Nadalites – Rafa Nadal Talk

[rafanoy1992]

I do agree with you and @Nadalfan2013, I just thought I'd put it out there, since @rafanoy1992 was asking opinion questions. I honestly think that Rafa could have 2 more Roland Garros wins in him. I mean, he just won the AO, and Novak is going to be completely, or basically out of the way in Paris in May. So, why not this year, and one more? The question of what else...something, I think yes, and I agree that, for legacy, better more Majors.

The most realistic thing for Nadal in terms of winning slams before his retirement is winning RG specifically this year and 2023. Whether or not it will happen, it remains to be seen.

That’s the beauty of sports and life in general, surprises come and of course we gonna see, no?

It will be very nice IF he can somehow win RG plus either Wimbledon or US Open before he calls it a career.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

The most realistic thing for Nadal in terms of winning slams before his retirement is winning RG specifically this year and 2023. Whether or not it will happen, it remains to be seen.

That’s the beauty of sports and life in general, surprises come and of course we gonna see, no?

It will be very nice IF he can somehow win RG plus either Wimbledon or US Open before he calls it a career.

If Rafa is to win RG in 2022 he has to curtail playing all the clay tournaments before RG,he hurt his foot in Rome last year.

 

[Moxie]

If Rafa is to win RG in 2022 he has to curtail playing all the clay tournaments before RG,he hurt his foot in Rome last year.
Hopefully he has learnt his lesson.

You just told us he's going to play Barcelona. Which I completely understand. I can't imagine that he won't plan for MC and Rome. And we've all said SKIP MADRID!

 

[rafanoy1992]

If Rafa is to win RG in 2022 he has to curtail playing all the clay tournaments before RG,he hurt his foot in Rome last year.
Hopefully he has learnt his lesson.

In order to do that, first he needs to skip Madrid period! No need for him to play there especially he even admitted that the conditions don’t suit his game at all!

Second, maybe he can try win Monte Carlo and/or Barcelona so by the time he gets to Rome, he doesn’t need to go extremely hard on winning Rome.

Finally, hopefully he can somehow try shorten his Clay matches. I know it will be tough due to the nature of Clay court tennis and his style, but if can somehow avoid physical matches, he should be fine at RG!

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

You just told us he's going to play Barcelona. Which I completely understand. I can't imagine that he won't plan for MC and Rome. And we've all said SKIP MADRID!

Hopefully Rafa reads this blog and does not play Madrid,which isnt a true clay court anyway.How many years have we been saying to skip Madrid and he plays regardless.,hopefully his team will point that out to him.
BTW Barcelona is like Rafa's club tournament he would never skip that tournament.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

In order to do that, first he needs to skip Madrid period! No need for him to play there especially he even admitted that the conditions don’t suit his game at all!

Second, maybe he can try win Monte Carlo and/or Barcelona so by the time he gets to Rome, he doesn’t need to go extremely hard on winning Rome.

Finally, hopefully he can somehow try shorten his Clay matches. I know it will be tough due to the nature of Clay court tennis and his style, but if can somehow avoid physical matches, he should be fine at RG!

Hopefully, it is the one GS title I want him to win (retain) this year,I will be a bit stressed still I am use to suffering by now.

 

[Moxie]

Hopefully, it is the one GS title I want him to win (retain) this year,I will be a bit stressed still I am use to suffering by now.

I think that he really needs to win back RG this year in order to keep his GS winning ways going. Between his confidence, and locker room aura, I think it will go a very long way.

 

[Nadalfan2013]

I do agree with you and @Nadalfan2013, I just thought I'd put it out there, since @rafanoy1992 was asking opinion questions. I honestly think that Rafa could have 2 more Roland Garros wins in him. I mean, he just won the AO, and Novak is going to be completely, or basically out of the way in Paris in May. So, why not this year, and one more? The question of what else...something, I think yes, and I agree that, for legacy, better more Majors.

I could see Rafa ending with 24 slams (15 RG, 4 USO, 3 WB, 2 AO). Or he could also win this year's FO as his final 22nd slam. Whatever happens I'm pretty sure that the AO was not his last one. The one I'd like to see Rafa win the most is WB simply because it's the one that he hasn't won in a long time...

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I think that he really needs to win back RG this year in order to keep his GS winning ways going. Between his confidence, and locker room aura, I think it will go a very long way.

Agree.Rafa is playing freely at present,thanks to winning the AO at the start of the year.Rafa is always the favorite at RG,regardless if his form has been all that good leading up to RG,I mean it is his back yard,he comes to life on the clay.I have seen it first hand when I have been to Roland Garos.

 

[rafanoy1992]

I think that he really needs to win back RG this year in order to keep his GS winning ways going. Between his confidence, and locker room aura, I think it will go a very long way.

100% agree here especially if he knows Djokovic will not able to play. I just hope he is healthy by Roland Garros. That's all I ask/pray for...

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Rafa also needs to skip Miami to prepare for the clay season,regardless of how he goes at Indian Wells.

 

[Nadalfan2013]

Rafa also needs to skip Miami to prepare for the clay season,regardless of how he goes at Indian Wells.

The other option would be to play Indian Wells and Miami but to start his clay season in Barcelona... But I doubt that he'd pick Miami over Monte Carlo...

 

[rafanoy1992]

Rafa also needs to skip Miami to prepare for the clay season,regardless of how he goes at Indian Wells.

