Djokovic Era

[auto-pilot]

Let's wait and see how 2015 unfolds, because Nadal's WILL TO WIN is immortal and can take him out of decline at any given moment.
I've heard Nadal was in decline before 2013 and then he went and won THREE hardcourt masters and the US Open.
So let's give up trying to judge Nadal's "decline" and just enjoy the show of immortality.
It would come as no surprise if Nadal wins 2 or 3 slam titles this year.

 

[brokenshoelace]

When Rafa stops making finals of tournaments,which also includes Grand Slams,I will then declare he is in decline not beforehand.

Decline doesn't mean he's not one of the best players in the world still. But he is in decline physically and movement wise at least.

Did anyone say he is not one of the best? The last time I checked he is still #3. But, because he was top 2 for most of the last decade, he is one step behind than he used to be.

It's not even about the rankings for me. Nadal was world number 1 in 2013 and I still would have said he doesn't possess the physicality he used to, and doesn't move as well.

Now throughout his career, he's been able to make up for it by playing smarter and making noticeable improvements to other aspects of his game, but as he continues to get older, get more mileage, and return from more injuries, it's going to be increasingly more difficult to compensate.

 

[herios]

Decline doesn't mean he's not one of the best players in the world still. But he is in decline physically and movement wise at least.

Did anyone say he is not one of the best? The last time I checked he is still #3. But, because he was top 2 for most of the last decade, he is one step behind than he used to be.

It's not even about the rankings for me. Nadal was world number 1 in 2013 and I still would have said he doesn't possess the physicality he used to, and doesn't move as well.

Now throughout his career, he's been able to make up for it by playing smarter and making noticeable improvements to other aspects of his game, but as he continues to get older, get more mileage, and return from more injuries, it's going to be increasingly more difficult to compensate.

I got it. You will have in the next few weeks 2 clay events in Brazil and Argentina where you can see him and judge how he looks out there. He will need to get up to a good form obviously, before the NA spring masters.

 

[auto-pilot]

One thing for sure, Nadal's knees are in better shape now than they were at the start of 2013.
He looked like he was limping in the early part of 2013 when his knee was still stiff (things improved in the 2nd half of the year).
If his back problem doesn't get in the way, good chance he'll win RG and USO (and we'll wait and see how Wimbledon goes, because Nadal will get a better chance at preparation this time).
His serving speeds were decent at the AO, so I think his back was good.
Actually even if his back flares up I think he can win RG, but it has to subside for him to win the USO.
Nadal winning 2 or 3 slam titles is not out of the question this year, but I always have low expectations at Wimbledon so that'd be a bonus.

 

[Front242]

Stop talking about his knees as there's f**k all wrong with them. :s

 

[brokenshoelace]

Stop talking about his knees as there's f**k all wrong with them. :s

Well, there is a lot wrong with his knees in the sense that they just don't work like they used to. You seem to think he has to be in pain for something to be wrong with his knees. Do you realize what all that mileage/injuries did to them? He looked like an old man in Australia. That doesn't mean he's in pain, but he looked borderline slow. Let's wait and see what the year holds as I doubt he'll be moving as poorly. At least, I hope not.

 

[Front242]

Speed has nothing to do with it if he has no knee issues as he and his doctor have said. That's just plain old mother nature if he's no longer as fast. That said, he frequently runs down drop shots so it's not like he's a geriatric on a zimmer frame either.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Speed has nothing to do with it if he has no knee issues as he and his doctor have said. That's just plain old mother nature if he's no longer as fast. That said, he frequently runs down drop shots so it's not like he's a geriatric on a zimmer frame either.

You don't think Nadal's tendinitis and knee injuries have anything to do with the extent in which he's slowed down?

Why has mother nature not affected Djokovic the same way?

 

[herios]

Speed has nothing to do with it if he has no knee issues as he and his doctor have said. That's just plain old mother nature if he's no longer as fast. That said, he frequently runs down drop shots so it's not like he's a geriatric on a zimmer frame either.

You don't think Nadal's tendinitis and knee injuries have anything to do with the extent in which he's slowed down?

Why has mother nature not affected Djokovic the same way?

Nadal was always like a brick. Not the runner type. Djokovic has a lean body, like a panther. Big difference.

 

[Front242]

Yup, big difference in body types. No comparison between them at all.

 

[Front242]

Mother nature is way different for everyone anyway. I'm 40 since last Sept and lifting heavier on every exercise than before. That's not exactly the norm.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Speed has nothing to do with it if he has no knee issues as he and his doctor have said. That's just plain old mother nature if he's no longer as fast. That said, he frequently runs down drop shots so it's not like he's a geriatric on a zimmer frame either.

You don't think Nadal's tendinitis and knee injuries have anything to do with the extent in which he's slowed down?

Why has mother nature not affected Djokovic the same way?

Nadal was always like a brick. Not the runner type. Djokovic has a lean body, like a panther. Big difference.

