Nadalites – Rafa Nadal Talk

[the AntiPusher]

Well seeing his form was poor in the clay tournaments he played, he was offered a wild card to play in Geneva, he accepted it, usually if his form was good he would not play at tournament so close to a major, he is the defending champion at RG

I doubt Novak will try to win the tournament, makes zero sense to try to play on Saturday before RG

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I doubt Novak will try to win the tournament, makes zero sense to try to play on Saturday before RG

I think he will want to find some form before RG, playing a few matches I guess will help it is a ATP250 tournament, though has a competitive field, last year's RG finalist Casper Rudd is the No 2 seed, with Novak the top seed

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Just looking at the players entry list for Wimbledon and Rafa is on it

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Rafa practice session today was against Stan Wawrinka, closed doors on Chatrier, Rafa applauded one of Stan's bhand shots, a vintage shot from Stan!

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Rafa practicing with Daniil Medvedev today

 

[Front242]

I feel over the years, Rafa has had a good pain tolerance and has played tournaments in pain, sometimes when he should not have quite frankly, though if you -re injure a area eg abs it does take more time to heal.
As a fan I dont want to see him playing on and just making up numbers in any tournament.
Are you aware the day after Rafa defeated Ruud in the final of RG he was on crutches the next day?

Well they definitely bend the rules for the top players. Cortisol injections are banned in competition and yet he said "he played with his foot asleep". You can bet whatever physical ailments Nadal, Djokovic, Wawrinka, Murray etc have at this stage, the authorities won't care and just let them play pumped full of whatever is necessary to generate revenue. Not that they ever really did care. Just look at the pardoning of Halep...

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I have No Words for Rafa's draw at RG I need another expresso
Hopefully Rafa will ask for a day match against Zverev hopefully it will be sunny and hot and he can wipe that 'smirk of the entitled one's face'

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Well they definitely bend the rules for the top players. Cortisol injections are banned in competition and yet he said "he played with his foot asleep". You can bet whatever physical ailments Nadal, Djokovic, Wawrinka, Murray etc have at this stage, the authorities won't care and just let them play pumped full of whatever is necessary to generate revenue. Not that they ever really did care. Just look at the pardoning of Halep...

Rafa underwent "radiofrequency therapy' on his foot after the 2022 RG final, which is an invasive procedure that injects small transmittors into the foot and overloads the area with radio wave,

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Okay after another " Strong Expresso" this is Rafa's projected draw at RG,

R1 Zverev
R2 Goffin
R3 Griekspoor/McDonald
R4 Rune/Khachanov
QF Medvedev/De Minaur
SF Djokovic/Ruud/Fritz
F. Sinner/Alcaraz

 

[Moxie]

Okay after another " Strong Expresso" this is Rafa's projected draw at RG,

R1 Zverev
R2 Goffin
R3 Griekspoor/McDonald
R4 Rune/Khachanov
QF Medvedev/De Minaur
SF Djokovic/Ruud/Fritz
F. Sinner/Alcaraz

As I am ever the optimist, if he gets out of the first round, a lot of this seems doable. If he arrives at SF healthy and playing well, he can beat them all!

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

As I am ever the optimist, if he gets out of the first round, a lot of this seems doable. If he arrives at SF healthy and playing well, he can beat them all!

Fingers crossed!

 

[Moxie]

Fingers crossed!

Get out them Pope blessed rosary beads, sister!

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

As I am ever the optimist, if he gets out of the first round, a lot of this seems doable. If he arrives at SF healthy and playing well, he can beat them all!

Fingers crossed!

Get out them Pope blessed rosary beads, sister!

Amen Moxie! they will need a polish!

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Rafa will practice tomorrow with Holger Rune on court Suzanne Lenglen ( with a new roof) at 11.00am

 

[the AntiPusher]

Fingers crossed!

I watched the 2022 semi Rafa vs Zverev. I can't believe how Rafa escaped the first set. Early in the 2nd set they had a 46 stroke rally. Purely insanity tennis

The highlights of the match is on YouTube. 7-6 5-5 15-0. If Rafa can move like he did for that point he could have a slim chance to win. .

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I watched the 2022 semi Rafa vs Zverev. I can't believe how Rafa escaped the first set. Early in the 2nd set they had a 46 stroke rally. Purely insanity tennis

Actually I have never seen that level of tennis before from Zverev, even though I am not a fan at all, shame what happened to his ankle

 

[the AntiPusher]

Actually I have never seen that level of tennis before from Zverev, even though I am not a fan at all, shame what happened to his ankle

It was just too gruesome to endure watching again

 

[Moxie]

I watched the 2022 semi Rafa vs Zverev. I can't believe how Rafa escaped the first set. Early in the 2nd set they had a 46 stroke rally. Purely insanity tennis

The highlights of the match is on YouTube. 7-6 5-5 15-0. If Rafa can move like he did for that point he could have a slim chance to win. .

I watched Andy Roddick's commentary show with Jon Wertheim. Roddick promised not to look at the draw ahead, and they'd go through it live. You should have seen his face when he saw Nadal v. Zverev! He was completely disheveled. He couldn't even say out loud that he'd pick Zverev in that match. Wertheim, on the other hand, picked Nadal to win it, and with that, get to the SF. Roddick said he'd never hoped more that he'd be wrong. Wertheim mentioned memories of their last meeting as a potential factor, (which I said a couple of days ago, but mostly as a joke.) He also mentioned that there will be a trial starting next Friday in Germany against Zverev, on a domestic violence charge. This I did not know. He doesn't have to be there. It may or may not weigh on his mind or be a distraction for him.

Anyway, Andy picked Sinner to beat Novak in the final. Wertheim picked Alcaraz to beat Novak in the final.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

There will be no 'farewell Rafael" ceremony at the French Open this year
Amelie Mauresmo say they had one planed but Nadal said it might not be his last Roland Garros and they cancelled it

 

[Front242]

There will be no 'farewell Rafael" ceremony at the French Open this year
Amelie Mauresmo say they had one planed but Nadal said it might not be his last Roland Garros and they cancelled it

It's a tough one to call against Zverev. The much bigger court will help Nadal and it very much depends on how well Zverev serves. If Nadal loses in the first round, you can be sure this won't be his last season and this must be on his mind with a very hard hitting, big serving opponent. He'll be hoping to get his ranking back up and have an easier first round next year but he'll also be 39 a week from now next year.