Monte carlo starts this year’s clay season, and it is the moment to verify if the feelings and good image left by Nadal in the last hard court tournaments can turn into his opportunity now.

To begin with, Rafa assures us that he’s coming in to this tournament in much better shape than in previous years…

nadal:”It’s not like last year where I was in the semifinals and once I was there I could’ve easily lost due to some issues here and there.
No, this year I’ve made it to the last rounds of the tournaments and I haven’t won due to some small details and simply I just have to continue like this and it’s logical that sooner than later I’ll end up winning if I continue playing like this.”

April 9th, 2010 at 2:15 pm

Hum… I have my doubts. Not winning to small details? I don’t think so. I think, with no doubts, that Nadal is one of the very best tennis players ever, even better that Federer. Nevertheless, I believe that Nadal will never recover from his injured knees enough to be at his competitive level. This is obviously very sad: we will be missing probably the greates tennis player ever.

Gonzalo.

April 9th, 2010 at 2:40 pm

“The Monte Carlo tournament begins on Sunday and Nadal will try for his 6th straight title there.”

Unbelievable!

April 9th, 2010 at 4:11 pm

It’s not like he lost at IW and Miami in beatdowns; he was right in there in both matches versus Ljubicic and Roddick, and he lost close encounters. Maybe a few to many UEs, not taking enough chances on big points, or what-have-you. This is nothing to be overly concerned with I don’t think, since, as others have pointed out, he lost to the eventual champion at both events. He hasn’t come out and said his knees are bothering him, so let’s hope for the best.

April 9th, 2010 at 4:17 pm

Nadal hasn’t said anything about the knees but Uncle Toni has already claimed they were bothering him.

April 9th, 2010 at 4:20 pm

Ben where did you read/hear this? “Uncle Toni has already claimed they were bothering him.” I didn’t know this; I thought people were just assuming that because he swiped at his knee area in frustration during the Roddick match.

April 9th, 2010 at 4:25 pm

I don’t know, honestly, but I saw somewhere that Uncle Toni said something… It may have been someone on this blog making stuff up. So take that statement with a pound of salt.

April 9th, 2010 at 4:26 pm

nadal needs to shut up about the knees already even if they do hurt,
all it does is make his opponents more confident when they play him

April 9th, 2010 at 5:10 pm

I saw it on another blog too and they had the link to where Tony Nadal said his knees were hurting way back at IW (and one reason he lost)…heck, and here I was thinking Ljubicic played great! lol! Anyway, i agree…all the talk about the ‘knees’ need to stop. Just play tennis.

April 9th, 2010 at 5:19 pm

Well there you go. But that’s just the thing, it’s not Nadal. It’s Uncle Toni.

April 9th, 2010 at 5:43 pm

I don’t think you need a translator to understand the look on Nadal’s face and the little exchange at the very beginning of that tape. I think he’s saying, “do you really think you needed to pack all those outfits, you know you won’t wear half of them.” LOL

April 9th, 2010 at 6:01 pm

Gonzalo ,
Actually, my Nephew Albert is the greatest tennis player ever ever..even greater than Federer..but unfortunately he decided not to play Tennis and is studying Mechanical Engineering.. So Sad..

April 9th, 2010 at 6:27 pm

BlackCat Says,

“my Nephew Albert is the greatest tennis player ever ever”…

That is not true,

Everyone knows that “Borat” is the greatest tennis player ever, just because no one has seen him play! C’mon!

April 9th, 2010 at 7:02 pm

Hey BlackCat:
Can i get an autographed ball from Albert?
Its not like i havent tried at the end of a match, in practice courts or follow him… i just cant get it…
thx
PD. I already had an autographed ball from Brett, a friend who would ended up being his nemesis and clay-nightmare if he didnt drop tennis for work when her girlfriend came up pregnant.

April 9th, 2010 at 7:55 pm

Toni Nadal acts as a mouthpiece for those things which would be considered unsportsmanlike coming from Nadal himself.

Nadal cannot take a swing at the Parisian fans for not supporting him, but Uncle Toni can:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/frenchopen/5424890/Rafael-Nadals-uncle-calls-Paris-fans-stupid.html

‘In an interview with the Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, Toni Nadal said there was some truth to the phrase: “There is only one set of supporters that is worse than the French and that is the Parisians”.

