BARCELONA ATP 500 - 20th April to 26th April

[DarthFed]

^ And Roger won 17 GS with his old outdated racquet...why change? It's about adapting to the times. Rafa isn't the same ripped speed demon that he was at age 20. Physicality was always the biggest edge he had.

 

[nehmeth]

You were 'concerned'?

Yes I would much rather see Novak beating a healthy Nadal playing well... not a knackered version hobbling about.

But a RG trophy would be nicer.

Maybe for you. Maybe even for Nole, but I don't know. Better to go through the reigning champion while he's still playing well and in good health, than to bypass him and beat somebody else. It is only my opinion.

 

[mrzz]

It probably won't matter! Rafa's always given the benefit of the doubt when he loses; esp. on clay! Something must be wrong; injury, confidence, change of rackets! It's terribly insulting to his rivals which is why he probably has a rotten repoire with a lot of them! I know I couldn't be bothered with his whole act; toweling off, stalling, ticks, getting coaching from Tony, and challenging every close call! :nono :angel: :dodgy: :cover

How do you think Vitus Gerulaitis would do against Rafa on grass, Fiero?

Fish bite a lot on these waters, doesn't them?

 

[nehmeth]

About that ... was this really the best time to begin using a new racquet? Why not wait until, say, the NA hard courts? Perhaps he should do what Roger did a couple of years ago, and switch back (at least temporarily) to his old racquet, and try the new one again later.

Possibly he thought he would need the extra power to be competitive against the top guys??

He has had enough power to be competitive against the top guys having 14 GS under his belt and multiples MS so I don't understand that question :huh:

Carol, maybe his team realize he's lost foot speed. Maybe his hitting the serve as hard as he could - while winning him points was affecting him in other ways. These are things only they know and as Kieran stated, they know better than we do.

 

[Puppet Master]

I anticipated this would happen, he had a bit of trouble against Almagro... He is fading away too quickly , I don't think he stands any kind of chance this year at RG and it is frustrating me out of my mind, playing like this, he can't possibly get beyond quarterfinals, and the guy has a title in Madrid to defend. At this point I should take a break from watching tennis and just read TF. If someone wants to prove me wrong or say why Nadal can still improve by the time RG comes, well, he will need one hell of a reason.

 

[Denis]

F3 beat Rafa twice in a season, i think only nole has accomplished that feat.

Edit: federer too. In the early days 2007 and 2006.

 

[the AntiPusher]

So the Fog rolled through Barcelona and swept Rafa 's tentative swinging ass out to the Mediterranean Sea. :devil

 

[tented]

F3 beat Rafa twice in a season, i think only nole has accomplished that feat.

Edit: federer too. In the early days 2007 and 2006.

And JMDP, and Nalbandian, and ...

In short, it's happened several times.

 

[mrzz]

Well, Federer, Djokovic, JMDP, Nalbandian, they are all great players. On the other hand...

 

[Kirijax]

Good everyone. Now let's see what went on while I dreaming of Murray's Happy Hall of Fame Induction speech and Berdych's Grand Slam Celebration collapse on Centre Court.

:eyepop Fognini beat Nadal!? Again?! Really?

claplaydownlaughing

I got my wish! Here comes the Nishikori-Ferrer CLAY final that I wanted.

I wasn't ready to start writing Nadal off yet but wow. When the "I-Play-When-I-Feel-Like-It" Fognini beats Nadal twice in a row, ON CLAY, you know it's about time to bump up the alert to Neon Red. I think I will start being surprised when Nadal WINS. :lolz:

 

[Denis]

F3 beat Rafa twice in a season, i think only nole has accomplished that feat.

Edit: federer too. In the early days 2007 and 2006.

And JMDP, and Nalbandian, and ...

In short, it's happened several times.

Ok, but on clay? Only Djokovic and F3.

 

[Denis]

Good everyone. Now let's see what went on while I dreaming of Murray's Happy Hall of Fame Induction speech and Berdych's Grand Slam Celebration collapse on Centre Court.

:eyepop Fognini beat Nadal!? Again?! Really?

claplaydownlaughing

I got my wish! Here comes the Nishikori-Ferrer CLAY final that I wanted.

I wasn't ready to start writing Nadal off yet but wow. When the "I-Play-When-I-Feel-Like-It" Fognini beats Nadal twice in a row, ON CLAY, you know it's about time to bump up the alert to Neon Red. I think I will start being surprised when Nadal WINS. :lolz:

Good for you Kirijax. Im with you as far as Kei is concerned, like Berdych too.

 

[tented]

I've moved the posts concerning RG and/or Rafa/Novak to the thread "No reason to be overly optimistic about Djokovic at Roland Garros....." (It has now been moved to the Important Threads section.)

We've had complaints about threads being derailed to discuss side topics, and this was a clear example, since those discussions have nothing to do with Barcelona.

 

[Moxie]

Good split off, T. Sorry we got distracted. Bautista-Agut may trouble Kei tomorrow, and Andujar could fuss F3, though I think Fabio will be riding high in that one. The Fog was really good today, and never lost his concentration, uncharacteristically. Nadal, for his part, was far too passive. He gave up court position, which he can no longer afford to do.

 

[tented]

^ I was just as guilty as everyone else.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

F3 beat Rafa twice in a season, i think only nole has accomplished that feat.

Edit: federer too. In the early days 2007 and 2006.

And JMDP, and Nalbandian, and ...

In short, it's happened several times.

I suppose he meant beat Rafa twice on clay in a season (even though he forgot to type it).

 

[tented]

Friday, April 24, 2015

Pista Central Start 12:30 pm

[1] Kei Nishikori (JPN) v [7] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP)

[9] Tommy Robredo (ESP) v [14] Martin Klizan (SVK)

[3] David Ferrer (ESP) v [12] Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)

[13] Fabio Fognini (ITA) v Pablo Andujar (ESP)

---

Pista 1 Start 2:30 pm

[2] Marcel Granollers (ESP) / Marc Lopez (ESP) v Marin Draganja (CRO) / Henri Kontinen (FIN)

David Marrero (ESP) / Tommy Robredo (ESP) v Martin Klizan (SVK) / Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK)

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Five of the top eight seeds who are supposed to reach QF forgot what they were supposed to do.

 

[tented]

Five of the top eight seeds who are supposed to reach QF forgot what they were supposed to do.

I don't know about the others, but Rafa's injured. *






















:snicker

 

[Moxie]

Five of the top eight seeds who are supposed to reach QF forgot what they were supposed to do.

Until 2 years ago, Barcelona had been fairly predictable in the last decade. Who knew?