I have a problem, his name is Rafael Nadal

[the AntiPusher]

I thought this a short interesting read. Any thoughts on Novak's interview?

http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report-i-have-a-problem-his-name-is-rafael-nadal-says-novak-djokovic-on-elusive-french-open-title-2042479

 

[Riotbeard]

Honestly, I just see it as a complementary piece about Novak and his rivals. Not much exciting.

 

[the AntiPusher]

I found it interesting because it's not too common that a player in his prime such as Novak would pretty much admit what has prevented him from capturing a particular championship title. Maybe it has been done before, I haven't seen it.

 

[tented]

Federer said pretty much the same thing in an interview several years ago, when some people were questioning his clay-court prowess. I'm paraphrasing, but it was something like, "I don't have a clay problem, I have a Rafa problem."

 

[the AntiPusher]

Federer said pretty much the same thing in an interview several years ago, when some people were questioning his clay-court prowess. I'm paraphrasing, but it was something like, "I don't have a clay problem, I have a Rafa problem."

That's really profoundly spoken to hear probably the one of the greatest player that ever played that he had an obstacle he hasn't been able to overcome.

 

[Kieran]

In fairness, it seems to be a problem that's only solved by Rafa declining rather than anything else. HIs appetite and nerve in Paris is the most incredible we've seen by any player at one venue. But Nole is the guy who's run him toughest in the last few seasons. This year, Rafa wasn't great through the clay season but had enough to win. Could be that Rafa diminishes even more some day and Nole's hunger gets him. But until that day...

 

[the AntiPusher]

In fairness, it seems to be a problem that's only solved by Rafa declining rather than anything else. HIs appetite and nerve in Paris is the most incredible we've seen by any player at one venue. But Nole is the guy who's run him toughest in the last few seasons. This year, Rafa wasn't great through the clay season but had enough to win. Could be that Rafa diminishes even more some day and Nole's hunger gets him. But until that day...

Perfectly written Mr K:clap

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Honest interview. I actually see Novak as a product of Roger and Rafa. He saw those two year after year being number 1 and 2 and he did not just say "Oh well..." He dug deep, got to their level and even passed those two in some levels. Lots of respect.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Well, everybody's problem has been Nadal at the FO for the past ten seasons. Nothing lasts forever though and gun to my head, I think Novak will win the FO at some point, whether by going through Nadal or otherwise.

 

[nehmeth]

Well, everybody's problem has been Nadal at the FO for the past ten seasons. Nothing lasts forever though and gun to my head, I think Novak will win the FO at some point, whether by going through Nadal or otherwise.

Well said - Ralf has been everyone's problem at RG, with the exception of Soderling.

These past couple years, Novak's bigger problem at RG has been between his ears... in my opinion.

 

[El Dude]

Rafa owns Roland Garros like no player in history has owned a tournament. In other words, Rafa at Roland Garros is probably the most fearsome player-tournament combination in tennis history. Consider that he's only lost once! 66-1. That's simply unbelievable.

That said, I think he has only one or two left in him, that he'll lose there in 2015 or 2016 and then probably come back and win one more--Rafa's Revenge--and then either retire as champion or try again and fail. So 1-2 more in the next three years sounds about right, with that fourth year (2018) seeing him either retired (he'll be turning 32) or losing.

On a side note, after Novak who do folks think is the most likely player to upset Rafa at Roland Garros? Consider not only where players are now, but where up-and-comers might be in a year or two. Who among the young 'uns is particularly promising on clay? How is Kyrgios or Coric, for instance?

 

[Kieran]

Hard to say with the youngsters. Nick might be good on clay, but stopping Rafa at RG is tough. Isner took him to five and that was exceptional in its extraordinariness.

What impresses me most about Rafa is his ability to raise the stakes and focus so hard after all these years. I felt this summer that he was showing signs of waywardness and battle fatigue on the dirt, especially when he's having to lope the ball the exact same way for the billionth time against the exact same Spaniards in the early events. He kind of found a bit of fire in Rome, but it wasn't until Paris that he looked rightly keen, and this in itself is testament to how tough he is to play there, let alone beat.

Hard to say when and where the upset will come, but we all know that someday it has to come...

 

[brokenshoelace]

Well, everybody's problem has been Nadal at the FO for the past ten seasons. Nothing lasts forever though and gun to my head, I think Novak will win the FO at some point, whether by going through Nadal or otherwise.

Well said - Ralf has been everyone's problem at RG, with the exception of Soderling.

These past couple years, Novak's bigger problem at RG has been between his ears... in my opinion.

I think his main problem for the past two years at RG has been the weather. Both times he had to face Nadal on a sunny day. Physically he couldn't really hold up this year or maintain intensity, and last year I thought he was pretty much outplayed for a large portion of the match, and did well to take it to a fifth.