“They say it themselves and it’s true, the Parisian crowd is pretty stupid. I think the French don’t like it when a Spaniard wins,” he added.

“Wanting someone to lose is a slightly conceited way of amusing yourself. They show the stupidity of people who think themselves superior.” ‘

Nadal cannot blame his knees for losses, but Uncle Toni can:

http://www.gototennisblog.com/2010/04/07/del-potro-simon-soderling-out-of-monte-carlo-nadal-knee-advisory/

To be fair, I suspect Nadal does not consciously understand that his uncle is acting in this role. He simply concentrates on the tennis and doesn’t bother himself with what his uncle says. And Toni sees his role as insulating Nadal from the demands of the media, as well as defending his nephew from criticism.

But to have the player’s coach wear the black hat and say all the unpopular things, so that the player doesn’t have to say them, is the kind of evasive stratagem worthy of a politician, not a champion athlete.

And I don’t think the media would be so ready to play along with this if Toni were not Nadal’s uncle. They would just say that it’s another case of a coach hyping his player to the media–which is exactly what it is. But because he is Nadal’s blood relative, it’s assumed he speaks for Nadal.

April 9th, 2010 at 8:33 pm

I want the name blackcat! What a good one. : ) And if possible, I’d like the autograph of your uncle as well.

April 9th, 2010 at 8:47 pm

oops, I mean “nephew Albert”.

April 9th, 2010 at 8:50 pm

Jane,

No tennis, its getting goofy up here, lol :)

April 9th, 2010 at 9:02 pm

lol you guys are cracking me up!

April 9th, 2010 at 9:13 pm

Skorocel said:

“The Monte Carlo tournament begins on Sunday and Nadal will try for his 6th straight title there.”

Unbelievable!

Oh yeah? You know there is a man who was vying for his 6th straight WIMBLEDON and 6th straight US OPEN. What was his name again?

April 9th, 2010 at 9:15 pm

Yeah but he was DENIED!!

April 9th, 2010 at 9:26 pm

Jane, I like your name too..want to swap ?

skeezerweezer, you haven’t seen my Nephew Albert play. Every time he used to run for the ball so fast that he would have to wait couple of minute for it to arrive.

mafid and jane, Albert rarely comes out of his workshop these days. It will be hard to get his autograph.

April 9th, 2010 at 10:40 pm

BlackCat,

Lol! I regress, you’re nephew is GOAT!

“run for the ball so fast that he would have to wait couple of minute for it to arrive.”

Too funny…

April 9th, 2010 at 10:43 pm

BlackCat, for now I’ll stick with plain old jane – or maybe, in tribute to having just seen “the Runaways,” I’ll switch it to Joan Jett. Woot!
: )

Sad to hear how put upon tennis GOAT nephew Albert is, but if you can catch him “out of workshop” one day, then do please think of us, his devotees, and nab a bit of ink, eh?

Cheers

April 9th, 2010 at 10:49 pm

Kimo said,

“Oh yeah? You know there is a man who was vying for his 6th straight WIMBLEDON and 6th straight US OPEN. What was his name again?”

Skorocel provokes nobody in his recent statement so what’s your point?

April 9th, 2010 at 11:18 pm

Kimo said,

“Oh yeah? You know there is a man who was vying for his 6th straight WIMBLEDON and 6th straight US OPEN. What was his name again?”

“Roger Federer”

Skorocel & Ezorra, date night?

April 10th, 2010 at 12:47 am

You can check out this video clip from Youtibe about Nadal & the knees. It was during a changeover in his match with Roddick in Miami:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwu1Cz8ZaHs

April 10th, 2010 at 1:16 am

~Oh yeah? You know there is a man who was vying for his 6th straight WIMBLEDON and 6th straight US OPEN. What was his name again?~

Nobody cares except for some desperate Fedtards who keep telling the same stuff again and again… BORING!!! We know already that Federer is your GOD and he is better than the rest of other players in history but enogh is enough! ~sigh~

April 10th, 2010 at 1:41 am

Oh Yeah!? _~ Let’s see…mmm Jo…jo …..mmm…. Fedtards?……for sure not a NEW Poster….

the IMPOSTER….heee haw!

