When will Nadal win another tourney ?

[Moxie]

Rafa wasn't top 50 at the start of 2005 so it's not a huge shock that most hadn't heard much of him. It was quite the meteoric rise in 2005 out of seemingly nowhere.

That's not exactly correct. Nadal was ranked #50 at the start of 2005. He hadn't been out of the top 100 for nearly 2 years at that point. He was as high as 45 in Aug 2003, and as high as 34 in April 2004. You can see for yourself here in his rankings history, if you care to.

Of course he progressed fast in the weak era

You've probably got a point there, except perhaps the clay competition.

 

[Moxie]

^OK, apropos of your point, and Darth's and Fiero's, I found an interesting article from the New York Times gaming the 2003 FO and Agassi's chances. Here's the most interesting part:

"No attacking player has won the men's title since Yannick Noah of France did in 1983, so it would be an interesting turn of events if a young talent like Roger Federer of Switzerland ended that 20-year drought the same year Sampras finally decided to stay home. Yet even without Sampras and Safin, and even without the 16-year-old Spanish sensation Rafael Nadal, who withdrew after injuring his elbow in practice on Thursday, the men's game remains an ode to depth, and there is even more of it than usual on clay."

In a single paragraph, he manages to squeeze in the depth of the men's game, particularly on clay, a mention of 16 year old Nadal, and even "young talent" Roger Federer ("of Switzerland." Love that that needed a mention, at the time.)

Juan Carlos Ferrero ended up winning that year, btw. Loser was a Martin Verkerk, who only ever won 2 titles in his career, barely had 100 ATP matches, and retired due to injuries and mononucleosis. The results are pretty odd: Here.

 

[Fiero425]

^OK, apropos of your point, and Darth's and Fiero's, I found an interesting article from the New York Times gaming the 2003 FO and Agassi's chances. Here's the most interesting part:

"No attacking player has won the men's title since Yannick Noah of France did in 1983, so it would be an interesting turn of events if a young talent like Roger Federer of Switzerland ended that 20-year drought the same year Sampras finally decided to stay home. Yet even without Sampras and Safin, and even without the 16-year-old Spanish sensation Rafael Nadal, who withdrew after injuring his elbow in practice on Thursday, the men's game remains an ode to depth, and there is even more of it than usual on clay."

In a single paragraph, he manages to squeeze in the depth of the men's game, particularly on clay, a mention of 16 year old Nadal, and even "young talent" Roger Federer ("of Switzerland." Love that that needed a mention, at the time.)

Juan Carlos Ferrero ended up winning that year, btw. Loser was a Martin Verkerk, who only ever won 2 titles in his career, barely had 100 ATP matches, and retired due to injuries and mononucleosis. The results are pretty odd: Here.

Looking at that draw, now maybe you understand why I didn't watch it; nor much in that era! If Agassi was still anywhere near the top after so many years, the competition had to be pathetic! :cover :nono :angel: :dodgy:

 

[Moxie]

^OK, apropos of your point, and Darth's and Fiero's, I found an interesting article from the New York Times gaming the 2003 FO and Agassi's chances. Here's the most interesting part:

"No attacking player has won the men's title since Yannick Noah of France did in 1983, so it would be an interesting turn of events if a young talent like Roger Federer of Switzerland ended that 20-year drought the same year Sampras finally decided to stay home. Yet even without Sampras and Safin, and even without the 16-year-old Spanish sensation Rafael Nadal, who withdrew after injuring his elbow in practice on Thursday, the men's game remains an ode to depth, and there is even more of it than usual on clay."

In a single paragraph, he manages to squeeze in the depth of the men's game, particularly on clay, a mention of 16 year old Nadal, and even "young talent" Roger Federer ("of Switzerland." Love that that needed a mention, at the time.)

Juan Carlos Ferrero ended up winning that year, btw. Loser was a Martin Verkerk, who only ever won 2 titles in his career, barely had 100 ATP matches, and retired due to injuries and mononucleosis. The results are pretty odd: Here.

