Nadal Would Have Been Crucified...

[Rose]

Why is it that every tennis forum I come across has one very large thing in common--hating Rafa? Sorry people he is one of my favorite players! And this group is way nicer than other groups I have run across so I'm fearless here

 

[Moxie]

Why is it that every tennis forum I come across has one very large thing in common--hating Rafa? Sorry people he is one of my favorite players! And this group is way nicer than other groups I have run across so I'm fearless here

I'm glad you find our conversation civil, as we do, which we're proud of. There will always be a few snipers. In fairness, a lot of people find our board to be Nadal-favoring. I think the simplest answer to your question is that Nadal is polarizing, as he's been a rival to both Federer and Djokovic, and he's the current #1. Some folks will find a way to diminish his accomplishments, and a few of them are rather underhanded, and tend to smear his character, which is unsavory, but, it seems: if you can't beat 'em, slander 'em. :dodgy:

 

[brokenshoelace]

what took this thread so long? it's all about perceptions and how you interpret those. Firstly we are talking about the very best tennis players, who compete at the highest level for a living - people of that calibre do not have loser excuse-making mentality like a lot of the ordinary people. The fact that many thinking of them differently, Fed and Delpo (not really excuse-makers) and Nadal ('notorious' excuse maker) is really the way, the timing and how they talk about their injuries; and unfortunately for Nadal he often presents it in a way that we dismiss him as excuse-making.

Fact is we don't know these people on a personal level so nobody is really 'right or wrong' about this.

However what's obvious to me is this issue of 'excuse-making' is not really isolated, and i think it has a lot to do with Nadal is doing or had done before, that form part of the bad rep about him - and they relate the same way. While Nadal has frequently been warned about time violation, he was also warned a few times a few years ago about on-court coaching - these are obviously things he knows he is guilty of doing and they happen to serve to his advantage. He has always been accused of taking untimely medical time outs, many times including just before his opponent was about to serve for the match, so when you see that he talks about injuries always after losing a match - it's natural for us to think " here we go again, he is doing it again" and unfortunately it's also natural for these kind of things to accumulate and escalate, so now his talk about injuries automatically qualifies as 'excuse-making' by default. (and we think it merely serves to his advantage like the other things he does).

Moreover, i do think players, at least as far as Fedal goes, would talk in a way that protects their ego after a loss - like Nadal saying 'not his real level' regarding Tsonga or Fed saying 'one-dimensional, will figure him out' about Nadal. its just what happens when their egos get bruised. However when it comes to talking injuries, Nadal's 'excuse-making' is actually part of his strategy to gain some form of mental advantage like other things he does - it is not really his 'personality' to be like that, it's just a tool. What's obviously, it achieves the impression for his opponents "hey you only beat me because i was injured" so they won't get the full confidence the next time they meet, that's what i can think of right now, and who knows what other pluses it does for him - Nadal is a complicated and very intillegent man, and it's a FACT he often says things we know he doesn't believe in...... such as 'i have to play my best to have a chance' referring to many matches even on clay, and he knows he is the favorite against everyone (come on, is that even debatable?)

And i think the above is true when one can separate his emotions from distorting facts - which one can call passions. Nadal fans have excessively defended him without sticking to facts and those who don't like Nadal have chosen to put all the bad labels on him. it's just----- passionate about him VS not passionate about him.

That's why Kieran and Moxie always say the things they say, it's whatever their emotions and agenda dictate....... like many.

I like this post. And even though I don't agree with everything, it offers an interesting take and raises some thought-provoking point.

With that said, let's get one thing clear: Nadal has never had a medical timeout before his opponent served for the match. Ever. So I'm not sure where this "often calls for a MTO before his opponent serves for the match" thing came from. Secondly, every example of a shady Nadal medical timeout dates back to at least 4 years ago, so he must be doing something right in that regards nowadays.

 

[Kieran]

what took this thread so long? it's all about perceptions and how you interpret those. Firstly we are talking about the very best tennis players, who compete at the highest level for a living - people of that calibre do not have loser excuse-making mentality like a lot of the ordinary people. The fact that many thinking of them differently, Fed and Delpo (not really excuse-makers) and Nadal ('notorious' excuse maker) is really the way, the timing and how they talk about their injuries; and unfortunately for Nadal he often presents it in a way that we dismiss him as excuse-making.

Fact is we don't know these people on a personal level so nobody is really 'right or wrong' about this.

However what's obvious to me is this issue of 'excuse-making' is not really isolated, and i think it has a lot to do with Nadal is doing or had done before, that form part of the bad rep about him - and they relate the same way. While Nadal has frequently been warned about time violation, he was also warned a few times a few years ago about on-court coaching - these are obviously things he knows he is guilty of doing and they happen to serve to his advantage. He has always been accused of taking untimely medical time outs, many times including just before his opponent was about to serve for the match, so when you see that he talks about injuries always after losing a match - it's natural for us to think " here we go again, he is doing it again" and unfortunately it's also natural for these kind of things to accumulate and escalate, so now his talk about injuries automatically qualifies as 'excuse-making' by default. (and we think it merely serves to his advantage like the other things he does).

Moreover, i do think players, at least as far as Fedal goes, would talk in a way that protects their ego after a loss - like Nadal saying 'not his real level' regarding Tsonga or Fed saying 'one-dimensional, will figure him out' about Nadal. its just what happens when their egos get bruised. However when it comes to talking injuries, Nadal's 'excuse-making' is actually part of his strategy to gain some form of mental advantage like other things he does - it is not really his 'personality' to be like that, it's just a tool. What's obviously, it achieves the impression for his opponents "hey you only beat me because i was injured" so they won't get the full confidence the next time they meet, that's what i can think of right now, and who knows what other pluses it does for him - Nadal is a complicated and very intillegent man, and it's a FACT he often says things we know he doesn't believe in...... such as 'i have to play my best to have a chance' referring to many matches even on clay, and he knows he is the favorite against everyone (come on, is that even debatable?)

And i think the above is true when one can separate his emotions from distorting facts - which one can call passions. Nadal fans have excessively defended him without sticking to facts and those who don't like Nadal have chosen to put all the bad labels on him. it's just----- passionate about him VS not passionate about him.

That's why Kieran and Moxie always say the things they say, it's whatever their emotions and agenda dictate....... like many.

Ricardo. I like this post. And reluctant though you may, it concurs with the stuff me and Moxie might say, in our over-wrought hyper-tense emotional state. And you said it well, so I forgive the jibe...

 

[huntingyou]

what was the last time Nadal called for MTO to get an advantage? I'm serious

 

[brokenshoelace]

what was the last time Nadal called for MTO to get an advantage? I'm serious

The last time he had a semi shady medical timeout was Wimbledon 2010.

 

[huntingyou]

what was the last time Nadal called for MTO to get an advantage? I'm serious

The last time he had a semi shady medical timeout was Wimbledon 2010.

oh....the 5 setter. Yes, that was kind of shady

 

[Front242]

No, Nadal never took an MTO before his opponent served for the match, just a big log. Stargate 6525 Captain's Log I'm sure he could've waited one more game to squeeze it out later.