Shammmmon….Hee Hee Ya know it!

April 10th, 2010 at 1:49 am

Jojo said:

“Nobody cares except for some desperate Fedtards”

You’re all class, Jojo. Can you tell me again why we’re desperate? Coz with all my “Fedtard-ness” I can’t figure it out on my own.

All I was trying to say that a man vying for a 6th consecutive master series shield which is played on a surface he excels at is not, as Skorocel put it, “Unbelievable!”.

To Ezzora: I have tremendous respect for Rafa, but I’m just putting things in perspective.

Ben Pronin said:

“Yeah but he was DENIED!!”

True, but that was all due to Gwen Stefani. She was present at both matches. *cringes*

April 10th, 2010 at 1:51 am

“To Ezzora: I have tremendous respect for Rafa, but I’m just putting things in perspective.”

Kimo, sorry for my misunderstanding…

April 10th, 2010 at 1:59 am

Kimo Says:

Ben Pronin said:

“Yeah but he was DENIED!!”

“True, but that was all due to Gwen Stefani. She was present at both matches. *cringes*”

Kimo scores a UFC Knockout!

April 10th, 2010 at 2:07 am

black cat: love your style! Actually I have a black cat who plays a mean drop shot….

April 10th, 2010 at 2:18 am

LMAO. I didn’t know that. That’s pretty funny, honestly. But still. It’s like Federer just can’t win 6 in a row. Such a flaw. Maybe he’s not the GOAT after all?

But seriously, though, Nadal is going for a first time record. No one has ever won 6 straight titles at one tournament. Federer had two chances and it’s unfortunate he wasn’t able to do it. I won’t root for Nadal as a player but if Federer isn’t going to hold the record, might as well be Nadal. It’s a pretty sick feat.

April 10th, 2010 at 2:23 am

Kimo, “All I was trying to say that a man vying for a 6th consecutive master series shield which is played on a surface he excels at is not, as Skorocel put it, “Unbelievable!”.”

Well, it’s pretty unique! And exceptional. Last year, when Rafa won the singles title at Monte Carlo for the 5th time in a row, wasn’t it the first time someone had done that since, I don’t know, maybe ever? He’s also had that longest ever streak on one surface at 81 matches. I mean, that’s pretty phenomenal stuff, what Nadal has accomplished, particularly on clay. It’s up there with Borg on clay and Fed and Sampras on grass. So maybe not “unbelievable” but pretty awesome nonetheless. : )

I hope he gets six.

April 10th, 2010 at 3:42 am

Yeah Voicemale1, I found this article in the “Globe and Mail”; it reads like mainly speculation, but on the other hand, the frustration Nadal showed in that video was uncharacteristic.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/more-sports/tom-tebbutt/nadals-knees-hurting-again/article1526390/

April 10th, 2010 at 4:04 am

Kimo: “All I was trying to say that a man vying for a 6th consecutive master series shield which is played on a surface he excels at is not, as Skorocel put it, “Unbelievable!”.”

You’re perfectly right. How could it be “unbelievable” when he beat such nobodies like Federer 3 times en route to those titles, isn’t it? ;-) LOL and LOL :-)

April 10th, 2010 at 6:33 am

though they are both exceptional achievements, winning 5 consecutives grand slam titles TWICE is more “unbelivable” than master series titles.

OK, people don’t kill me. I am just saying!

April 10th, 2010 at 9:38 am

I’m rooting for Nadal. However, his game in the past year has disappointed me. Whether it’s the knee, abdomen or whatever…yeah, injuries happen but still his game is something of a disappointment and I’ve found myself watching with one eye as I don’t want to keep shouting at the screen :) If he doesn’t redeem himself this time I’ll probably join Team Federer. BTW Topspin thanks for the translation.

April 10th, 2010 at 9:53 am

steve @ 8:33pm

i agree with you re uncle toni. on that article you posted regading nadal knees, he seem not to make sense.

“a problem in his left knee that prevented him from playing at his highest level [vs. Roddick.]” Toni thinks the “sore knee” is “not important” going forward, though”

If he had a problem that prevented Nadal not to play at his highest level, how could this problem not be important?