I can assure you that Nadal will definitely skip Miami not only this year but also for the rest of his career. Unless of course he wants to do a full year retirement tour, then he might play Miami for one final time. Other than that, he will skip Miami to prepare for the Clay season.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

The other option would be to play Indian Wells and Miami but to start his clay season in Barcelona... But I doubt that he'd pick Miami over Monte Carlo...

I think MC would win over Miami any day

 

[Moxie]

I agree with all of you above...he just won Acapulco, and great hopes that he wins IW. He has to skip Miami so that he can play the sweet part of his tennis year on clay. No chance he plays Miami, even should he go out early at IW.

 

[Nadalfan2013]

I agree with all of you above...he just won Acapulco, and great hopes that he wins IW. He has to skip Miami so that he can play the sweet part of his tennis year on clay. No chance he plays Miami, even should he go out early at IW.

However Nadal has won 6 of his last 9 titles on hardcourt... So who knows maybe hardcourt is becoming his favorite surface, perhaps it's allowing him to finish points quicker. At this rate his haters might soon start accusing him of being a hardcourt specialist...

Win	83–37	Aug 2019	Canadian Open, Canada (5)	Masters 1000	Hard	Daniil Medvedev	6–3, 6–0
Win	84–37	Sep 2019	US Open, United States (4)	Grand Slam	Hard	Daniil Medvedev	7–5, 6–3, 5–7, 4–6, 6–4
Win	85–37	Feb 2020	Mexican Open, Mexico* (3)	500 Series	Hard	Taylor Fritz	6–3, 6–2
Win	86–37	Oct 2020	French Open, France* (13)	Grand Slam	Clay	Novak Djokovic	6–0, 6–2, 7–5
Win	87–37	Apr 2021	Barcelona Open, Spain** (12)	500 Series	Clay	Stefanos Tsitsipas	6–4, 6–7(6–8), 7–5
Win	88–37	May 2021	Italian Open, Italy** (10)	Masters 1000	Clay	Novak Djokovic	7–5, 1–6, 6–3
Win	89–37	Jan 2022	Melbourne Summer Set, Australia*	250 Series	Hard	Maxime Cressy	7–6(8–6), 6–3
Win	90–37	Jan 2022	Australian Open, Australia (2)	Grand Slam	Hard	Daniil Medvedev	2–6, 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 6–4, 7–5
Win	91–37	Feb 2022	Mexican Open, Mexico* (4)	500 Series	Hard	Cameron Norrie	6–4, 6–4

 

[rafanoy1992]

I will say this though, there is some bias in my post, but I have a feeling that Nadal will be extra motivated to play well at IW. Yes, I know that whenever he enters any tournament, he is motivated to win the tournament or he plays every match like is his last match. But my gut feeling is that he wants to do really well at this year's IW. Remember, the last time he played here in 2019, he got a knee injury in the QF and he had to withdraw right before facing Federer in the SF.

He will try his best to play at lower gear in the first three matches, so he does not spend a lot of energy on the court. But, from QF onwards, he will up his gear to try and win IW for a fourth time!

He will definitely try to leave IW this year healthy and on a high note (at least SF appearance) going into the Clay season.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I will say this though, there is some bias in my post, but I have a feeling that Nadal will be extra motivated to play well at IW. Yes, I know that whenever he enters any tournament, he is motivated to win the tournament or he plays every match like is his last match. But my gut feeling is that he wants to do really well at this year's IW. Remember, the last time he played here in 2019, he got a knee injury in the QF and he had to withdraw right before facing Federer in the SF.

He will try his best to play at lower gear in the first three matches, so he does not spend a lot of energy on the court. But, from QF onwards, he will up his gear to try and win IW for a fourth time!

He will definitely try to leave IW this year healthy and on a high note (at least SF appearance) going into the Clay season.

Are you going to IW this year?

 

[rafanoy1992]

Are you going to IW this year?

Absolutely! I can't miss seeing the 21-time Slam champion Rafael Nadal live in practice and an official match!

 

[Jelenafan]

In order to do that, first he needs to skip Madrid period! No need for him to play there especially he even admitted that the conditions don’t suit his game at all!

Second, maybe he can try win Monte Carlo and/or Barcelona so by the time he gets to Rome, he doesn’t need to go extremely hard on winning Rome.

Finally, hopefully he can somehow try shorten his Clay matches. I know it will be tough due to the nature of Clay court tennis and his style, but if can somehow avoid physical matches, he should be fine at RG!

Here is Rafa’s paradox; he has stated he needs match play. So when is too much too much? He’s won the French underplaying (2020) and won overplaying ( take your pick of a dozen years)

In hindsight Rafa says the extra time off in 2020 from tournament play backfired, it actually resulted in more foot issues in 2021 and his body reacted badly to the lack of conditioning. So Rafa needs the rhythm of enough tournament play. Contrary to what many think the clay court season is no longer a slamdunk for him, ( he’s only won 2 clay Masters in a season twice in the last 8 years) but it does set him up for the French which HAS been a slamdunk for him.

This year seems different, he’s never started the year with 3 HC tourney wins so match wise after IW, it’s not like he’s going to need a lot of tournament play to get going.

I don’t expect him to skip Barcelona, it’s practically his home tourney ( the main stadium is named for him for Goodness sake) but I do think MC is the key, if he does well and wins Monte Carlo the pressure is slightly off . Then I think he may finally chuck Madrid. But I dunno, I get the feeling the Spanish Federation puts a lot of pressure on him. They don’t care about him winning, they just want an appearance.