When will Nadal win another tourney ?

[Moxie]

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.

I was wondering if you were the intrepid scout of young talent even back then, JLLB, and apparently you were! Nice summary of why it is less surprising that Nadal went from 50-2 in 6 months. :hug

To Darth's point above that we'd be shocked if now ranked #50 "made a bolt to the top 10 by the end of the year": Show me a potential 14-Slam winner anywhere in the 50-10 range, and then you can make that comparison.

 

[Federberg]

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.

I was wondering if you were the intrepid scout of young talent even back then, JLLB, and apparently you were! Nice summary of why it is less surprising that Nadal went from 50-2 in 6 months. :hug

To Darth's point above that we'd be shocked if now ranked #50 "made a bolt to the top 10 by the end of the year": Show me a potential 14-Slam winner anywhere in the 50-10 range, and then you can make that comparison.

Come on Moxie, no one thought Rafa was going to be a 14 slam winner in 2005. It seems to me you actually agree with him but can't bring yourself to say it :blush:

 

[Fiero425]

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.

I was wondering if you were the intrepid scout of young talent even back then, JLLB, and apparently you were! Nice summary of why it is less surprising that Nadal went from 50-2 in 6 months. :hug

To Darth's point above that we'd be shocked if now ranked #50 "made a bolt to the top 10 by the end of the year": Show me a potential 14-Slam winner anywhere in the 50-10 range, and then you can make that comparison.

Come on Moxie, no one thought Rafa was going to be a 14 slam winner in 2005. It seems to me you actually agree with him but can't bring yourself to say it :blush:

Who thought Roger would get to 17 for that matter? Who would think that we would see 3 players win 3 majors in a season with Roger doing it 3 times? No one can predict anything like that! We can hope winning continues like Nole right now! I can't tell you how lucky we've been to have this "Golden Age" of tennis with so many records being surpassed and extended in such a way these "Johnny come latelies" have no chance to catch them! Who thinks Kei, Milos, or any of the other "up and comers" will even achieve half of what these great players have done in the last 10 years? :eyepop :nono :angel: :dodgy:

 

[brokenshoelace]

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.

I was wondering if you were the intrepid scout of young talent even back then, JLLB, and apparently you were! Nice summary of why it is less surprising that Nadal went from 50-2 in 6 months. :hug

To Darth's point above that we'd be shocked if now ranked #50 "made a bolt to the top 10 by the end of the year": Show me a potential 14-Slam winner anywhere in the 50-10 range, and then you can make that comparison.

Come on Moxie, no one thought Rafa was going to be a 14 slam winner in 2005. It seems to me you actually agree with him but can't bring yourself to say it :blush:

In fairness, it's tough to think of too many players where your first reaction upon spotting their potential is "double digit slams," especially when you consider the amount of bonafied all-time greats who were stuck on single digits.

I agree though, that Nadal exceeded early expectations (though I think you can say that about anyone to win 12+ slams), especially with regards to success on other surfaces. In fact, even his clay dominance exceeded expectations, which says a lot.

 

[brokenshoelace]

I was wondering if you were the intrepid scout of young talent even back then, JLLB, and apparently you were! Nice summary of why it is less surprising that Nadal went from 50-2 in 6 months. :hug

To Darth's point above that we'd be shocked if now ranked #50 "made a bolt to the top 10 by the end of the year": Show me a potential 14-Slam winner anywhere in the 50-10 range, and then you can make that comparison.

Come on Moxie, no one thought Rafa was going to be a 14 slam winner in 2005. It seems to me you actually agree with him but can't bring yourself to say it :blush:

Who thought Roger would get to 17 for that matter? Who would think that we would see 3 players win 3 majors in a season with Roger doing it 3 times? No one can predict anything like that!

I just want to say that this is almost literally the first time I ever agree with you. Hell has frozen over. We can now both sleep well at night.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Tomorrow?