Nadal did not mention the knee and is looking forward to defending his title. as I have said before, it will be good to see nadal back at his best especially on clay..tennis just needs nadal but uncle toni should shut-up because all these talk brings a lot of speculations that does not help nadal one bit.

April 10th, 2010 at 10:41 am

Kimmi Says:

“If he had a problem that prevented Nadal not to play at his highest level, how could this problem not be important?”

—————————————————

Exactly right. We keep getting these mixed message from his crew: he has an injury which keeps him from performing to his highest level when he loses, but it’s not really a problem for..later. So, they’re trying to have it both ways? This kind of doublespeak is exactly why I’ve always doubted whenever a player cries about an injury or illness in the press, yet continues to play in every tournament without skipping a beat. Let’s remember: Nadal reached the Semis at both IW & Miami in Singles, but he also won the Doubles Championship at IW (w/Marc Lopez). He also entered the Doubles Tournament in Miami (with Salva-Vidal).

I suspect the Nadal “knee” problem is more smoke and less heat. Especially if he continues to play. The real issue with Nadal is his confidence. Regardless of the “knee” problem, he choked two matches away this year prior to Miami: the Championship Match in Doha and his Indian Wells SF with Ljubicic. If he starts losing on clay in the same way he loses on a hard court than I think his best days will be behind him regardless of what he says or does. The seeds of the French Open Aftermath had to have shaken him up badly mentally. Soderling had just lost to Nadal in Rome three weeks prior winning 1 game. HE brought the new approach: a Hard Court Game to a clay court, leaving Nadal with no options but to hope Soderling eventually started to miss enough for nadal to squeak by the match. It was as though Nadal’s staple clay game of “wait for the other guy to err” was what he kept choosing to employ and it didn’t work. Nadal’s once invincible clay court game was now more exposed than ever, and I’ll bet he knew that walking off the court that day. He’ll be facing a lot more guys who will make the attempt to turn the match into a hard court match. They’ll just Go For Winners outright (tougher on clay), and blast through his Forehand to make him cough up a ton of short replies, just like Soderling did. If the attempted Winners go in like Soderling’s did they’ll win. If the errors pile up, Nadal’s strategy of playing “Error Free Tennis” will carry the day.

But the days of Nadal’s “Playing Not To Miss” , even on clay, won’t give him the results it used to give him. And that’s why he’s mentally not as confident now. The game that brought him to the heights he’s reached won’t work as often – and he’s painfully aware of it. And that’s why we’ll keep hearing about “the knee that stops him from doing his best ‘today’ but fear not – ‘later’- all will be just fine”.

I guess we’ll see.

April 10th, 2010 at 12:06 pm

Kimmi, “though they are both exceptional achievements, winning 5 consecutives grand slam titles TWICE is more “unbelivable” than master series titles.”

I don’t know how it turned into a comparison/contrast thing in the first place. But Nadal’s achievements on clay remain – to me anyhow – exceptional. The way he won on one surface, with practically utter domination, for as long as he did, at 81 matches was pretty wild. And clay has 2 (or is it 3?) masters events leading up to the slam plus a smaller event or two, which is similar to the USO series. That’d be like Fed winning Canada and Cincy and maybe Washington PLUS the USO for a few years in a row – maybe he did do that but I don’t think so. Nadal’s streak on clay is what stood out — and perhaps that’s why losing at the French to Soderling early has had such a lasting effect. I don’t think it would’ve been as drastic had he lost to Fed in the finals or something. I also think it’s pretty wild how Nadal got to the French and simply won it on his first try, but then he backed that up and kept on winning it 3 more times in a row, beating the number 1 player (a phenomenal player) each time.

Anyhow, it could be that Nadal’s almost utter dominance on clay is coming to an end. I guess we’ll know more after this season.

April 10th, 2010 at 2:01 pm

I laugh at the way all the Nadal fans give him excuses. He is the best player ever, if it wasn’t for his knees he would win everytime. Well, he hasn’t and he has to prove himself. That is how Federer and Laver came to be talked about as the greatest of all time. Nadal is a great player and has had some unbeleivble wins, but the bulk of his titles are on CLAY. I would say based on his record, he is the second best clay player of all time, next to Borg.