I think the disappointment as far as performances at the FO go would be 2012. I thought he came out really flat and found himself down two sets to love down, and after that, it's hard not to see Nadal winning 1 out of 3 potential set under any circumstances.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Having watched them in Madrid (I am aware it is not the same) , I am putting my money on Kei to be a candidate to bother Rafa at RG should they meet.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Having watched them in Madrid (I am aware it is not the same) , I am putting my money on Kei to be a candidate to bother Rafa at RG should they meet.

Nah.. that wasnt the Real Rafa, trust me . Kei dont wont any parts of Nadal on that dirt, He is a pure Dirt:devil

 

[Front242]

Kei's made a slam final since and is growing constantly in terms of confidence. His main hurdle is staying injury free and if he does he has the the potential to bother anyone anywhere except maybe Wimbledon. In theory even on grass if he served well his game should be decent though as he takes the ball so early. His serve can be muck or great and with the latter and him playing a clean match he's no easy out for anyone.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Having watched them in Madrid (I am aware it is not the same) , I am putting my money on Kei to be a candidate to bother Rafa at RG should they meet.

There's zero chance of that happening. Kei is way too small and doesn't have enough fire power. He takes the ball early but given his size he will be forced to go for too much. He also won't physically hold up. There are two matches I really want to see at the FO next year just based on what I think are false knee jerk reactions to isolated matches: Rafa vs Stan and Rafa vs kei. Neither will be competitive.

 

[Federberg]

Having watched them in Madrid (I am aware it is not the same) , I am putting my money on Kei to be a candidate to bother Rafa at RG should they meet.

There's zero chance of that happening. Kei is way too small and doesn't have enough fire power. He takes the ball early but given his size he will be forced to go for too much. He also won't physically hold up. There are two matches I really want to see at the FO next year just based on what I think are false knee jerk reactions to isolated matches: Rafa vs Stan and Rafa vs kei. Neither will be competitive.

Everyone.. remember this certainty and copy this into the RG chat if it's refuted! :laydownlaughing

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Having watched them in Madrid (I am aware it is not the same) , I am putting my money on Kei to be a candidate to bother Rafa at RG should they meet.

There's zero chance of that happening. Kei is way too small and doesn't have enough fire power. He takes the ball early but given his size he will be forced to go for too much. He also won't physically hold up. There are two matches I really want to see at the FO next year just based on what I think are false knee jerk reactions to isolated matches: Rafa vs Stan and Rafa vs kei. Neither will be competitive.

That makes zero sense, since Kei already proved he can bother Rafa on clay. In fact everyone here acknowledges Madrid was his, before the injury. Notice, I did not say he would WIN against Rafa at RG. I said he is a candidate to BOTHER him. If you think there is zero chance of that, you might have missed his improvement in the last couple of years.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Having watched them in Madrid (I am aware it is not the same) , I am putting my money on Kei to be a candidate to bother Rafa at RG should they meet.

There's zero chance of that happening. Kei is way too small and doesn't have enough fire power. He takes the ball early but given his size he will be forced to go for too much. He also won't physically hold up. There are two matches I really want to see at the FO next year just based on what I think are false knee jerk reactions to isolated matches: Rafa vs Stan and Rafa vs kei. Neither will be competitive.

That makes zero sense, since Kei already proved he can bother Rafa on clay. In fact everyone here acknowledges Madrid was his, before the injury. Notice, I did not say he would WIN against Rafa at RG. I said he is a candidate to BOTHER him. If you think there is zero chance of that, you might have missed his improvement in the last couple of years.

No you're right it makes zero sense. The fact that the h2h is 7-0 in Nadal's favor, with Nishikori taking a grand total of two sets, coupled with the fact that Nishikori is physically fragile, lacks a huge serve, lacks the ability to create his own fire power (at least compared to the top 10), relies on taking the ball early which is extremely difficult to do at the FO against Nadal given how high the ball is bouncing, AND the fact that there FO meeting in 2013 resulted in a straight set beat down, is absolutely irrelevant in face of irrefutable data in the form of Nishkori winning a set against Nadal in Madrid when Rafa was playing his worst tennis of the season. You're right, that makes zero sense.

I don't care how improved Nishikori is. We're talking about Nadal at the French Open. Please, let's list the players who have bothered Nadal at the FO in 10 years because I'm pretty sure there's only a handful, and none of them are 5 ft 10 who's entire game revolves around taking the ball early and clean. Nishikori cannot create his own power like say, Soderling or Djokovic, and he lacks a big serve like Isner. Am I missing anyone who's bothered Nadal at RG? Because that's about it.

Yeah sorry, I'm not putting too much stock in a guy taking a set off Nadal at a non major clay event. Otherwise, we might as well hype up Nicolas Almagro and David Ferrer as guys who could trouble Nadal at Roland Garros since, you know, they actually beat him this year.