Nadalites – Rafa Nadal Talk

[Nadalfan2013]

What a beautiful thread. Go Rafa!

 

[Jelenafan]

Like I said before, I am will not be stressed or worried about Rafael until Roland Garros. That's the only title I "want" him to win for the rest of the year. Now, of course, it will be nice if he can somehow win either Wimbledon or US Open PLUS RG, but just winning Roland Garros is the ultimate icing of the cake at least this year.

I gotta admit, this is the first time in a while that he truly enjoys playing out there. I think breaking the AO 'curse' and winning the title will give him the confidence he needs to win A LOT of titles throughout the 2022 season.

I agree that Roland Garros is looming huge; the Major where he has the best chance in the whole tennis year. In a general sense, I also think that just the very next Major is always the goal. *IF* he can snag #22 in Paris then Wimbledon becomes the next one, and so forth and so on.

Having said that, personally I confess that if I had my druthers of him picking up another Major this year, my heart is set on the USO. It was the last of the 4 Majors he finally won in 2010 (after his injury woes the previous year) and so many detractors of Nadal back then smugly claimed he didn't have the " complete" game to win at Flushing Meadows. It's now his best non Clay Major.

There is just something about the New York crowd, the atmosphere, the excitement, the rowdiness and messiness that fits Nadal to a tee. No Wimbledon cathedral stateliness there. The crowds adopts you or cheers against you with equal force. (Who can forget John Isner bitching that as an American the crowd wasn't "pro" enough for him? LOL) Rafa feeds on that energy and the NY crowd loves him AND they haven't seen him there since his epic 2019 win. It will be his first appearance in 3 years , I'm getting emotional just thinking about it.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Like I said before, I am will not be stressed or worried about Rafael until Roland Garros. That's the only title I "want" him to win for the rest of the year. Now, of course, it will be nice if he can somehow win either Wimbledon or US Open PLUS RG, but just winning Roland Garros is the ultimate icing of the cake at least this year.

I gotta admit, this is the first time in a while that he truly enjoys playing out there. I think breaking the AO 'curse' and winning the title will give him the confidence he needs to win A LOT of titles throughout the 2022 season.

Rafa has had the best start to his career at 15-0, he has stated he feels he can play freely and the results are a true indication of that fact Of the remaining Grand Slam titles,Roland Garos is Rafa's main objective this year,agree with you,it is the 'ultimate icing on the cake'. I am delighted that he is enjoying his tennis.,playing at a high competitive level,at 35 years young.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

BTW where has Kieren gone? I know he was really happy Rafa playing in Mexico
Also I heard there have been very bad storms in Ireland ( my daughter has also copped it living in London)

 

[the AntiPusher]

Rafa has had the best start to his career at 15-0, he has stated he feels he can play freely and the results are a true indication of that fact Of the remaining Grand Slam titles,Roland Garos is Rafa's main objective this year,agree with you,it is the 'ultimate icing on the cake'. I am delighted that he is enjoying his tennis.,playing at a high competitive level,at 35 years young.

Also, remember he is only 11 months older than Novak and Sir Andy Murray.

 

[Kieran]

BTW where has Kieren gone? I know he was really happy Rafa playing in Mexico
Also I heard there have been very bad storms in Ireland ( my daughter has also copped it living in London)

I’m here thanks! We had a few days of strong bluster and the dreaded Irish rain, but nothing bad for us, thanks! But yeah, England and the continent has some disasters.

I wasn’t in favour of Rafa playing Acapulco - but he’s playing mighty stuff! Looking forward to IW!

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Roig "Rafa's a high quality player,w/amazing mind and desire at 35 y.o. that I've never see anything like it.Always eager to improve and when one is so good,such desire makes this little miracle possible,which is allowing us to go on enjoying victories".

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Guess who is at practice at night in Indian Wells...19.00...Rafa!
Just saw a video of Rafa practicing....as he said after Mexico he would take a couple of days off to prepare for IW.Rafa is true to his words.

