Rio Open ATP 500 Clay

[Kirijax]

Why is everyone so determined to make the umpire at fault for calling Nadal out on his time? Everyone knows Nadal is famous for taking time (he's not the only one) and everyone also knows that the umpires do not call him out on it every time. They do seem to give him some leeway. And the one time an umpire finally decides to say enough and penalize Nadal for it, everyone goes nuts? Why? Because Nadal went nuts? The umpire did his job, end of story. Move on.

 

[Carol]

Why is everyone so determined to make the umpire at fault for calling Nadal out on his time? Everyone knows Nadal is famous for taking time (he's not the only one) and everyone also knows that the umpires do not call him out on it every time. They do seem to give him some leeway. And the one time an umpire finally decides to say enough and penalize Nadal for it, everyone goes nuts? Why? Because Nadal went nuts? The umpire did his job, end of story. Move on.

Nadal doesn't get nut so easy, if he did it was for a reason, and yes, move on

 

[auto-pilot]

They do seem to give him some leeway.

What proof is there of Nadal getting leeway?
There are plenty of guys pushing the limit and going over, but time violations are extremely rare.

 

[Carol]

Rafa says :
"I'm close to the level I want to reach which is why I feel I'm taking little steps forward and that's good.
Recovery is like a ladder which you don't climb running but rather step by step"

Wise thoughts and mentality!

 

[Denis]

Why is everyone so determined to make the umpire at fault for calling Nadal out on his time? Everyone knows Nadal is famous for taking time (he's not the only one) and everyone also knows that the umpires do not call him out on it every time. They do seem to give him some leeway. And the one time an umpire finally decides to say enough and penalize Nadal for it, everyone goes nuts? Why? Because Nadal went nuts? The umpire did his job, end of story. Move on.

Nadal doesn't get nut so easy, if he did it was for a reason, and yes, move on

Nadal always starts whining when they give him a time violation. They should give him a warning for that next time.

 

[Carol]

Why is everyone so determined to make the umpire at fault for calling Nadal out on his time? Everyone knows Nadal is famous for taking time (he's not the only one) and everyone also knows that the umpires do not call him out on it every time. They do seem to give him some leeway. And the one time an umpire finally decides to say enough and penalize Nadal for it, everyone goes nuts? Why? Because Nadal went nuts? The umpire did his job, end of story. Move on.

Nadal doesn't get nut so easy, if he did it was for a reason, and yes, move on

Nadal always starts whining when they give him a time violation. They should give him a warning for that next time.

Then what about Djokovic? :laydownlaughing:laydownlaughing:laydownlaughing

 

[Kirijax]

Why is everyone so determined to make the umpire at fault for calling Nadal out on his time? Everyone knows Nadal is famous for taking time (he's not the only one) and everyone also knows that the umpires do not call him out on it every time. They do seem to give him some leeway. And the one time an umpire finally decides to say enough and penalize Nadal for it, everyone goes nuts? Why? Because Nadal went nuts? The umpire did his job, end of story. Move on.

Nadal doesn't get nut so easy, if he did it was for a reason, and yes, move on

Nadal always starts whining when they give him a time violation. They should give him a warning for that next time.

What is one whining violation worth? One towel off? Take away one of his water bottles? A paper sack on Uncle Toni's head? The possibilities are endless... :snicker

 

[Carol]

Nadal doesn't get nut so easy, if he did it was for a reason, and yes, move on

Nadal always starts whining when they give him a time violation. They should give him a warning for that next time.

What is one whining violation worth? One towel off? Take away one of his water bottles? A paper sack on Uncle Toni's head? The possibilities are endless... :snicker

Move on or let's go to talk about your fav, we can critic him too..........

 

[GameSetAndMath]

One thing I have learned over the years is that you never count Nadal out. More than likely he will be running on all cylinders by the time the FO rolls around.

And even if he isn't, everybody will be scared of him.
Plus the RG court is entirely different to all others.
But his form looks no different now to last year's Rio anyway, so he's on track.
There is always a bit more danger in best-of-3-sets because the shot-makers are aware they they only need to win 2 sets.
Whereas at Roland Garros taking 3 sets from Nadal is extremely daunting.

There is some merit to your argument as Rafa's record in best of 5 sets matches on clay is
stellar. Having said that, this year it is going to be different. Rafa has already admitted openly
that he is getting tired soon these days. He said he was tired in the second set itself against
Fog. Of course, there were couple of extenuating circumstances such as his late match the
previous (same?) day and the heat and humidity of Rio. Having said that, the opponent was
also suffering from the same conditions (late match the previous day and heat).

So, if Rafa's tiredness and fitness issues continue, he will probably have more problems
in 5 set matches than in 3 set matches starting from this year.

 

[Kirijax]

Nadal always starts whining when they give him a time violation. They should give him a warning for that next time.