 

[Front242]

Stranger things have happened. Fognini may lose

 

[Kieran]

Ah there's no way Rafa will beat FFS... :nono :snicker

 

[Fiero425]

Ah there's no way Rafa will beat FFS... :nono :snicker

It really depends on which F3 shows up! You know how temperamental he is at times! :cover uzzled :nono :dodgy: - At least we'll know if Rafa loses this one, he's truly DONE! :lolz: :snicker :laydownlaughing :ras:

 

[Kieran]

Ah there's no way Rafa will beat FFS... :nono :snicker

It really depends on which F3 shows up! You know how temperamental he is at times! :cover uzzled :nono :dodgy: - At least we'll know if Rafa loses this one, he's truly DONE! :lolz: :snicker :laydownlaughing :ras:

And if he wins, well, it's only FFS, right? :dodgy: lot

 

[Fiero425]

Ah there's no way Rafa will beat FFS... :nono :snicker

It really depends on which F3 shows up! You know how temperamental he is at times! :cover uzzled :nono :dodgy: - At least we'll know if Rafa loses this one, he's truly DONE! :lolz: :snicker :laydownlaughing :ras:

And if he wins, well, it's only FFS, right? :dodgy: lot

When a star goes to a 2nd rate event; it's truly a "no win" situation except for the practice! I've felt that way for years about Federer going to Halle with no other top player entered! He didn't even win it each year which had to be embarrassing! He got his practice in so it was all good, but looking at the record you have to ask "WTF?" uzzled :cover :nono

 

[Front242]

Yeah, 'cos I mean Tommy Haas and Lleyton Hewitt are crap players, right ?

 

[Fiero425]

Yeah, 'cos I mean Tommy Haas and Lleyton Hewitt are crap players, right ?

Honey, they're just as much past it as Federer! Are you kidding me? Haas has been "the walking wounded" for years and Hewitt excelled in a dead period after Sampras lost it and before Roger took control of the tour! You know better than that! Don't make me "read" you with facts and records! lol! :nono :angel: :dodgy: :snicker :laydownlaughing

 

[Front242]

Yeah, 'cos I mean Tommy Haas and Lleyton Hewitt are crap players, right ?

Honey, they're just as much past it as Federer! Are you kidding me? Haas has been "the walking wounded" for years and Hewitt excelled in a dead period after Sampras lost it and before Roger took control of the tour! You know better than that! Don't make me "read" you with facts and records! lol! :nono :angel: :dodgy: :snicker :laydownlaughing

Were you embarrassed so when Haas beat Djokovic back to back in Halle and then Wimbledon 2009 and also Miami 2013? The guy has always been a top player.

 

[Fiero425]

Yeah, 'cos I mean Tommy Haas and Lleyton Hewitt are crap players, right ?

Honey, they're just as much past it as Federer! Are you kidding me? Haas has been "the walking wounded" for years and Hewitt excelled in a dead period after Sampras lost it and before Roger took control of the tour! You know better than that! Don't make me "read" you with facts and records! lol! :nono :angel: :dodgy: :snicker :laydownlaughing

Were you embarrassed so when Haas beat Djokovic back to back in Halle and then Wimbledon 2009 and also Miami 2013? The guy has always been a top player.

Please tell me why I would be embarrassed? I stopped caring that much after Henin retired! I've acknowledged that Roger's the GOAT and that Nole's the best "right now!" I got no dog in this hunt! You're wasting your time trying to get me to feel any kind of way; barely watching tennis in comparison to the past! If there's little to cheer with graceful and elegant play, I have a collection on tape to go to! Just watched a couple matches of Nole sweeping past Nadal on clay in 2011; great fun in Rome! Nothing more humorous than watching Nadal stumble and fall, tripping over his own feet trying to keep up with his opponent! :lolz: :snicker :laydownlaughing

 

[Front242]