 

[rafanoy1992]

Guess who is at practice at night in Indian Wells...19.00...Rafa!
Just saw a video of Rafa practicing....as he said after Mexico he would take a couple of days off to prepare for IW.Rafa is true to his words.

He is ready to golf!

 

[rafanoy1992]

I think he has already played golf lol! that is his rest days

Rafa takes his Golf seriously, same as fishing in Mallorca. I am not even joking either

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Rafa takes his Golf seriously, same as fishing in Mallorca. I am not even joking either

I am certain Rafa and Larry will have golf days together in IW.
BTW Rafa is still wearing his AO kit on the practice courts,though he will be wearing a orange tee and navy shorts at IW

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

The Twelve time champion Rafa Nadal has confirmed he will play Barcelona April 16-24

 

[rafanoy1992]

I agree that Roland Garros is looming huge; the Major where he has the best chance in the whole tennis year. In a general sense, I also think that just the very next Major is always the goal. *IF* he can snag #22 in Paris then Wimbledon becomes the next one, and so forth and so on.

Having said that, personally I confess that if I had my druthers of him picking up another Major this year, my heart is set on the USO. It was the last of the 4 Majors he finally won in 2010 (after his injury woes the previous year) and so many detractors of Nadal back then smugly claimed he didn't have the " complete" game to win at Flushing Meadows. It's now his best non Clay Major.

There is just something about the New York crowd, the atmosphere, the excitement, the rowdiness and messiness that fits Nadal to a tee. No Wimbledon cathedral stateliness there. The crowds adopts you or cheers against you with equal force. (Who can forget John Isner bitching that as an American the crowd wasn't "pro" enough for him? LOL) Rafa feeds on that energy and the NY crowd loves him AND they haven't seen him there since his epic 2019 win. It will be his first appearance in 3 years , I'm getting emotional just thinking about it.

Great post, here.

It begs a question for Nadal fans, yes I know, I have ask this question before but, which Slam do you think Nadal will win before he officially retires:

Wimbledon or US Open or Neither?

Obviously, I did not put AO because I think we all know that 2022 AO title is probably the story book ending we did not expect from Nadal. In all honesty, I do not think he will win another AO title (but you never know, no?).

Then, we have RG, which more than likely is the last slam he will probably wins before he retires, so I did not include this on the list.

While Nadal does have 4 US Open titles on his career, his resiliency and consistency will probably propel him to another Wimbledon title. Also, US Open is a hardcourt so the physical toll might catch up to him.

Honestly, between Wimbledon and US Open, it is hard to choose on which Slam he will win before the end of his career. I also will not be surprised if he neither wins Wimbledon nor US Open. However, it is an interesting idea to think about from a technical and emotional standpoint as a Nadal fan.

 

[Moxie]

Great post, here.

It begs a question for Nadal fans, yes I know, I have ask this question before but, which Slam do you think Nadal will win before he officially retires:

Wimbledon or US Open or Neither?

Obviously, I did not put AO because I think we all know that 2022 AO title is probably the story book ending we did not expect from Nadal. In all honesty, I do not think he will win another AO title (but you never know, no?).

Then, we have RG, which more than likely is the last slam he will probably wins before he retires, so I did not include this on the list.

While Nadal does have 4 US Open titles on his career, his resiliency and consistency will probably propel him to another Wimbledon title. Also, US Open is a hardcourt so the physical toll might catch up to him.

Honestly, between Wimbledon and US Open, it is hard to choose on which Slam he will win before the end of his career. I also will not be surprised if he neither wins Wimbledon nor US Open. However, it is an interesting idea to think about from a technical and emotional standpoint as a Nadal fan.

As a fan, I WANT IT ALL!

@Kieran has laid out for us that: If Rafa wins another Wimbledon, that would make him the only player to have 3 Majors on each surface. If he wins another USO, he ties Roger there.