April 10th, 2010 at 8:21 pm

Yep this season will be the telling one, poor Rafa I hope it won’t spell retirement, I cannot imagine him playing to lose, he will go away silently if there is no light because of injury! I hope this is not the case because Nadal for me is the most exciting tennis player ever to grace a tennis court and things will be duller without him!

April 10th, 2010 at 8:57 pm

The very minute Nadal slapped his leg with a towel during the Roddick match the media jumped all over it like ants on honey. Now everybody and their brothers and sisters, and aunts and uncles, etc. are screaming “Nadal’s knees, dear God, Nadal’s knees” as if they’d just fallen off his legs. Tony’s remark was in response to questions ASKED by the media. He’s smart enough and professional enough to know you give the least amount of information possible going into a tournament. Toni’s remarks regarding the French Open is old news and has been hashed and rehashed. Let it go. As to the real state of Rafa’s knees, let’s just watch these next few tournaments. If there’s a problem I’m pretty sure it will surface. Personally, I was at Indian Wells and watched him kick butt right up to the semis. Miami was the same. There was never any discussion of bad knees, lack of confidence, mental strength or focus throughout the hc season. The knee incident could have been as simple as a slight strain but because of Rafa’s history everyone immediately jumps to the worst possible scenario. Let’s just watch a tournament or two before we push him into retirement.

April 10th, 2010 at 10:32 pm

Toni isn’t smart enough to give professional statements. A smart statement would be to say nothing’s going on. Period. End of discussion. Instead he says things like Nadal’s knees were sore and they prevented him from playing his best. That’s not the least amount of information.

Also, I didn’t think much of Nadal hitting his legs during the match, I just thought he was frustrated. However, he was yelling “la rodilla,” which is what got me interested.

April 10th, 2010 at 10:55 pm

As we are talking about “unbelievable”, and someone above started an unnecessary “argument” here – Federer’s “reign” – 12 major titles in FIVE YEARS, 23 straight MAJOR semi-finals, an uninterrupted run at No. 1; all at a time when tennis has never been more global, the field never deeper, the players never better conditioned – is UNSURPASSED in men’s tennis. Unlike Borg and Laver, Federer won on hard courts. Unlike Sampras, he won on clay. Yes, I know these things are said over and over, but really – do we really think that Federer is just, well, just another player? aei, aei, aei.

Kimmi,

Kimmi Says:
though they are both exceptional achievements, winning 5 consecutives grand slam titles TWICE is more “unbelivable” than master series titles.

OK, people don’t kill me. I am just saying!

April 10th, 2010 at 9:38 am

Yes, I agree.

April 11th, 2010 at 9:48 am

Madmax;

We get the point on the Federer career. You stretch though on the facts of the others.

Borg won a lot on hard courts – 2 Year End Championship events; what is now the Masters Series of Canada; and a host of events which have evolved into 500 & 100 events today. Sampras won 3 titles on clay in his career including the Rome Masters Event in 1994, plus the Davis Cup Championship match in 1995. Laver never won a Major on a hard court for the obvious reason that there WERE no Majors on a hard court in his day: 3 of the 4 were played on grass.

These players were outstanding in their own right. Federer has won 5 US Opens, but so did Sampras. Federer won 5 Wimbledons in succession – but so did Borg. Laver won the Calendar Year Grand Slam – TWICE. None of the others managed it even once. It’s fine to celebrate Federer. But try not to do so at the expense of what these others have achieved.

April 11th, 2010 at 10:25 am

voicemail, just chill out will you. I didnt want Kimmi to fight this on his/her own. And FYI, I dont say what I said at the “expense of others”, its when people such as your good self come on and slash and bash others at every possible moment. Why? What’s the point?

Am completely relaxed about federer’s accomplishments, it seems that you need to relax. cheers and cool down.

April 11th, 2010 at 10:50 am

Voicemail, am sure you’ll be happy when fed leaves the tour, who will you bash in his place?

