Gerry Weber Open (Halle) 9-15 June 2014

[Kieran]

Surprised by this result. Everybody kept telling meduring RG that Nadal never tanks a match.... uzzled

Seriously, Denis, I meant to ask you: WTF was that about! :Lolz:

This reminds me: I need to change Tennis Frontier's headline for the RG final to "Nadal Tries to Tank, but a Tanking Djokovic Prevails."

"Rafa rolls through Novak like a Tank!"

 

[nehmeth]

"Rafa rolls through Novak like a Tank!"

through or over?

 

[Denis]

Surprised by this result. Everybody kept telling meduring RG that Nadal never tanks a match.... uzzled

Seriously, Denis, I meant to ask you: WTF was that about! :Lolz:

A two time Wimbledon champ has absolutely no business losing in straights and a second set 6-1 against a player like Dustin Brown. The only explanation is that he did not 'try his best'. I get that. He just won RG for the ninth time. I understand he just wanted to pick up his participation fee and head off to London, but this just goes to show that Nadal does not always and everytime gives everything he has.

 

[Kieran]

Surprised by this result. Everybody kept telling meduring RG that Nadal never tanks a match.... uzzled

Seriously, Denis, I meant to ask you: WTF was that about! :Lolz:

A two time Wimbledon champ has absolutely no business losing in straights and a second set 6-1 against a player like Dustin Brown. The only explanation is that he did not 'try his best'. I get that. He just won RG for the ninth time. I understand he just wanted to pick up his participation fee and head off to London, but this just goes to show that Nadal does not always and everytime gives everything he has.

No, not that: why did you think Rafa (of all men) might be tempted to tank an FO semi?

 

[brokenshoelace]

Surprised by this result. Everybody kept telling meduring RG that Nadal never tanks a match.... uzzled

Seriously, Denis, I meant to ask you: WTF was that about! :Lolz:

A two time Wimbledon champ has absolutely no business losing in straights and a second set 6-1 against a player like Dustin Brown. The only explanation is that he did not 'try his best'. I get that. He just won RG for the ninth time. I understand he just wanted to pick up his participation fee and head off to London, but this just goes to show that Nadal does not always and everytime gives everything he has.

OK, now take that very same logic, and apply it to last year's match at Wimbledon against Darcis. So, do you think he tanked that match too? Because a two time Wimbledon champ has absolutely no business losing to player like Darcis and he had just won the French Open. I guess Rafa didn't give everything he had?

Also, let's just say, for argument's sake, that you're right. That Rafa did indeed tank this match today and he doesn't always "try his best." How does it make the idea that Nadal might not try his best in a grand slam semi final (at Roland Garros too!) in order to avoid a certain player any less ridiculous?

Trust me buddy, you're better off leaving that one alone. You're not helping your case.

 

[Kieran]

Rafa didn't tank today. He'd have wanted at least three matches in Halle. He was outplayed and he still hasn't found his grass feet yet, but he didn't turn up there just to lose. Brown's level from 5-4 up in the first to 5-0 up in the second was fairly insane, given what you'd expect from him.

Rafa will hopefully improve on grass but today Brown was simply too good for him.

But the notion that he'd tank to avoid Novak in Paris, I might need that one explained to me... :nono

 

[Backhand_DTL]

Raise your hand if you think Halle will offer him a small fortune to come next year, given his performances here the last two times.

If I remember correctly Nadal and the tournament made a three-year contract in 2012, so it ends this year and the tournament director won't be too happy with Nadal's performances, although he at least lost to German players the two times he played.

So I would actually assume Halle will try to get Djokovic next year. With the additional week between the French Open and Wimbledon he might be interested in playing a warm-up event in the second week of the grass season and he hasn't played a tournament in Germany since 2009 so he could have sentimental reasons to choose Halle over Queens.

 

[Denis]

Surprised by this result. Everybody kept telling meduring RG that Nadal never tanks a match.... uzzled

Seriously, Denis, I meant to ask you: WTF was that about! :Lolz:

A two time Wimbledon champ has absolutely no business losing in straights and a second set 6-1 against a player like Dustin Brown. The only explanation is that he did not 'try his best'. I get that. He just won RG for the ninth time. I understand he just wanted to pick up his participation fee and head off to London, but this just goes to show that Nadal does not always and everytime gives everything he has.

No, not that: why did you think Rafa (of all men) might be tempted to tank an FO semi?

I didn't really. I just didn't want the option to be on the table.

 

[Denis]

Surprised by this result. Everybody kept telling meduring RG that Nadal never tanks a match.... uzzled

Seriously, Denis, I meant to ask you: WTF was that about! :Lolz:

A two time Wimbledon champ has absolutely no business losing in straights and a second set 6-1 against a player like Dustin Brown. The only explanation is that he did not 'try his best'. I get that. He just won RG for the ninth time. I understand he just wanted to pick up his participation fee and head off to London, but this just goes to show that Nadal does not always and everytime gives everything he has.

OK, now take that very same logic, and apply it to last year's match at Wimbledon against Darcis. So, do you think he tanked that match too? Because a two time Wimbledon champ has absolutely no business losing to player like Darcis and he had just won the French Open. I guess Rafa didn't give everything he had?

Also, let's just say, for argument's sake, that you're right. That Rafa did indeed tank this match today and he doesn't always "try his best." How does it make the idea that Nadal might not try his best in a grand slam semi final (at Roland Garros too!) in order to avoid a certain player any less ridiculous?

Trust me buddy, you're better off leaving that one alone. You're not helping your case.

Wimbledon is not Halle. That should explain it. I get why he tanked today. He can practice at Wimby.

 

[Fiero425]

I'm not worried by Brown at Wimbledon. I'm worried by Nadal, since it seems "the best time to catch him" nowadays is anywhere on grass.

No one wanted to listen! I said he should probably skip this tourney! Rafa SHK he wasn't ready to go from clay, right to grass! He's no BORG! :clap :snigger :laydownlaughing :angel:

Er...Borg didn't play warm-ups at all...

I well know that! That's what makes him greater than Nadal will ever be no matter the Major count! He played with a crappy wood racket and the grass was like running and hitting on glass! :angel:

Uh, you know everyone else played with "crappy wood rackets" back then right? And no, playing on grass was nothing like running and hitting on glass.

I tried to let it go, but it festered in me and I have to let you know; "WRONG AGAIN!" By the mid 70's, a lot of players if not most tested or went to the new metals and composites; even Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall! I may not always be right, but I'm rarely wrong! The racket of the day was Arthur Ashe's Head fiberglass composite! Roscoe Tanner also went with a new teardrop aluminum number with a flex throat to give him more power! Please don't correct me like that again when I was there and lived it! I even stopped playing with regular wood rackets around then! I went to the first all fiberglass racket made by Volkl; orange with zebra blue stripes! McEnroe held onto his Dunlop woodie for a while, but by '84 even he broke down and went to a composite! :nono :angel:

 

[Kieran]

Surprised by this result. Everybody kept telling meduring RG that Nadal never tanks a match.... uzzled

Seriously, Denis, I meant to ask you: WTF was that about! :Lolz:

A two time Wimbledon champ has absolutely no business losing in straights and a second set 6-1 against a player like Dustin Brown. The only explanation is that he did not 'try his best'. I get that. He just won RG for the ninth time. I understand he just wanted to pick up his participation fee and head off to London, but this just goes to show that Nadal does not always and everytime gives everything he has.

No, not that: why did you think Rafa (of all men) might be tempted to tank an FO semi?

I didn't really. I just didn't want the option to be on the table.

But what does that mean, you didn't want the option to be on the table? It only makes sense if you think that Rafa would actually take the option.

But why would he do that?

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

I only just noticed rafa lost the 2nd set 6-1..knew he lost first 6-4 but never checked as the radio just said he lost in straight sets..

thats a bit depressing though, losing a set 6-1 to someone rank near 100. ho hum..off to Wimbledon then.

 

[Moxie]

Seriously, Denis, I meant to ask you: WTF was that about! :Lolz:

A two time Wimbledon champ has absolutely no business losing in straights and a second set 6-1 against a player like Dustin Brown. The only explanation is that he did not 'try his best'. I get that. He just won RG for the ninth time. I understand he just wanted to pick up his participation fee and head off to London, but this just goes to show that Nadal does not always and everytime gives everything he has.

No, not that: why did you think Rafa (of all men) might be tempted to tank an FO semi?

I didn't really. I just didn't want the option to be on the table.

But what does that mean, you didn't want the option to be on the table? It only makes sense if you think that Rafa would actually take the option.

But why would he do that?

Denis, you did say the same thing during RG…that you "didn't want the option to be out there," but, as Kieran says, it doesn't make sense, when you also keep saying that you didn't think he'd take it. And clearly he didn't, even knowing that he'd face Novak. As to the Brown match today, I'm seriously doubting that you saw more than the scores.

I agree with those who say that Rafa was hoping to play a minimum of 2-3 matches in Halle. He's a player that uses matches to gain confidence, and this one really isn't going to help that cause. :nono

 

[Fiero425]

I only just noticed Rafa lost the 2nd set 6-1. Knew he lost first 6-4, but never checked as the radio just said he lost in straight sets. That's a bit depressing though, losing a set 6-1 to someone ranked near 100. Ho hum ...off to Wimbledon then.

You and me both! We should take a bow; totally saw it coming with Rafa! He won what he wanted most and relaxed! I just didn't know who it would be against! How embarrassing for him; just inside the top 100? That was a butt-kickin'! "Tank" should be his new middle name! :nono :snigger :laydownlaughing :angel:

 

[Federberg]

Give the guy a break. Clearly serious movement issues these days

 

[Federberg]

Tennis secondary for me over the next month. In Salvador de Bahia for the World Cup! Yay!!

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

rafa/wafa is defo going home until next Wednesday seemingly.

 

[Kieran]

Let me be a little bit clearer for anybody who missed the match today: Brown played very well and won it fairly.

Nobody tanked, and if you watched it, you'd know that...

 

[Moxie]

Tennis secondary for me over the next month. In Salvador de Bahia for the World Cup! Yay!!

How fantastic for you! Have a great time!

 

[Federberg]

Tennis secondary for me over the next month. In Salvador de Bahia for the World Cup! Yay!!

How fantastic for you! Have a great time!

Thanks Moxie!