The Fall of Rafael Nadal

[isabelle]

Congrats to Manacor's bull for his 28th MS, Nole isn't alone anymore..

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

Shsssss, you don't need to be rude, obviously are the one obsessed with Nadal, take it!

take what you soft gimpy oaf ?. I like rafa that's why I poasted about him in a thread about him. where is the obsession there ?.

whereas you always witter on about Federer, even in a rafa thread, when you don't like him, so its you who is obsessed.

 

[Carol]

take what you soft gimpy oaf ?. I like rafa that's why I poasted about him in a thread about him. where is the obsession there ?.

whereas you always witter on about Federer, even in a rafa thread, when you don't like him, so its you who is obsessed.

Do you like Rafa? really? ......"2 somewhat unlikely finalists....so what's the result? dunno". Is it sound familiar to you? maybe you should have more respect for "somewhat" had won 8 MC already and now he got the 9
And to be honest I've never care too much about Federer and now less than ever, I don't have any reason to have any obsession about him but about his fans is a diferent story looking how much obsession and bad feelings have against Nadal, so yes, sometimes I like to respond them even that I know it's not worth at all

 

[Vince Evert]

Congrats to Nadal (and his fans who've kept the faith) winning the tourney in Monte Carlo. LOL a chance for fans like Moxie to return fire to Rafa's crtics who've been writing him off.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

Do you like Rafa? really? ......"2 somewhat unlikely finalists....so what's the result? dunno". Is it sound familiar to you? maybe you should have more respect for "somewhat" had won 8 MC already and now he got the 9
And to be honest I've never care too much about Federer and now less than ever, I don't have any reason to have any obsession about him but about his fans is a diferent story looking how much obsession and bad feelings have against Nadal, so yes, sometimes I like to respond them even that I know it's not worth at all

fuck off. I don't have to justify myself to you..who the fuck are you ?.you are not rafa's sodding gatemaster ? you are so unpleasant on a regular basis, snotty little remarks everywhere,

. you are not a proper rafa fan anyway you are just a subnormal fangirl that just wants to suck his cock and glorify everything he does while banging on like the dreary little bore that you are about other players. usually in a negative way..

and that still does not explain why you mentioned Federer ??, stop banging on about Federer in rafa threads then you idiot. or if you have to then don't quote me.

 

[Carol]

fuck off. I don't have to justify myself to you..who the fuck are you ?.you are not rafa's sodding gatemaster ? you are so unpleasant on a regular basis, snotty little remarks everywhere,

. you are not a proper rafa fan anyway you are just a subnormal fangirl that just wants to suck his cock and glorify everything he does while banging on like the dreary little bore that you are about other players. usually in a negative way..

and that still does not explain why you mentioned Federer ??, stop banging on about Federer in rafa threads then you idiot. or if you have to then don't quote me.

Thanks for to be so "nice, educated and civilizated" it was a "pleasure" to read your comments, but obviously you are a authentic IMBECILE AND MORON

 

[Moxie]

Thanks for to be so "nice, educated and civilizated" it was a "pleasure" to read your comments, but obviously you are a authentic IMBECILE AND MORON

JLLB is a fun and funny "poaster." And he's neither an imbecile nor a moron. You live in a glass house. You should be careful about hurling around sharp-edged objects.

 

[ClayDeath]

it is the single most important win for Rafa in nearly 2 years if we are to assume that he has decided to try to be competitive again.

it now gives him a platform to build on. he can now decide to take this further.


there is an immense amount of work to be done: he has to take Barcelona and rome.

and he has to defeat djokovic in rome.

 

[ClayDeath]

Congrats to Manacor's bull for his 28th MS, Nole isn't alone anymore..

congrats to all Rafa fans here and at Camelot indeed.

 

[ClayDeath]

every match counts now and every tournament counts.

that is how you build momentum and confidence.

you have got to show them that you mean business.

 

[Moxie]

Agreed, CD. Additionally, it would be good to get to #4 before RG, but Wawrinka is defending very little until Rome. (Looking back at his clay season last year, as I just did,) it's astonishing that Stan won RG.

 

[ClayDeath]

 

[Tennis Fan]

Congrats to Nadal (and his fans who've kept the faith) winning the tourney in Monte Carlo. LOL a chance for fans like Moxie to return fire to Rafa's crtics who've been writing him off.

You are so right, some of us kept the faith and anxiously awaited his return. This win and his play was sweet!