What is one whining violation worth? One towel off? Take away one of his water bottles? A paper sack on Uncle Toni's head? The possibilities are endless... :snicker

Move on or let's go to talk about your fav, we can critic him too..........

Well, there's plenty of ammo for that for sure. :snicker

 

[auto-pilot]

There is some merit to your argument as Rafa's record in best of 5 sets matches on clay is
stellar. Having said that, this year it is going to be different. Rafa has already admitted openly
that he is getting tired soon these days. He said he was tired in the second set itself against
Fog. Of course, there were couple of extenuating circumstances such as his late match the
previous (same?) day and the heat and humidity of Rio. Having said that, the opponent was
also suffering from the same conditions (late match the previous day and heat).

So, if Rafa's tiredness and fitness issues continue, he will probably have more problems
in 5 set matches than in 3 set matches starting from this year.

Which tiredness are you referring to?
Are you referring to the Australian Open which he didn't have enough match practice for (and in Doha he indicated that he was about to skip the AO and begin his season in Rio instead)?
Or the Rio Open when he only had 16 hours between QF and SF (and the SF was in high humidity?).
You can just as easily point to last year's Rio when he was down match point in the semi (to a player nowhere near as good as Fognini) and looking exhausted.
Or QF exits at Monte Carlo and Barcelona, or Madrid when Nishikori made him look slow, or Rome when Djokovic outlasted him.
But none of it had anything to with him lifting the 2014 RG trophy over Djokovic in 4 sets.....

 

[isabelle]

Happy for Ferrer, he deserved to win that

 

[auto-pilot]

The greatest 35-year-old tennis player I've ever seen was Agassi.
Ferrer may be on the way to challenging Agassi.
Agassi was 38-12 in 2005 and won ONE title.
Ferrer is almost 33 and I suspect he may still be winning titles when he's 35.

 

[Front242]

The greatest 35-year-old tennis player I've ever seen was Agassi.
Ferrer may be on the way to challenging Agassi.
Agassi was 38-12 in 2005 and won ONE title.
Ferrer is almost 33 and I suspect he may still be winning titles when he's 35.

Well he's only 8 slam titles behind Agassi but I guess he's got time yet :laydownlaughing

 

[Kirijax]

The greatest 35-year-old tennis player I've ever seen was Agassi.
Ferrer may be on the way to challenging Agassi.
Agassi was 38-12 in 2005 and won ONE title.
Ferrer is almost 33 and I suspect he may still be winning titles when he's 35.

Well he's only 8 slam titles behind Agassi but I guess he's got time yet :laydownlaughing

Haven't you heard? 33 is the new 19. :snicker

 

[auto-pilot]

And 19 is the new 33.

 

[the AntiPusher]

I guess I have been away.. What happened, Did Rafa get swept away by the Fog!:nono

 

[Fiero425]

I guess I have been away.. What happened, Did Rafa get swept away by the Fog!:nono

It was another one of those inexplicable losses by Rafa! I only half-watched it because Fognini looked as if he was sleepwalking and disinterested going down a set and a break! For some strange reason Rafa started spraying some shots, Fabio stayed in some long rallies, and had some great "gets;" including match point net cord retrieve! Rafa even started attacking the net more; more out of desperation than actually working it into his game! He closed out points sooner, but he still went down in a match most of his fans have got to be shaking their heads even today! :nono It's the reason he dropped from #3 to #4, swapping positions with Andy Murray! He was defending champion and they were so close, by Andy winning last week and Rafa losing, the switch happened with little fanfare! :cover :angel:

 

[the AntiPusher]

I guess I have been away.. What happened, Did Rafa get swept away by the Fog!:nono

It was another one of those inexplicable losses by Rafa! I only half-watched it because Fognini looked as if he was sleepwalking and disinterested going down a set and a break! For some strange reason Rafa started spraying some shots, Fabio stayed in some long rallies, and had some great "gets;" including match point net cord retrieve! Rafa even started attacking the net more; more out of desperation than actually working it into his game! He closed out points sooner, but he still went down in a match most of his fans have got to be shaking their heads even today! :nono It's the reason he dropped from #3 to #4, swapping positions with Andy Murray! He was defending champion and they were so close, by Andy winning last week and Rafa losing, the switch happened with little fanfare! :cover :angel:

Thanks for the update and the analysis .. Rafael has some work to do it appears,, he has to learn how to be hungry again

 

[auto-pilot]

2014 Rio semi-final:
Nadal def. Andujar 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(10)

2015 Rio semi-final:
Fognini def. Nadal 1-6 6-2 7-5

Almost identical, except Nadal played better in this year's match.
And I bet Nadal will do a lot better at this year's Monte Carlo and Barcelona (last year he lost in the QF of both).