Looking at that draw, now maybe you understand why I didn't watch it; nor much in that era! If Agassi was still anywhere near the top after so many years, the competition had to be pathetic! :cover :nono :angel: :dodgy:

Fiero, you are so distracted by shiny objects.

 

[the AntiPusher]

That's not exactly correct. Nadal was ranked #50 at the start of 2005. He hadn't been out of the top 100 for nearly 2 years at that point. He was as high as 45 in Aug 2003, and as high as 34 in April 2004. You can see for yourself here in his rankings history, if you care to.

Rafa was still a "nobody;" Sorry! :cover :nono :angel: :dodgy:

He wasn't a "nobody" after the 2005 French Open semi-final... :snicker :dodgy: :ras:

Rafa was the last of the" Super" teenagers. Not cool to be dismmissive of his achievements before winning his first RG title. He sent(darn smartphone posted "since' instead of "sent" previously, ) a message to the tennis world when he beat the brakes off Federer at Miami 04. Some of you didn't know who he was but Roger sure did. Federer knew at the time his tennis destiny was going to be determined how he played against Nadal. It's just the truth.

 

[Fiero425]

Rafa was still a "nobody;" Sorry! :cover :nono :angel: :dodgy:

He wasn't a "nobody" after the 2005 French Open semi-final... :snicker :dodgy: :ras:

Rafa was the last of the" Super" teenagers. Not cool to be dismmissive of his achievements before winning his first RG title. He since a message to the tennis world when he beat the brakes off Federer at Miami 04. Some of you didn't know who he was but Roger sure did. Federer knew at the time his tennis destiny was going to be determined how he played against Nadal. It's just the truth.

I go back a long way! Do you know how many guys and little girls have been hyped over the years only to be huge busts? For us old timers, Ilie Nastase had trouble with some kid called Scanlon; losing 2 or 3 times to him! Ever heard of him since? Not me! Andrea Jaeger was mentioned already! Where is she? It's amazing how wrong the so called experts have been; just wrong, wrong, wrong! I stopped listening unless I like their game! Edberg was an elegant kid, winning junior slam in '83 and proclaimed the next great player and would win Wimbledon within 5 years! It happened right on time by an Italian writer I can't think of OTTH! Carling Bassett, Andrea Temesvari, Jimmy Arias, and so many more just never panned out! Rafa's game was as ugly as it got and I wasn't going to waste time watching or listening to him play early on; esp. on clay! His whole act still offends me so forgive me if I never gave him any credit back when he was just a young punk on the tour of not so good men at the time! uzzled :nono :angel: :dodgy:

 

[the AntiPusher]

He wasn't a "nobody" after the 2005 French Open semi-final... :snicker :dodgy: :ras:

Rafa was the last of the" Super" teenagers. Not cool to be dismmissive of his achievements before winning his first RG title. He since a message to the tennis world when he beat the brakes off Federer at Miami 04. Some of you didn't know who he was but Roger sure did. Federer knew at the time his tennis destiny was going to be determined how he played against Nadal. It's just the truth.

I go back a long way! Do you know how many guys and little girls have been hyped over the years only to be huge busts? For us old timers, Ilie Nastase had trouble with some kid called Scanlon; losing 2 or 3 times to him! Ever heard of him since? Not me! Andrea Jaeger was mentioned already! Where is she? It's amazing how wrong the so called experts have been; just wrong, wrong, wrong! I stopped listening unless I like their game! Edberg was an elegant kid, winning junior slam in '83 and proclaimed the next great player and would win Wimbledon within 5 years! It happened right on time by an Italian writer I can't think of OTTH! Carling Bassett, Andrea Temesvari, Jimmy Arias, and so many more just never panned out! Rafa's game was as ugly as it got and I wasn't going to waste time watching or listening to him play early on; esp. on clay! His whole act still offends me so forgive me if I never gave him any credit back when he was just a young punk on the tour of not so good men at the time! uzzled :nono :angel: :dodgy:

Rafa is a tennis ball player not a pure ball striker like Agassi or present day djoker. He doesn't move like Federer or serve like Sampras but up until this year he had the best h2h winning % against the current top 20 or 30 ranked players. Every one has their likes and dislikes but it's rare that you see the majority of us Rafa fans belittling the efforts of Federer or Djokovic because it's not our way. All the negative talk about Rafa's game means that he much be pretty good or doing a few things correctly.IMO

 

[Moxie]

He wasn't a "nobody" after the 2005 French Open semi-final... :snicker :dodgy: :ras:

Rafa was the last of the" Super" teenagers. Not cool to be dismmissive of his achievements before winning his first RG title. He since a message to the tennis world when he beat the brakes off Federer at Miami 04. Some of you didn't know who he was but Roger sure did. Federer knew at the time his tennis destiny was going to be determined how he played against Nadal. It's just the truth.

I go back a long way! Do you know how many guys and little girls have been hyped over the years only to be huge busts? For us old timers, Ilie Nastase had trouble with some kid called Scanlon; losing 2 or 3 times to him! Ever heard of him since? Not me! Andrea Jaeger was mentioned already! Where is she? It's amazing how wrong the so called experts have been; just wrong, wrong, wrong! I stopped listening unless I like their game! Edberg was an elegant kid, winning junior slam in '83 and proclaimed the next great player and would win Wimbledon within 5 years! It happened right on time by an Italian writer I can't think of OTTH! Carling Bassett, Andrea Temesvari, Jimmy Arias, and so many more just never panned out! Rafa's game was as ugly as it got and I wasn't going to waste time watching or listening to him play early on; esp. on clay! His whole act still offends me so forgive me if I never gave him any credit back when he was just a young punk on the tour of not so good men at the time! uzzled :nono :angel: :dodgy:

Chill out, Miss Havisham. You never noticed him because you didn't, and it has nothing to do with you ignoring potential "flashes in the pan," or being offended by his "whole act." (Which you and others have just basically invented, in retrospect.) Rafa was never a "young punk" on the tour. He never acted like a punk, nor played like one. And you might be careful about declaring that there were not so many good men on the tour at the time. :angel:

 

[Fiero425]

Looks like more than Rafa's the real punk! :ras:

 

[Kieran]

Looks like more than Rafa's the real punk! :ras:

You're a bit of an old punk rocker yourself, stating that Wodger had it handy all them years beating gutless opposition! :snicker :ras:

 

[brokenshoelace]

The hell are you guys even arguing about?

 

[Federberg]

Rafa was the last of the" Super" teenagers. Not cool to be dismmissive of his achievements before winning his first RG title. He since a message to the tennis world when he beat the brakes off Federer at Miami 04. Some of you didn't know who he was but Roger sure did. Federer knew at the time his tennis destiny was going to be determined how he played against Nadal. It's just the truth.

I go back a long way! Do you know how many guys and little girls have been hyped over the years only to be huge busts? For us old timers, Ilie Nastase had trouble with some kid called Scanlon; losing 2 or 3 times to him! Ever heard of him since? Not me! Andrea Jaeger was mentioned already! Where is she? It's amazing how wrong the so called experts have been; just wrong, wrong, wrong! I stopped listening unless I like their game! Edberg was an elegant kid, winning junior slam in '83 and proclaimed the next great player and would win Wimbledon within 5 years! It happened right on time by an Italian writer I can't think of OTTH! Carling Bassett, Andrea Temesvari, Jimmy Arias, and so many more just never panned out! Rafa's game was as ugly as it got and I wasn't going to waste time watching or listening to him play early on; esp. on clay! His whole act still offends me so forgive me if I never gave him any credit back when he was just a young punk on the tour of not so good men at the time! uzzled :nono :angel: :dodgy:

Rafa is a tennis ball player not a pure ball striker like Agassi or present day djoker. He doesn't move like Federer or serve like Sampras but up until this year he had the best h2h winning % against the current top 20 or 30 ranked players. Every one has their likes and dislikes but it's rare that you see the majority of us Rafa fans belittling the efforts of Federer or Djokovic because it's not our way. All the negative talk about Rafa's game means that he much be pretty good or doing a few things correctly.IMO