 

[Ricardo]

it is the single most important win for Rafa in nearly 2 years if we are to assume that he has decided to try to be competitive again.

it now gives him a platform to build on. he can now decide to take this further.


there is an immense amount of work to be done: he has to take Barcelona and rome.

and he has to defeat djokovic in rome.

you were so sure that he's done, and said it about 1000 times......

so not done no?

maybe he wasn't so totally useless like you made it out to be, "can't even win matches in challengers"..... really?

what's next?

if he doesn't win Barcelona and Rome, he's done again no?

enuf said

 

[masterclass]

Hopefully Fabio and Rafa meet in Barcelona and are in decent form. It should be a good test of Nadal's relatively sudden improvement in fitness and forehand form on European clay.

Recall that Rafa was a miserable 3-4 in deciders this year (his career avg. prior to this year 70%), with his lone wins against [67]Carreno Busta, [79]Kuznetsov, and [45] Mueller.

On clay and hard courts from Australia to the Americas, Rafa struggled and finally wilted against [45]Verdasco, [19]Thiem, [45]Cuevas, and visibly suffered against [94]Dzumhur in Miami having to retire due to dizziness from the heat.

However, since arriving in Europe and competing in Monte Carlo, he has looked superb and fresh in the deciders against no less than #2 Murray and #16 Monfils, as they wilted losing 6-2 and 6-0 respectively.

Not only that, but the power and depth in his forehand has returned. RPM's are back up, and he is delivering his shots deep in the court instead of around or inside the service line.

If his current level of fitness is maintained or improves even more, I can't see anyone (including Novak) taking him down in deciders during the clay season on his way to a 10th French Open title at Roland Garros.

If Rafa somehow slips backward again, then almost anyone having a good day can beat him.
I'm not sure how Rafa improved his fitness so quickly, but he looked visibly stronger in Monte Carlo, and was not breathing as hard or struggling physically.
Yes, he was taking a long time between serves, but he almost always has.
He simply didn't have time to improve his fitness between Miami and Monte Carlo, and yet it seems he did. I've been watching and playing tennis and other sports for a long time, and it is simply amazing to me.

Someone will have to out firepower Nadal to beat him.

Fognini certainly has the talent, firepower, and speed afoot to do so, but to be kind, his mind/effort is not always there in a match. Lately against Rafa, it seems like it has been, but Rafa had been guilty of leaving too many short balls for a wide eyed Fognini to bash for winners. If Rafa keeps him pinned back in back of the baseline, I don't think Fabio will show the same conviction, much as in his first 4 matches and losses against Nadal.

As I said some time before, if Rafa can get 18-20 matches on clay in before Roland Garros with a couple of important wins, he has to be the favorite to win the French Open, and it looks like he has had a great start.

Respectfully,
masterclass

 

[ClayDeath]

Hopefully Fabio and Rafa meet in Barcelona and are in decent form. It should be a good test of Nadal's relatively sudden improvement in fitness and forehand form on European clay.

Recall that Rafa was a miserable 3-4 in deciders this year (his career avg. prior to this year 70%), with his lone wins against [67]Carreno Busta, [79]Kuznetsov, and [45] Mueller.

On clay and hard courts from Australia to the Americas, Rafa struggled and finally wilted against [45]Verdasco, [19]Thiem, [45]Cuevas, and visibly suffered against [94]Dzumhur in Miami having to retire due to dizziness from the heat.

However, since arriving in Europe and competing in Monte Carlo, he has looked superb and fresh in the deciders against no less than #2 Murray and #16 Monfils, as they wilted losing 6-2 and 6-0 respectively.

Not only that, but the power and depth in his forehand has returned. RPM's are back up, and he is delivering his shots deep in the court instead of around or inside the service line.

If his current level of fitness is maintained or improves even more, I can't see anyone (including Novak) taking him down in deciders during the clay season on his way to a 10th French Open title at Roland Garros.

If Rafa somehow slips backward again, then almost anyone having a good day can beat him.
I'm not sure how Rafa improved his fitness so quickly, but he looked visibly stronger in Monte Carlo, and was not breathing as hard or struggling physically.
Yes, he was taking a long time between serves, but he almost always has.
He simply didn't have time to improve his fitness between Miami and Monte Carlo, and yet it seems he did. I've been watching and playing tennis and other sports for a long time, and it is simply amazing to me.

Someone will have to out firepower Nadal to beat him.

Fognini certainly has the talent, firepower, and speed afoot to do so, but to be kind, his mind/effort is not always there in a match. Lately against Rafa, it seems like it has been, but Rafa had been guilty of leaving too many short balls for a wide eyed Fognini to bash for winners. If Rafa keeps him pinned back in back of the baseline, I don't think Fabio will show the same conviction, much as in his first 4 matches and losses against Nadal.

As I said some time before, if Rafa can get 18-20 matches on clay in before Roland Garros with a couple of important wins, he has to be the favorite to win the French Open, and it looks like he has had a great start.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Great post. He still has a lot of work to do.

He may have changed his focus and decided to become more competitive.

I don't watch his matches but I know what is going on with his game.

He squanders too many break point opportunities which indicates a number of things:

He is a little tight in the clutch

He is not returning well enough.


he coughed up his serve no less than 5 times against Monfils. He and Monfils conceded a total of 34 break point opportunities.

So the serve and the return need immediate attention.

More later. I am out on the beach.

 

[DarthFed]

Hopefully Fabio and Rafa meet in Barcelona and are in decent form. It should be a good test of Nadal's relatively sudden improvement in fitness and forehand form on European clay.

Recall that Rafa was a miserable 3-4 in deciders this year (his career avg. prior to this year 70%), with his lone wins against [67]Carreno Busta, [79]Kuznetsov, and [45] Mueller.

On clay and hard courts from Australia to the Americas, Rafa struggled and finally wilted against [45]Verdasco, [19]Thiem, [45]Cuevas, and visibly suffered against [94]Dzumhur in Miami having to retire due to dizziness from the heat.

However, since arriving in Europe and competing in Monte Carlo, he has looked superb and fresh in the deciders against no less than #2 Murray and #16 Monfils, as they wilted losing 6-2 and 6-0 respectively.

Not only that, but the power and depth in his forehand has returned. RPM's are back up, and he is delivering his shots deep in the court instead of around or inside the service line.

If his current level of fitness is maintained or improves even more, I can't see anyone (including Novak) taking him down in deciders during the clay season on his way to a 10th French Open title at Roland Garros.

If Rafa somehow slips backward again, then almost anyone having a good day can beat him.
I'm not sure how Rafa improved his fitness so quickly, but he looked visibly stronger in Monte Carlo, and was not breathing as hard or struggling physically.
Yes, he was taking a long time between serves, but he almost always has.
He simply didn't have time to improve his fitness between Miami and Monte Carlo, and yet it seems he did. I've been watching and playing tennis and other sports for a long time, and it is simply amazing to me.

Someone will have to out firepower Nadal to beat him.

Fognini certainly has the talent, firepower, and speed afoot to do so, but to be kind, his mind/effort is not always there in a match. Lately against Rafa, it seems like it has been, but Rafa had been guilty of leaving too many short balls for a wide eyed Fognini to bash for winners. If Rafa keeps him pinned back in back of the baseline, I don't think Fabio will show the same conviction, much as in his first 4 matches and losses against Nadal.

As I said some time before, if Rafa can get 18-20 matches on clay in before Roland Garros with a couple of important wins, he has to be the favorite to win the French Open, and it looks like he has had a great start.

Respectfully,
masterclass

I'm not surprised in the least that Rafa's physicality seems to be returning. It seems like it was a productive trip to the doctor after Miami.

 

[brokenshoelace]

I'm not surprised in the least that Rafa's physicality seems to be returning. It seems like it was a productive trip to the doctor after Miami.

Nadal's fitness looks the same. Don't get fooled by the Clay Death narrative.

 

[ClayDeath]

henri laconte said that he has doubts about Rafa managing 5 sets at RG.

that is not exactly a new revelation. just about any long match and he starts complaining about how tired he is. and he pretty much tells you that he will be tired for his next match.

best of 5 sets is a different animal now for Rafa. we cannot conclude that he will do well at RG just yet.

lets see how it goes in Barcelona. and he has to take rome too while running over djokovic in the process.


then and only then can I conclude that he will be arriving in paris with some confidence.

djokovic is light years ahead of rafa on any surface. that dynamic has not changed.

so the trick is to see how the draw unfolds at RG. rafa needs djokovic in the opposite 1/2.

and the rafa has to do his part to get into the final. in that scenario I would pick rafa since he has never lost a RG final but he would still need some help from djokovic.

djokovic would have to off or somewhat flat.

in addition rafa has to be able to get rid of all or most of opponents in straights at RG.

I am not sold on the fitness part. you cant develop supreme fitness while farting around on golf courses and endless vacations. I have seen enough and I know enough to know that he does not have optimal fitness and physicality for his style of play.


the forehand is coming around so that is helping a great deal. he is also suddenly focused on trying to get a little more competitive.


we all know he has a unique competitive advantage on clay: heavy topspin off both wings.


it is just a matter of being sharp, consistent, and very bloody fit and very bloody physical. he is not there yet and simply cant be without about 9 months of hard work on the fitness front and the physical work in the gym.


he has lost considerable lean muscle mass.

 

[Moxie]

I'm not surprised in the least that Rafa's physicality seems to be returning. It seems like it was a productive trip to the doctor after Miami.

It's not his fitness that has improved, it's his tennis. How long are you going to hold onto the sad hope that the reason Rafa has beaten Roger so much is that his talent comes from a syringe? It's a cheap insinuation and it doesn't follow common sense.