think Rafa is near ready for Novak yet, but he's growing his backbone again, which is where it all begins...

Brother, the only thing from what I can see he needs to improve upon is his serve.. Your thoughts my friend

I think this is true, because the forehand is a hammer again, and the backhand looks better than it has in centuries. It's a solid shot and he seems to enjoy playing it. I think he's still not mentally the fullest yet. He got a dose of the jitters today but he handled it well. I'd like to see him win here, beating Kei in the final, before I'd start to make predictions regarding Djoker....

I am not debating you.where in the match did he get the jitters..I thought he was pretty solid mentally .. I didnt see any gasps.. sure he could have held service better

 

[Kieran]

I am not debating you.where in the match did he get the jitters..I thought he was pretty solid mentally .. I didnt see any gasps.. sure he could have held service better

No, I understand, but I think after he went 2-0 up in the second, a nervousness entered his game and he wasn't far from losing the second set because of it. Maybe it was impatience or something, but even impatience is a sign of jitteryness. It wasn't so bad that it derailed him, but a match he was totally running away with became competitive again, and I don't think that over those few games it was because of either FFS, or loss of concentration...

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUZIrZJkZrU[/video]

 

[Kieran]

Thanks Pavlik!

 

[Front242]

Not if you read his interview. He's suspicious of players playing 6 hour matches and not getting tired. That narrows it down to 2 players.

narrows down to 2 players

you are excluding the all time GS titles leader..he has had some 5 hour matches (also Verdasco)

Of course Roger has played many times many hours but I think Front has very mad memory....poor thing.....:cover :cry

Carol, AP, Kieran, Federer has played I believe his longest match against Andy Roddick (at Wimbledon 2009) who some of you slag but I still regard as a prior very good player. Anyway, Roger has never played a 6 hour match and any time he did play a very long match he usually lost the next. This is the polar opposite of the two players Murray is talking about and you know it. Go like that one too. Oops, no don't, 'cos you can't like anything slagging Nadal even if it's 100% true and factual. It's like we're detractors/haters/"antis" when us Federer fans say something true about Nadal that you don't like. The truth hurts.

 

[Kieran]

You can't slag Rafa off for stalling and taking time to recover between points, then say he's at full pelt playing long matches. And how often has he done this? Very little. He played a long match with Federer once and they were both so knackered afterwards, the rules were changed. I remember Mats Wilander played for 6 hours back in the 80's. Lots of men have. I even played a long match once and I'm not a professional tennis player. Sometimes you get stuck in things and time doesn't exist.

Except to blokes like you, with your stopwatch working between points...

 

[Front242]

You can't slag Rafa off for stalling and taking time to recover between points, then say he's at full pelt playing long matches. And how often has he done this? Very little. He played a long match with Federer once and they were both so knackered afterwards, the rules were changed. I remember Mats Wilander played for 6 hours back in the 80's. Lots of men have. I even played a long match once and I'm not a professional tennis player. Sometimes you get stuck in things and time doesn't exist.

Except to blokes like you, with your stopwatch working between points...

Did Wilander play his next match fresh as a daisy with no signs of fatigue whatsoever? No. The issue isn't long matches, it's being completely unfazed by it next match. It's not natural, I guarantee 100%
All clean athletes get tired like a normal human being.

 

[Kieran]

You can't slag Rafa off for stalling and taking time to recover between points, then say he's at full pelt playing long matches. And how often has he done this? Very little. He played a long match with Federer once and they were both so knackered afterwards, the rules were changed. I remember Mats Wilander played for 6 hours back in the 80's. Lots of men have. I even played a long match once and I'm not a professional tennis player. Sometimes you get stuck in things and time doesn't exist.

Except to blokes like you, with your stopwatch working between points...

Did Wilander play his next match fresh as a daisy with no signs of fatigue whatsoever? No. The issue isn't long matches, it's being completely unfazed by it next match. It's not natural, I guarantee 100%
All clean athletes get tired like a normal human being.

Mats might have. He had an iron will. But buddy, you're spamming here because Rafa won again. You're very predictable when you become anxious, and you have zero guile. If you're not moaning about him stalling to catch his breath, then you're moaning the opposite direction, that he didn't stall to catch his breath.