I think I disagree with you on the likelihood of Wimbledon v. USO, in that grass is tough on his knees (low bounce,) and the USO does suit him, for the reasons pointed out by @Jelenafan. (Who is correct to say that there were many, prior to 2010, who thought Rafa would never win one there, let alone 4...and counting.) That said, Novak looks to be coming into Wimbledon, where he should be allowed to play, with less than a great amount of preparation, if Covid restrictions hold. And, last year's finalist, Berrettini, is not having the start to 2022 he would have wanted. Opportunity for Nadal? I'd say yes. Also, he's been working on shortening points, and on the serve, so Wimbledon could be in play. Still, I'd vote USO as the best option, of the two.

Here's a question for Rafa fans, since you like to pose them: IF you knew that Rafa would finish with the most majors in this era, between him, Roger and Novak, would you trade one more for a YEC win? It's the one top prize he lacks, and his detractors bring it up all the time. I honestly wonder what Rafa would pick, but I also wonder if the choice, as a fan, is about silencing our rivals on the internet. Which is very selfish, if you know what I mean.

 

[Nadalfan2013]

As a fan, I WANT IT ALL!

@Kieran has laid out for us that: If Rafa wins another Wimbledon, that would make him the only player to have 3 Majors on each surface. If he wins another USO, he ties Roger there.

I think I disagree with you on the likelihood of Wimbledon v. USO, in that grass is tough on his knees (low bounce,) and the USO does suit him, for the reasons pointed out by @Jelenafan. (Who is correct to say that there were many, prior to 2010, who thought Rafa would never win one there, let alone 4...and counting.) That said, Novak looks to be coming into Wimbledon, where he should be allowed to play, with less than a great amount of preparation, if Covid restrictions hold. And, last year's finalist, Berrettini, is not having the start to 2022 he would have wanted. Opportunity for Nadal? I'd say yes. Also, he's been working on shortening points, and on the serve, so Wimbledon could be in play. Still, I'd vote USO as the best option, of the two.

Here's a question for Rafa fans, since you like to pose them: IF you knew that Rafa would finish with the most majors in this era, between him, Roger and Novak, would you trade one more for a YEC win? It's the one top prize he lacks, and his detractors bring it up all the time. I honestly wonder what Rafa would pick, but I also wonder if the choice, as a fan, is about silencing our rivals on the internet. Which is very selfish, if you know what I mean.

I'd pick another slam over a WTF. To lead the slam race by 2 slams (or more) would be just too delicious.

Imagine another FO, that would give him the tally of Pete's career slam with only 1 slam. Imagine another WB, that would give him at least 3 slams on each surface. It would also completely erase all those bad losses between 2012-2017. Imagine another USO, it would give him the Open Era co-record in that tournament, meaning that he'd have both the most RG & USO. All much more important than a WTF...

 

[Jelenafan]

I'd pick another slam over a WTF. To lead the slam race by 2 slams (or more) would be just too delicious.

Imagine another FO, that would give him the tally of Pete's career slam with only 1 slam. Imagine another WB, that would give him at least 3 slams on each surface. It would also completely erase all those bad losses between 2012-2017. Imagine another USO, it would give him the Open Era co-record in that tournament, meaning that he'd have both the most RG & USO. All much more important than a WTF...

So agree.

A Major trumps everything else in a tennis year. In the old days, *maybe* winning DC for your country came close.

Accumulating more Majors will be best for Rafa’s legacy.

 

[Nadalfan2013]

So agree.

A Major trumps everything else in a tennis year. In the old days, *maybe* winning DC for your country came close.

Accumulating more Majors will be best for Rafa’s legacy.

And let's not forget that in the era of the Big 3 the Olympics are up there with the slams too. Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and Murray have all compared the Olympics to slams. Last year all the talk was about the Calendar "Golden" Slam, not the Calendar "WTF" Slam. Nadal has the Olympics Gold over Fedovic and that also is huge.