April 11th, 2010 at 10:51 am

Madmax:

I’m fine with Federer’s accomplishments. If pointing out your factual inaccuracies makes you bristle to the extent you have to tell me to stop it then you gotta get a thicker skin :)

April 11th, 2010 at 10:59 am

Good to see nadal is ready for the tourney lol he seems ackward off the tennis court sometimes.

if i remember right, nadal slapped his knee outta frustration because roddick was blowing balls past him!!! not because of injury. Its called the defensive player was getting beat by skills that will always beat a defensive player – the mean flat ball!! aka delpo vs federer uso09 or even the wk b4 Indian wells semis luby beating nadal.

April 11th, 2010 at 11:00 am

Ben – It seems to me you want it both ways. Isn’t it a little contradictory to say you weren’t interested in the towel slapping incident, but you were curious about about him shouting “la rodilla”. It was the same incident, the slapping and shouting happened at the same time.

A non response at a presser brings about more wild speculation than the short answer. Nadal’s camp is no different from any other camp, otherwise we wouldn’t know that Solderlings shoulder and knee have bothered him this year, DelPo has wrist tendenitis, Verdasco’s knee is out of whack, etc.

You don’t like Uncle Toni…big deal. Believe me, I like him enough for both of us.

April 11th, 2010 at 12:12 pm

hey madmax, did you have too much coffee today? : ) Just kidding. Anyhow, perhaps I misunderstood, but I didn’t think there was an argument here at all (i.e., I certainly wasn’t “fighting” with Kimmi, just pointing out why I though Rafa’s streak on clay was so “unbelieveable”). People were commenting initially on Nadal’s achievement of a possible 6-peat, since that’s the topic of the thread (i.e., Monte Carlo), and then Fed was brought into it. So perhaps there was a little fun one-up-manship going on. : )

Your fave, Fed’s accomplishments speak for themselves!! Of course we know he’s had a crazy-good fantabulous career!

Voicemale1′s post actually pointed out some other player’s great accomplishments too. The history of this sport is so vast and interesting; wish I knew more about Laver’s era, for example.

Anyhow, have a good day madmax. When is Fed playing again? Isn’t Estoril?

April 11th, 2010 at 12:39 pm

why everyone point to the soderling defeat as the break point?
in tennis and life is not dark and white, its never all white nor all dark but a mix of both.

Nadal didnt break, as always in life, it ascend to a peak and then descent.

he ASCEND until reach their peak at 2007/2008 and from there it begin to DESCEND
Nadal ASCEND…
1. before 2007 clay was like the “why exist clay in tennis” or “where the no greatest players won titles”… so domination in the surface “least” important or were the “top” players just practice or even didnt play or dont care… was more easy.
2. it wasnt TOTAL DOMINATION, ok he is the greatest clay player, period, no question, but… rome (after the french, the more prestigous clay title) againts coria was close, againts federer (the best match between both) almost lost… and not even close that domination was reflected on hard courts, in fact he can lose to ANYBODY in a hardcourt.
Nadal PEAK…
1. even at his best nadal lost to federer in hamburg 2007 (with a 6-0 included) it was the other side to one full with federer losing many matchs against nadal when leading (or the “close the match againts nadal” syndrome) that begin in rome 2006, oh!!! that sweet match, that brake or make match for both, good nadal won that (the youth was the key factor, 5 years younger in a 5 set 5 hour match with that intensity was a great bonus) because if federer won it, i believe we may not see nadal up 13-7, maybe nadal wasnt even reach a highest peak.
2. 2008 was a good year for nadal, but federer was sick (at least wasnt the federer from 1 year ago) the great rival was there but not at his best and we can see nadal consolidation
Nadal DESCEND…
1. in 2009 we see some serious challenging to nadal from the start of clay season, special from djokovic tournament after tournament, it was djokovic becoming better or nadal becoming “less” better, and i think was the later.
2. nadal last victory over a top 10 was versus djokovic in madrid on clay, and was a really CLOSE victory.
3. either knees, mental, physical, whatever… the reason doesnt matters, the real thing is we are seeing the DESCEND of nadal.

