Nadal..Can he ever win the World Tour Finals ?.

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

this year was his best chance to win, cupcake draw, below par Federer in SF, and a surface not exactly lightning fast even if it did speed up at the end of the tourney..a bit.

MegaRafa of 2013 couldn't do it..so can he ever win the Year End Finale ?.

 

[calitennis127]

this year was his best chance to win, cupcake draw, below par Federer in SF, and a surface not exactly lightning fast even if it did speed up at the end of the tourney..a bit.

MegaRafa of 2013 couldn't do it..so can he ever win the Year End Finale ?.

The surface is utterly horrible for his game. I really wouldn't take his failures there too seriously, because he is so disadvantaged by the low-bouncing court that it is basically unfair to him. Probably no other court (certainly not at any Grand Slam or Masters 1000) favors Nadal's opposition over him more than the court at the O2. He doesn't really have the game for succeeding against the very best on it, if they are playing to their potential.

That said, I could see him winning the event once, at some point, if some things fall into place for him. With the young generation being so weak, he'll probably play in the World Tour Finals another 7 to 10 times, so you'd think that he could pull it off once.

 

[Fiero425]

this year was his best chance to win, cupcake draw, below par Federer in SF, and a surface not exactly lightning fast even if it did speed up at the end of the tourney..a bit.

MegaRafa of 2013 couldn't do it..so can he ever win the Year End Finale ?.

The surface is utterly horrible for his game. I really wouldn't take his failures there too seriously, because he is so disadvantaged by the low-bouncing court that it is basically unfair to him. Probably no other court (certainly not at any Grand Slam or Masters 1000) favors Nadal's opposition over him more than the court at the O2. He doesn't really have the game for succeeding against the very best on it, if they are playing to their potential.

That said, I could see him winning the event once, at some point, if some things fall into place for him. With the young generation being so weak, he'll probably play in the World Tour Finals another 7 to 10 times, so you'd think that he could pull it off once.

7-10 more chances? Nadal? :lolz: :snigger :laydownlaughing - I don't think so! :nono

 

[Kieran]

Not if he plays the way he did this week. But you never know what'll happen next year. The surface is hardest for him, but he's overcome every obstacle in the past, so what's one more?

We'll see...

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

I say yes he can..i think so. :idea:

if he focuses his whole post USO calendar around the WTF..he is coming up to where he qualifies for a one less masters mandatory due to years on tour (??), and also one less masters mandatory due to having 600 singles wins..

so if not 2014 then defo 2015 rafa/wafa can suit himself like Federer does now..with no worries about 'zero pointers'..:idea:

maybe just do Valencia 500 before WTF and opt out of shanghai and paris masters..or if one tourney isn't enough play an additional 250 as well,

its a good option, no ?.

 

[nehmeth]

JLLB, this year was his best chance - thus far. While the court isn't the best surface for him, we don't know that he won't be in a grouping just as favorable for him as this one was. And we don't know that he won't be playing better at the end of some year in the future than he did in 2013.

 

[DarthFed]

He had every advantage this year but it seems he is destined to face at least one opponent who is way better indoors. Lucky for him Roger looks done so it is just Nole in the way. Rafa won't ever get an easier group and he won't also get the large scheduling edge too, and the announcers said all week it was playing slower with a little more bounce than normal so the conditions weren't as bad as they usually are for Rafa. I say realistically he has another 2 good shots at it.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

I think it might happen. For that to happen, 2 things also need to happen: 1, he has a year like this one, where he is great at hard courts and gets a fairly easy draw to make the semis, and 2, Roger has to catch fire and take Nole out in one of the semis. Nadal meets Roger in the final and Bob is your uncle.

 

[huntingyou]

Rafa needs to schedule for it. Skip the Asian swing, rest, then train indoors (ROS) and finally use Paris as preparation. He has two more chances at best.......can he give up the money though?

 

[herios]

I think it might happen. For that to happen, 2 things also need to happen: 1, he has a year like this one, where he is great at hard courts and gets a fairly easy draw to make the semis, and 2, Roger has to catch fire and take Nole out in one of the semis. Nadal meets Roger in the final and Bob is your uncle.

I have hard time imagining Roger making the SF at the WTF going forward, and even more doubt that he will defeat Nole indoors anymore. The only surface where he could still beat Nole is grass, nowhere else.

 

[Denis]

I only see DP, Murray and Novak beating him these days indoors. If he doesn't meet these guys in the final he has a very good chance. But I don't think that will happen. He has a shot if he faces Murray or DP. Against Novak there is a good chance too, if Novak's level drops. But he only has a couple of shots left before he will lose speed and will suffer even more than Fed is doing at the moment.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Nadal's game indoors is poor by his standards.. But I think his level on average, on any surface, still beats the vast majority of the tour so he will more or less always put himself in a position to win it. The question is if he'll get that one extra special performance or one piece of luck (or a combination of both) you need to go the extra mile.