 

[Moxie]

So agree.

A Major trumps everything else in a tennis year. In the old days, *maybe* winning DC for your country came close.

Accumulating more Majors will be best for Rafa’s legacy.

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.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

As a fan, I WANT IT ALL!

@Kieran has laid out for us that: If Rafa wins another Wimbledon, that would make him the only player to have 3 Majors on each surface. If he wins another USO, he ties Roger there.

I think I disagree with you on the likelihood of Wimbledon v. USO, in that grass is tough on his knees (low bounce,) and the USO does suit him, for the reasons pointed out by @Jelenafan. (Who is correct to say that there were many, prior to 2010, who thought Rafa would never win one there, let alone 4...and counting.) That said, Novak looks to be coming into Wimbledon, where he should be allowed to play, with less than a great amount of preparation, if Covid restrictions hold. And, last year's finalist, Berrettini, is not having the start to 2022 he would have wanted. Opportunity for Nadal? I'd say yes. Also, he's been working on shortening points, and on the serve, so Wimbledon could be in play. Still, I'd vote USO as the best option, of the two.

Here's a question for Rafa fans, since you like to pose them: IF you knew that Rafa would finish with the most majors in this era, between him, Roger and Novak, would you trade one more for a YEC win? It's the one top prize he lacks, and his detractors bring it up all the time. I honestly wonder what Rafa would pick, but I also wonder if the choice, as a fan, is about silencing our rivals on the internet. Which is very selfish, if you know what I mean.

No way for Rafa, would I trade a GS title for a YEC win....on retirement fans,tennis journalists look firstly at how many GS titles a tennis player has won in their career.,that is the first most important stat.
BTW if I had to choose between Wimbledon or USO...I would vote for Wimbledon hands down it holds much more prestige than the USO any day.Rafa has been shortening the points,still low bounce does not suit his game for grass.(knees) still who would have thought 6 months ago,Rafa being sideline he would win another AO title,stranger things have happened in tennis over the years.

 

[rafanoy1992]

As a fan, I WANT IT ALL!

@Kieran has laid out for us that: If Rafa wins another Wimbledon, that would make him the only player to have 3 Majors on each surface. If he wins another USO, he ties Roger there.

I think I disagree with you on the likelihood of Wimbledon v. USO, in that grass is tough on his knees (low bounce,) and the USO does suit him, for the reasons pointed out by @Jelenafan. (Who is correct to say that there were many, prior to 2010, who thought Rafa would never win one there, let alone 4...and counting.) That said, Novak looks to be coming into Wimbledon, where he should be allowed to play, with less than a great amount of preparation, if Covid restrictions hold. And, last year's finalist, Berrettini, is not having the start to 2022 he would have wanted. Opportunity for Nadal? I'd say yes. Also, he's been working on shortening points, and on the serve, so Wimbledon could be in play. Still, I'd vote USO as the best option, of the two.

Here's a question for Rafa fans, since you like to pose them: IF you knew that Rafa would finish with the most majors in this era, between him, Roger and Novak, would you trade one more for a YEC win? It's the one top prize he lacks, and his detractors bring it up all the time. I honestly wonder what Rafa would pick, but I also wonder if the choice, as a fan, is about silencing our rivals on the internet. Which is very selfish, if you know what I mean.

I never cared too much about YEC because it stayed indoor hardcourt. If they rotated between outdoor hards, indoor hards and Clay, then I could see on why it is a “blemish” in Nadal’s career.

Indoor hardcourts is Nadal’s weakest surface so I can give him somewhat a pass on that one. We talked about this before: When Nadal doesn’t do well on his weakest surface, he is considered Clay specialist or he doesn’t have a balance resume. However, when either Djokovic or Federer doesn’t win Clay titles, “they” say it is because of Nadal not because they are hard court specialist or grass court specialist and etc…

All in all, I will not trade 1 Slam for 1 YEC title.