NADAL SUCCESS OR FAILURE IN OTHER SURFACES IS NATURAL LINKED TO CLAY, thats why i concentrate on clay

FUTURE…

I dont say nadal wont win again versus a top 10, or won any tittle for the rest of his live.
Special in clay i see he winning a tittle, like he did in 2004 and 2005, but hardly i expect a DOMINATION in clay.
Hope im wrong, maybe its all mental… cause after all talk about injuries, he only quit wimbledon in the last full year, all other “rest from injuries” were in fact atp-tournament-free time… i see him playing, running, crushing small rivals, losing only in close match versus top players, with “injuries” (seem like he is only injury when he lose).
So if its mental and he can create momentum in clay, he may tournaround, a full 180 turn, an put that bad year behind, or retake from he left in madrid 2009.
But if its not mental or either murray or djokovic put a brake in his “mental recover”, it could be nasty… not even imagine if soderling or federer beat him down (cause now in his mind is like “ok… i may lose to any player but not federer… and soderling, VENDETTA!!!!!!”)

FOR NADAL FANS the next month will be nail-batting, will be a BRAKE or MAKE to nadal, much like that unforgettable match in rome 2006.

April 12th, 2010 at 4:12 am

Anna, what I mean is, when I first saw Nadal slap his knees during the match I didn’t see it as a “knee-slapper,” I just thought he was frustrated with the match. But then I saw a translation of what he said and it was “la rodilla.” So it turns out it was the knees, possibly. If this was a random time where Nadal hadn’t retired from the first slam of the season because of his knees, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. But after last year and the start of this year, it’s legitimate to question the state of Nadal’s knees. He has chronic tendinitis. Keyword is chronic. It’s not like he bruised his knee and it’s all healed up to perfection now.

April 12th, 2010 at 8:43 am

I saw it as frustration too. People have gone way overboard with the speculation about his knees. He was moving fine on HC and played well. I expect him to be superb on clay and I’m sure he will be. People are too eager to write Rafa these days.

I hope he gets the historic ’6′at MC.

April 12th, 2010 at 11:16 am

Being in the medical field myself I’m very familiar with the word “chronic”. Rafa retired from AO not from a flare up of tendenitis but because of a slight ligament tear in his right knee. Two completely different injuries.

For those who like to point fingers at tennis players who have addressed injuries or illness for poor play or lack of play this year you’d better start growing a few more because the list is pretty long.

April 12th, 2010 at 1:07 pm

Do tears heal that quickly?

April 12th, 2010 at 1:08 pm

Ben – Yes they do. I had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn ligament(knee)20 years ago and was back on the court (badmitten, volleyball)within a month. Many of the therapies that are available now were not available then, so there’s no question that a micro tear could heal completely within two months. Tendenitis is a condition that flares up when the tendons are overused and become inflamed. There is a range from mild to severe. Last year Rafa apparently pushed himself through clay court season not paying enough attention to the range of inflammation until the knees were screaming. Hopefully he won’t take similar risks this year. Medical specialists (in Spain)said that Rafa should be able to play 4-5 more years at 100% as long as they watch the knees. I have to believe that Rafa and his team are willing to do that.

April 12th, 2010 at 5:04 pm

I see. So you’re saying Nadal has no physical excuses for his losses?

April 12th, 2010 at 5:15 pm

Well let’s see Ben. It seems to me that half the players in the ATP have physical excuses for their losses or lack of play. Federer’s lung infection took more of a toll on his game than he expected. Soderling is out with a bum knee, Davydenko has a broken wrist. Isn’t this how it goes in sports. It’s pretty much an injury or illness that takes an athlete out of the game. I can’t say with certainty that Rafa’s completely healthy, after all I’m not his personal physician, but for me the facts point to the possibility that he’s just FINE. Is it at some point possible that the knees flare up again, yes Ben, it is possible. But why fret and worry until that day comes.

April 12th, 2010 at 10:02 pm

I really do not think that players are making excuses – just stating the facts about injuries as they do play a big factor in the play of a tennis person. They are on their own out there with no team to back them up or cover their injuries or weaknesses. It seems that Nadal’s knees will not hold up as he seems to need to put in extensive practice time. Fed on the other hand probably needs less time. We will all see but when someone like Fed or Nadal looses, I would think that it would likely be for some injury in most cases…

July 4th, 2010 at 9:51 pm