So you think it's perfectly normal for a 28 year old man to look the way Nadal does now and it in no way has to do with injuries...

 

[brokenshoelace]

Yup, big difference in body types. No comparison between them at all.

Yes or no question: Do you think injuries have to do with Nadal slowing down as much as he did?

I don't want to hear whether it's his fault or not. That is not the point of contention. It's an obvious question: Do repeated knee injuries/tendinitis have to do with Nadal at 28 years old looking like he's in his 30's?

 

[Front242]

There are many possibilities regarding speed and fitness.

 

[nehmeth]

Yup, big difference in body types. No comparison between them at all.

Yes or no question: Do you think injuries have to do with Nadal slowing down as much as he did?

I don't want to hear whether it's his fault or not. That is not the point of contention. It's an obvious question: Do repeated knee injuries/tendinitis have to do with Nadal at 28 years old looking like he's in his 30's?

30's?? He was moving like a man in his 50's in Australia. I don't think there's any cartilage left in those knees Broken, so yes I would say the repeated injuries have a lot to do with it.

 

[auto-pilot]

But when Nadal was in Doha he was saying that he hadn't trained enough and that if he's not ready in a week he'll skip the AO and see us in Rio.
So considering his appearance in Australia was that borderline, the fact he made the QF was a tremendous achievement and a great sign considering his lack of match practice.
I don't think Nadal looking exhausted in Australia was anything to do with his knees, just overall lack of conditioning, based on what he was saying in every interview.
His knees served him extremely well at last year's Wimbledon (his best performance since 2011, and even in the Kyrgios match Nadal had an impressive 44 winners and 18 unforced errors), and that is the truest test for his knees because it requires the most knee bend.

 

[Front242]

It's all relative. The top players are good enough to get to the quarters in their sleep to be honest so Nadal reaching the quarters is nothing out of the ordinary. Rewind back to 2005 when Federer lost in the 5th set of the Tennis Masters Cup to Nalbandian having been on crutches 3 weeks prior to the final with an ankle injury and couldn't practice or run until the week before the tournament and then he won the AO 2006 just afterwards.

 

[Billie]

Can you all post about Nadal's knees in General ATP news, if it is news or create a freaking topic for it called appropriately: Nadal's knees and go at it at length there?

I don't think it is fair to troll one of the rare threads about Nole with things that have nothing to do with him!

 

[auto-pilot]

^ Yeah this will be my last post about Nadal in the Djokovic Era thread, even if others continue to talk about Nadal.

Well I was highly impressed with Nadal's performance at the AO, and I think he would have beaten Berdych if he played at the level of his first 4 matches (even the 5-setter in R2 had an extremely high quality 5th set).
Of the 4 matches Nadal won, he looked REALLY sharp in R1 and REALLY sharp in R4.
It was very typical inconsistency for a guy lacking match practice, similar to early 2013 when he dropped sets on clay and lost to a guy ranked 70-something in a clay court final.

Actually in the Berdych match if Nadal won that 3rd set tie-breaker (which he trailed 1-5 but got back to 5-5 and serving) I think he would have won the match.
It looked like Nadal was exhausted from playing the first 4 matches (because he wasn't in good enough shape for the AO) and that's why he was so flat in the Berdych match but he got it together in the 3rd set and would have rolled on adrenaline if he won it - because you can imagine how pumped-up Nadal would have been if he won that 3rd set tie-breaker after trailing 1-5.....and how bad it would have hurt Berdych's psyche.

 

[El Dude]

Let's wait and see how 2015 unfolds, because Nadal's WILL TO WIN is immortal and can take him out of decline at any given moment.
I've heard Nadal was in decline before 2013 and then he went and won THREE hardcourt masters and the US Open.
So let's give up trying to judge Nadal's "decline" and just enjoy the show of immortality.
It would come as no surprise if Nadal wins 2 or 3 slam titles this year.

Nice Superman picture, LOL. That said, I'd be quite surprised if Nadal wins 2 or 3 Slams this year. It is not that I don't think another 2013 is possible, but that was two years ago and he's two years older. It is one thing to rise to the top at age 26-27 like he did in 2013, quite another thing to do it at age 28-29. Or as Broken said:

Now throughout his career, he's been able to make up for it by playing smarter and making noticeable improvements to other aspects of his game, but as he continues to get older, get more mileage, and return from more injuries, it's going to be increasingly more difficult to compensate.

This. Nadal has incredible ability and will, but at some point he's just not going to be able to compensate. Maybe he's got another run to the top in him, but reports from the AO are not encouraging. And also let's not forget that we have to go back to Roland Garros last year to find Nadal winning a big tournament.

But Rafa is a wild card. I mean, he would win two Slams this year and half a dozen more in his career and finish with 20, or he could win no Slams this year and maybe only eek out one more Slam, a Roland Garros swan song next year and then be finished. At this point I have no idea.