Why don't you chill about Rafa, he's not going to catch Federer's extraordinary records, and go down to the movie forum and answer the few very serious questions I put to you?

 

[Front242]

Nothing anxious here. I don't expect him to win Roland Garros so I couldn't care less if he wins a 500 tournament where Novak isn't playing. Wasn't expecting him to lose to Fognini since he's just back from injury anyway. Actually might well watch him against Kohlschreiber tomorrow who should be a much tougher opponent on paper but he's a headcase and loses his cool when ahead like at RG against Murray. Very crafty player though with a class backhand. Nothing about spamming either. Carol posted that Murray was hanging out in Mallorca with Nadal which I very much doubt given Murray's recent interview comments as I pointed out. Why exactly is hers any less spamming.

 

[Carol]

narrows down to 2 players

you are excluding the all time GS titles leader..he has had some 5 hour matches (also Verdasco)

Of course Roger has played many times many hours but I think Front has very mad memory....poor thing.....:cover :cry

Carol, AP, Kieran, Federer has played I believe his longest match against Andy Roddick (at Wimbledon 2009) who some of you slag but I still regard as a prior very good player. Anyway, Roger has never played a 6 hour match and any time he did play a very long match he usually lost the next. This is the polar opposite of the two players Murray is talking about and you know it. Go like that one too. Oops, no don't, 'cos you can't like anything slagging Nadal even if it's 100% true and factual. It's like we're detractors/haters/"antis" when us Federer fans say something true about Nadal that you don't like. The truth hurts.

The truth? what truth? the only thing that I can't stand is the poor reaction of some Federer's fanatics which have tried to discredit Rafa since the first time that he did beat Federer when this one was in the top of the mountain and those hysterics fans couldn't accept and believe that that extraordinary young player could do it and then it's when they started to talk garbage and still they do, unacceptable and showing a very low level of fans

 

[Kieran]

Nothing anxious here. I don't expect him to win Roland Garros so I couldn't care less if he wins a 500 tournament where Novak isn't playing. Wasn't expecting him to lose to Fognini since he's just back from injury anyway. Actually might well watch him against Kohlschreiber tomorrow who should be a much tougher opponent on paper but he's a headcase and loses his cool when ahead like at RG against Murray. Very crafty player though with a class backhand. Nothing about spamming either. Carol posted that Murray was hanging out in Mallorca with Nadal which I very much doubt given Murray's recent interview comments as I pointed out. Why exactly is hers any less spamming.

Murray was a bloke you were suspicious of because he trained in Miami. Now he makes a few comments and you read into them what you want. It's irrelevant what players say, because the best conman hides in plain sight, saying all the right things and getting a pass for being considered honest.

I think Kohl will give Rafa a good match but I agree, it's unlikely he'll trouble him. His game is tailor-made just to keep rafa sharp, but not to trouble him too much. In the other match Paire is having a great run, but we really want the Rafa-Kei match, eh? There's payback owed there, too...

 

[Front242]

Right, let's completely change the subject and distract away from the truth again about never tiring from 6 hour matches. Seems to be the Nadal fan way. You can't defend his actions so it's best to change the subject. Only fitting that such a defensive player has the most overly defensive fanbase ever seen who can't stand the slightest criticism of poor Wafa. He's gonna be bald as a coot next year. That's true and it's not 'cos I'm a Federer fan. See the trend? We're posting the truth but you just don't like it. Anyway, time to change the subject again I guess. Nice weather we're having, yeah?

 

[Kieran]

Buddy, we're trying to save you from embarrassment. You're predictable as clockwork. Soon as Rafa rises, you emerge with your incoherent insinuations, your dizzy stream of bile, your "mono"-eyed attack on one player, while being completely inconsistent when the same illogical method is turned on your favourite.

It's officially boring, because it's so base and childish. Try stick to something you half-know about, eh? Tennis...

EDIT: Oh, and yeah, the weather is fabulous! I got a bit of colour yesterday, walking along the sea. long may it last...