 

[Tennis Miller]

Nadal's game indoors is poor by his standards.. But I think his level on average, on any surface, still beats the vast majority of the tour so he will more or less always put himself in a position to win it. The question is if he'll get that one extra special performance or one piece of luck (or a combination of both) you need to go the extra mile.

I think that's exactly it. Like Fed at the French, if you establish yourself as the second best player on a given surface, and you keep showing up in the finals, there's a good chance you'll have that breakthrough. If Rafa is healthy, he's certainly capable of beating Novak 2/3 indoors on given day, even at the WTF.

Cheers

TM

 

[shawnbm]

Yes, he can

 

[DarthFed]

I think it might happen. For that to happen, 2 things also need to happen: 1, he has a year like this one, where he is great at hard courts and gets a fairly easy draw to make the semis, and 2, Roger has to catch fire and take Nole out in one of the semis. Nadal meets Roger in the final and Bob is your uncle.

I have hard time imagining Roger making the SF at the WTF going forward, and even more doubt that he will defeat Nole indoors anymore. The only surface where he could still beat Nole is grass, nowhere else.

We will see about Roger not making the SF. It is easy to make the SF...you go 2-1 and avoid disaster (1-2 or worse). Roger playing like a clown all year still made it to the semis in 2013, if he steps it up a little, he will be there in 2014.

I agree that it is tough picturing him beating Nole at YEC unless the tourney suddenly speeds up quite a bit.

 

[calitennis127]

this year was his best chance to win, cupcake draw, below par Federer in SF, and a surface not exactly lightning fast even if it did speed up at the end of the tourney..a bit.

MegaRafa of 2013 couldn't do it..so can he ever win the Year End Finale ?.

The surface is utterly horrible for his game. I really wouldn't take his failures there too seriously, because he is so disadvantaged by the low-bouncing court that it is basically unfair to him. Probably no other court (certainly not at any Grand Slam or Masters 1000) favors Nadal's opposition over him more than the court at the O2. He doesn't really have the game for succeeding against the very best on it, if they are playing to their potential.

That said, I could see him winning the event once, at some point, if some things fall into place for him. With the young generation being so weak, he'll probably play in the World Tour Finals another 7 to 10 times, so you'd think that he could pull it off once.

7-10 more chances? Nadal? :lolz: :snigger :laydownlaughing - I don't think so! :nono

Why not? You think Tomic and Raonic will keep a 32-year-old Nadal out of the World Tour Finals?:lolz:

 

[calitennis127]

I think it might happen. For that to happen, 2 things also need to happen: 1, he has a year like this one, where he is great at hard courts and gets a fairly easy draw to make the semis, and 2, Roger has to catch fire and take Nole out in one of the semis. Nadal meets Roger in the final and Bob is your uncle.

Isn't it so painful that Federer's series with Nadal has come to the point where people make such comments - with rational justification?cry

 

[herios]

this year was his best chance to win, cupcake draw, below par Federer in SF, and a surface not exactly lightning fast even if it did speed up at the end of the tourney..a bit.

MegaRafa of 2013 couldn't do it..so can he ever win the Year End Finale ?.

The surface is utterly horrible for his game. I really wouldn't take his failures there too seriously, because he is so disadvantaged by the low-bouncing court that it is basically unfair to him. Probably no other court (certainly not at any Grand Slam or Masters 1000) favors Nadal's opposition over him more than the court at the O2. He doesn't really have the game for succeeding against the very best on it, if they are playing to their potential.

That said, I could see him winning the event once, at some point, if some things fall into place for him. With the young generation being so weak, he'll probably play in the World Tour Finals another 7 to 10 times, so you'd think that he could pull it off once.

7-10 more chances? Nadal? :lolz: :snigger :laydownlaughing - I don't think so! :nono

Why not? You think Tomic and Raonic will keep a 32-year-old Nadal out of the World Tour Finals?:lolz:

You guys think that in 5 years some other players won't come up through the rankings and step up to the plate? I am far from being an advocate of the younger generation, but ultimately someone will take central role and start winning big, other than the current top guys. This status quo cannot go on forever.
The current era as it is good for the next 2 or 3 years the most. I bet 5 of the top 10 will be different in 3 years from now and no, they will not be ranked 6-10.
Therefore I am giving Rafa 3 more chances the most. That is all he got.

 

[isabelle]

Move Masters on clay and Nadal'll win it...indoor favoured Nalby, Nole and Youngderer as well as Sampras and J.Mac

 

[shawnbm]

Move Masters on clay and Nadal'll win it...indoor favoured Nalby, Nole and Youngderer as well as Sampras and J.Mac

No, we have enough clay and outdoor hard courts of varying (invariably slower) speeds. We need to keep this the biggest indoor hard (or carpet) event of the year at the end of the indoor season. At least, that is what I believe is best for the game--variety baby. :idea: