Rafa New Coach!
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Carol
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Rafa is far of his best, no dubts about it and I don't think he is going to do much better this year but I have the confidence that 2016 will bring us (his followers fans) better times and to enjoy watching him playing. His letarghy has lasted too long so I hope to see him much better next year starting in the AO which two years ego was the beginning of his rollercoaster and could be the ending of his rough patch, amen!
Didi
Pro Tour Champion
I think adding an additional voice to the Camp wouldn't mean getting rid of Toni. That's not mutually exclusive. Last time I checked Marjan Vajda was still an important part of Novak's coaching staff and so is Severin Lüti alongside Stefan Edberg. Every coach has got limits and so does Toni. His winning formula with Rafa could easily co-exist alongside additional voices that even could (and should) complement each other if Toni is the kind of adaptive character many believe him to be.
While I do believe that Rafa will improve his footwork, movements and consistency off of both wings from the baseline and thus his confidence in comparison to 2015, I don't see him getting back to where he was if he doesn't dramatically improve his serve which has let him down the most ever since the 2014 AO and has been eaten alive this season by far worse return players than the likes of Novak, Andy or Kei.
If he doesn't add the pace, trickery and variety (especially the placement of the body serve that made Novak crazy in the 2012 AO final and in 2013 in general) that made it such an uncomfortable and tricky weapon to deal with in 2010-13 and got him so many free points even against the game's best returners, I'm afraid I don't think he will get back where he wants to be with the odd masters/slam semis that might come along the way as the season's go by as nothing but outliers.
Nadal's future depends on his serve and that's the part of the coaching stuff that desperately needs to be addressed. Addressing that issue with an additional voice that operates within Toni's authority and work ethic is the way to go and I am sure they are looking at options. Of course he did create and establish his efficient serve in 2010-13 with/due to Toni, that's fair enough, but it is said to have caused shoulder issues which forced him to revert back to a rather lame version of it which is routinely being ripped apart and that will turn him unfortunately into a mismatch for any mediocre returner this Indoor season and beyond. Improvements on footwork, movements and baseline consistency will only get him so far.
While I do believe that Rafa will improve his footwork, movements and consistency off of both wings from the baseline and thus his confidence in comparison to 2015, I don't see him getting back to where he was if he doesn't dramatically improve his serve which has let him down the most ever since the 2014 AO and has been eaten alive this season by far worse return players than the likes of Novak, Andy or Kei.
If he doesn't add the pace, trickery and variety (especially the placement of the body serve that made Novak crazy in the 2012 AO final and in 2013 in general) that made it such an uncomfortable and tricky weapon to deal with in 2010-13 and got him so many free points even against the game's best returners, I'm afraid I don't think he will get back where he wants to be with the odd masters/slam semis that might come along the way as the season's go by as nothing but outliers.
Nadal's future depends on his serve and that's the part of the coaching stuff that desperately needs to be addressed. Addressing that issue with an additional voice that operates within Toni's authority and work ethic is the way to go and I am sure they are looking at options. Of course he did create and establish his efficient serve in 2010-13 with/due to Toni, that's fair enough, but it is said to have caused shoulder issues which forced him to revert back to a rather lame version of it which is routinely being ripped apart and that will turn him unfortunately into a mismatch for any mediocre returner this Indoor season and beyond. Improvements on footwork, movements and baseline consistency will only get him so far.
Carol
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I believe this quote by Marilyn vos Savant applies to Rafa: "Being defeated is often temporary, giving up is what makes it permanent". Bruce Lee said something similar
One way or another he'll be back only with Toni or adding someone else as a coach like Federer and Novak have done because I don't think he is happy right now playing so poor though he keeps saying "I'm improving..." come on Rafa, you know that you are still in the tunnel :violins:
lease::cover
One way or another he'll be back only with Toni or adding someone else as a coach like Federer and Novak have done because I don't think he is happy right now playing so poor though he keeps saying "I'm improving..." come on Rafa, you know that you are still in the tunnel :violins:
lease::cover
GameSetAndMath
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Didi said:
Yes, it is not mutually exclusive. However, I really doubt Toni is capable of playing second fiddle to a more well known coach. A lesser known person who keeps a low profile might be acceptable to Toni.
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Good post, Didi. They had a bloke came in before the USO in 2010 and taught him that new monster serve, so maybe they should go back to him again. It's true about the serve. When all else fails, if you're serving bombs, you're always in with a shout...
nehmeth
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A lot of people earlier in the year discounted the idea that Nadal has a case of the yips. While I believe there is more to his decline than just the yips, he himself gave an interesting response when asked about getting a new coach.
"If I have nerves, is not the problem of my coach. If I have nerves, is the problem of myself. If I am playing bad, is the same."
http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/13844663/tennis-fabio-fognini-excellent-barometer-state-rafael-nadal-game
"If I have nerves, is not the problem of my coach. If I have nerves, is the problem of myself. If I am playing bad, is the same."
http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/13844663/tennis-fabio-fognini-excellent-barometer-state-rafael-nadal-game
GameSetAndMath
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Kieran said:
That guy is pissed off with Rafa's camp that he did not get his due recognition and/or promised/bonus money. I am not sure either party would want to work with the other party.
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GameSetAndMath said:
Is that so? Have you a link to this that I can read? Not that I'm disputing it but that it's interesting, because there's a YouTube vid that shows him schooling Rafa on the serve, and everybody refers to him when we moan about Rafa's serve woes. There'd be a huge difference, of course, between not getting paid, and not getting a public pat on the head for his work...
GameSetAndMath
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Kieran said:
I believe I have posted such a link before in this forum. If you search my posts from 2 or 3 years ago, you should be able to find it.
herios
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Kieran said:GameSetAndMath said:
Time is an issue for me nowadays, unfortunately, but I'll happily take your word for it...
Not that difficult to find it, if you punch in the right words in Google:
http://tpatennis.net/the-truth-behind-nadals-improved-serve-it-wasnt-just-a-grip-change/