You said Roger should be embarrassed for not winning Halle every year. I pointed out he lost to 2 decent players and that Novak also lost 3 times to the same guy Roger should be supposedly embarrassed to lose to: Haas. I'd personally say winning Halle 8 times isn't so embarrassing

 

[Fiero425]

You said Roger should be embarrassed for not winning Halle every year. I pointed out he lost to 2 decent players and that Novak also lost 3 times to the same guy Roger should be supposedly embarrassed to lose to: Haas. I'd personally say winning Halle 8 times isn't so embarrassing

Fine, but I have to ask again, who was his competition most of the time; players like Kohlshreiber, Youzhny, Falla, and this year with Seppi in the final! Sorry, most of the world don't know these players! :nono :cover :angel: :dodgy: It's always great to win a tourney, but it s/b more satisfying if Nadal, Murray, and Nole were there as well! Call me a snob! :ras: - When Nole plays and wins a 500 like Beijing, he's had to deal with Berdych, Nadal, Murray, Tsonga, Cilic, and Ferrer at least! There's a difference if you can't tell! :angel: :dodgy:

 

[Moxie]

You said Roger should be embarrassed for not winning Halle every year. I pointed out he lost to 2 decent players and that Novak also lost 3 times to the same guy Roger should be supposedly embarrassed to lose to: Haas. I'd personally say winning Halle 8 times isn't so embarrassing

Fine, but I have to ask again, who was his competition most of the time; players like Kohlshreiber, Youzhny, Falla, and this year with Seppi in the final! Sorry, most of the world don't know these players! :nono :cover :angel: :dodgy: It's always great to win a tourney, but it s/b more satisfying if Nadal, Murray, and Nole were there as well! Call me a snob! :ras: - When Nole plays and wins a 500 like Beijing, he's had to deal with Berdych, Nadal, Murray, Tsonga, Cilic, and Ferrer at least! There's a difference if you can't tell! :angel: :dodgy:

(Again proclaiming your snobbishness, Fiero? It is what it is, and at least you admit it. Good for you! ) Halle is a tune-up for Wimbledon. There is nothing wrong with playing it. For the top guys, it was either Halle or Queens. Why not Halle for Roger? German-speaking, close to home, appearance fee. And he knew he didn't have to always win it to be ready for Wimbledon. (Clearly.) And back in the day, it was obvious that Nadal went to Queens and Roger went to Halle to avoid each other before Wimbledon.

As to any embarrassment of Rafa playing Hamburg, or the weak playing field, he's a professional tennis player and has to make his choices as to what he needs to do to improve his game. Look down your nose, if you like. (And you do like.) His ranking has fallen, and that's reason for emergency measures. Remember that Agassi played Challengers when he fell out of the top 100. And eventually won 3 more Majors. It's not embarrassing to do the work. Working hard to improve is a perfectly admirable thing to do.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

It really depends on which F3 shows up! You know how temperamental he is at times! :cover uzzled :nono :dodgy: - At least we'll know if Rafa loses this one, he's truly DONE! :lolz: :snicker :laydownlaughing :ras:

And if he wins, well, it's only FFS, right? :dodgy: lot

When a star goes to a 2nd rate event; it's truly a "no win" situation except for the practice! I've felt that way for years about Federer going to Halle with no other top player entered! He didn't even win it each year which had to be embarrassing! He got his practice in so it was all good, but looking at the record you have to ask "WTF?" uzzled :cover :nono

Rafa playing in Hamburg is no way comparable to Fed playing in Halle, even assuming the field is weak. Halle is a legitimate warm-up for Wimbledon and Fed has a long-term contract with Halle. On the other hand Hamburg is demoted and moved to after Wimby as everybody knows.

 

[Kirijax]

If I were a Nadal fan, I wouldn't care about who he played. He had a tough 1st round opponent in Verdasco and now faces Fognini in the final. Its a clay 500 and I would be thrilled to see Nadal pass this first step back to his former self. There are no negatives here. If he wins.