:laydownlaughing
Please please please.. on behalf of all Federer fans on this forum, please don't say Fiero is a Federer fan. I'm not sure who he's a fan of. I used to think he was a Federer fan, but when Novak looked like he was going to win RG, he let it be known he was a Novak fan. Then when Novak lost... he wouldn't tell us who he supports :snicker The only thing we can say for sure is that he is NOT a Rafa fan.. He's thrown some harsh stuff Federer's way too :nono

 

[Great Hands]

fiero, you don't seem to like tennis at all. you think fed's past it, you hate rafa, you hate andy, and you think the rest of the tour is 'gutless'. you say these things a thousand times. you don't like modern rackets and modern styles of play.
if you think so littel of modern tennis, why are you wathc9ing it? surely there must be toher things you could do wiht you free time that you might actually enjoy?

 

[DarthFed]

That's not exactly correct. Nadal was ranked #50 at the start of 2005. He hadn't been out of the top 100 for nearly 2 years at that point. He was as high as 45 in Aug 2003, and as high as 34 in April 2004. You can see for yourself here in his rankings history, if you care to.

Rafa was still a "nobody;" Sorry! :cover :nono :angel: :dodgy:

I was responding to Darth's comment that "It was quite the meteoric rise out of seemingly nowhere." It was more steady than meteoric, and it wasn't out of nowhere, if you were paying attention. But of course he was a "nobody" until you recognized him. Goes without saying. Sad news for ol' Fabrice Santoro, though.

Not to split hairs but going from #50 to #2 in about 5 months time is certainly more than a steady rise. I don't feel obliged to look up the current #50 but safe to say we'd be completely shocked if the guy suddenly made a bolt to the top 10 by the end of the year.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Nadal's rise was not steady. He was a guy with talent and everyone figured it's only a matter of time before his potential exploded, but once it did, he catapulted. He went from a guy whose best result at a slam is a 4th round appearance to a slam winner in the space of 5 months (with no majors in between).

 

[Carol]

Defenitely Fiero is a Roger's fan, not doubts about it and that's the main reason why he is not a Rafa's fan and he is now in the Novak's wagon, nothing new lol

 

[Fiero425]

Gawd, if I didn't troll these pages, you guys would have little to nothing to talk about! Glad to be of service! I haven't been talked about like this since grammar school! :ras: Nadal is truly struggling to get past this kid I see! The pumping and jumping around is so overdone for a player of his supposed stature! How embarrassing for his fans! :ras:

 

[Kieran]

The hell are you guys even arguing about?

We're arguing with Fiero! Who knows what we could be arguing about! lot :snicker

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

regarding nadals rank..the buzz if I remember back to those distant days of 2004, was that rafa was one to watch for the claycourt season..not to win stuff, but a potential future big player, sadly he broke his ankle in april 2004 and missed the whole clay spring and Wimbledon (I think)..he returned and won his 1st tourney in july 2004 on clay..

his rank was dented by his injury obviously as he was in the 30s rank, prob would've got his rank up into the 20s by the end of 2004 with zero ankle aggro, but injury is part of the game so that's that..

even so an injury altered false rank of 51 at end2004 made his burst in spring of 2005 seem even more amazing that it was anyway, I always think its a shame we couldn't see rafa in 2004 spring clay masters/frenchopen, but I remember some folk saying nadal was possible favourite going into fo2005 even though he was 18 and had never played before, I defo thought he could win having seen him in action in 2005 clay masters, it was obvious, I did feel maybe nerves would get him, and I was sort of surprised when he beat Federer in the sf, clearly nerves were not a problem..as he showed once more in the final.

 

[Moxie]

The hell are you guys even arguing about?

We're arguing with Fiero! Who knows what we could be arguing about! lot :snicker

:laydownlaughing Also, we're just killing time until we find out the answer to the OPs question. lease: