Rafael Nadal: I Never Lost Motivation To Play Tennis Last Year [Video]

“That’s a lot of talk about this, I didn’t say that,” Nadal said. “I say that I played a few matches at the end of last year with less passion than usual.”

Please set your fans straight Rafa, they have been harping on that very issue as excuse to your losses.

“I’ve been away from the court for two weeks. But in the last three weeks, I’ve been practising many hours with perfect condition.”

Great! No excuses coming into AO. Perfect, see you in the finals. Say hello to all the qualifiers for me on your way. Vamos!

January 13th, 2012 at 9:27 pm

@Skeezer:

Nah, you’re nasty again with that humble champion…

January 13th, 2012 at 10:11 pm

Well, hello, Skeezerweezer! Vamos!

January 13th, 2012 at 10:19 pm

Please set your fans straight Rafa, they have been harping on that very issue as excuse to your losses.
—
Skeez

All losses have a reason. A fit (physical,mental, motivational, etc) Rafa never loses. As you might understand, some people get annoyed when I just talk about injuries after a loss. To mix things up, I have to bring up other things, like motivation. I now realize that there is a risk with this approach, especially, after the Arrogant One says, ” I will always love tennis”. It makes me look like a little boy. So I had to make a U turn.

Shoulder is perfect, motivation is there, etc. Ready for the Aus Open. I will pass on your regards to my bunnies on the way to the semis.

January 13th, 2012 at 10:39 pm

Mat4,

;)

HR….LMAO ;)

January 13th, 2012 at 10:53 pm

Serious now, is Nadal for real. His mentality,attitude just suck. Or he doesn’t know the meaning of some words

January 13th, 2012 at 11:03 pm

tom gainey,

says, “what do you make of nadal’s sudden return to health.”

i’ll answer that;

no more than what you make of djokovic’s sudden burst of stamina and endurance which allowed him to become a “sudden” winning machine. from what i’ve gathered from your comments, you seem to think that kind of overnight transformation is possible. so, if that’s possible, i’m sure it’s possible for nadal to experience shoulder problems in december, treat the problem, rest, and “return to health” for the first slam of the season in january.

hopes that answers your question; if not, i would be happy to break it down further.

January 13th, 2012 at 11:28 pm

@mem:

Djokovic never had problems with stamina… but rather with losing.

In 2009 he played 10 finals, more than a hundred matches and, since he couldn’t finish points with his forehand the way he does now, he made lots of grinding.

His problems are rather related to breathing in hot and humid conditions (he still got them), and to psychology. Great champions have problems to accept defeat: Rafa was always hurt, Roger should have won, Novak retires.

January 13th, 2012 at 11:42 pm

mat4,

oh excuse me, i guess all those retirements and breathing problems he struggled with throughout his career; not being able to last through certain matches, particularly in heated conditions weren’t due to a lack of stamina and endurance. if you say so!

January 13th, 2012 at 11:50 pm

@mem:

Come on. Since the end of 2008 he is working with Gebhard Phil-Gritsch. You have a proven fitness coach and a player who is top three in the world. Lack of endurance and stamina? You can’t be serious.

Just analyze a bit the matches when Djoko retired, and who he is retiring against.

Djokovic was inclined to get discouraged when things didn’t go the way he wanted. So, when he felt physically uncomfortable and losing, he retired. His words in Cincy, after he retired against AM, were clear on this point, something like “there was no point to play…”

For him, there is no point to play… and lose.

January 14th, 2012 at 12:17 am

And, yes, there was a big change in 2011. He didn’t accept to lose, however he felt.

January 14th, 2012 at 12:18 am

mat4,

whatever you say, but don’t feel that you need to convince me. my position on the subject stands as is.

January 14th, 2012 at 12:30 am

mem,

I don’t want to convince you. It is just a bit of social etheric conversation. You can’t convince anybody of anything.

January 14th, 2012 at 12:54 am

But, let’s be honest. I stick to this point because of the presupposition in your comment.

January 14th, 2012 at 12:58 am

Just watched “Moneyball” – very interesting film. Couldn’t help thinking of Nole’s streak and that it would’ve meant less had he not won Wimbledon, reached number 1, and then finished the season by winning the USO. Fascinating how they went about changing the scouting process though.

mat4, interesting insights. So you think the glutten-free diet had nothing to do with the improvement in Nole’s breathing issues? Sometimes I have thought those were stress related, but stress can trigger allergic reactions. Anyhow, doesn’t really matter, except that they’ve at least lessened.

January 14th, 2012 at 1:37 am

Here Nadal is contradicting himself with what he said very recently. Might be he is having problem with the english language while speaking to the Press and cannot correctly bring out what he wants to say ??

January 14th, 2012 at 1:42 am

Rafa’s fans can rejoice, Rafa finally knocked Nole down….
In a charity match…….with the ball. Clijsters had to perform CPR.

January 14th, 2012 at 2:12 am

ATP draw challenge. 1 day and change left. Submit your bracket here:

http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketAussieOpenATP/kimberli254/default.aspx.

The deadline to enter is 1/15/2012 7:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.

January 14th, 2012 at 9:36 am

jane,

Moneyball? Now you know what OBP ( on base percentage ) means ;). Well done film, knew the team back then very well.

January 14th, 2012 at 9:56 am

skeeze, mostly I enjoyed it for the acting. But the stats things was fascinating too.

Kimberly, hopefully I can get around to doing the brackets before the deadline – thanks for always doing these!!

It snowed in Vancouver, and it’s still snowing, which means insanity. People absolutely freak out on the roads: what’s this white stuff into which the rain has transformed? ahhh, crash, bang! ahhh, lol.

January 14th, 2012 at 11:32 am

Nadal is unreal! ;)

January 14th, 2012 at 1:42 pm

jane,

Can you throw some snow down ti Cali please? Dry winter so far :(

January 14th, 2012 at 3:15 pm

@jane:

Yes, I think that the diet improved his breathing, but not his stamina and endurance.

There was a false conception that Djokovic had problems with endurance because of his retirements, and that the principal reason for his success is a new, improved stamina.

This argument is used by some fedal fans with some nasty implications. Just go to THASP and see for yourself.

I repeat what I wrote once: maybe he is, and maybe he is not. But if he is, he uses substances from 2009 at least. And then, he certainly is not the only one. Everybody among the top four is suspect for some reason or another.

Last, but not least: in a interview from 2010, Wilander revealed Rafa’s hyperbarric tent. Anybody noticed?

January 14th, 2012 at 4:12 pm

NINERS baby! Who’s got it better than us? NOBODY!!

Errr..ooops…wrong forum..sorry. But what a Football game ;)

January 14th, 2012 at 8:45 pm

Skeeze, I was waiting for that post to come. I on the other hand was rooting for the Saints as I have some ties to new Orleans. But not to much of chance if they have to make the freezing trip to green bay. I would root for the giants tomorrow if I were you. On the other hand, I am rooting for patriots right now as I think Tebow is the worst quarterback in the NFL. Back to tennis!

Go rafa! If I had a second choice for the men it would be, uh, still rafa I am much more diversified in my support of WTAI players but with ATP I am a one man woman,

January 14th, 2012 at 9:01 pm

K,

You have to admit a great game. The Saints offense is unstoppable. Still don’ t know how the Niners won. i actually like the Niniers chances now against GB and especially NY. This was the game I didn’t think they would get past but if they did the matchups imo are better against GB/NY.

Tebow vs Brady? Not even funny. Hope your new coach turns things around. You guys have some talented guys there.

Thanks for the bracket challenge as usual makes all the Slams that much more fun. Rafa should go far with his draw so should be fun for you ;)

January 14th, 2012 at 9:44 pm

I was looking at the standings and we have a nice little crowd for the bracket. Everyone is welcome to join. It is a lot of fun and the more tennis xers the merrier.

The dolphins need a coach and a quarterback. Though I fear we might not have any “luck” on the quarterback search.

I certainly think you guys have a chance against the giants, although they are sort of the joe-Willie tsonga of football. Can beat anyone, can also lose to anyone, but green bay at green bay, the coldest place on the continent? Maybe. I was rooting for the saints to take it but now that they are out I think I will pull for the ravens for no reason other than that guy from the movie the Blind Side plays for them. One of my favorite movies.

January 14th, 2012 at 10:03 pm

Ahhhhh, that last post was me, must have been left logged in as kaiser when he did the top ten list, ahhhhhhh, sorry

January 14th, 2012 at 10:08 pm

Ahh Kimberly you talk like an East Coaster…lol

January 14th, 2012 at 10:33 pm

What shoulder injury? Just some soreness getting use to the new weight on the racket, or over practicing. Certain blog writers blow Nadal injuries completely out of proportion loving the drama that insues. Having a poor news day, pull a Rafa injury out of the closet. But tennis players lose all the time. Why would any of them need an excuse. If you don’t win you lose, and you can’t win them all.

It was a nail biter right to the final whistle in SF today. Don’t know if our sunshiny niner’s can play in all that sleet and snow in Wisconsin, but if they can and win there will be alot of partying in my neck of the woods.

January 14th, 2012 at 10:54 pm

Anna

They can do it!! Go Niners! We have Wine, and Wisconsin cheese goes well with it :)

January 14th, 2012 at 11:21 pm

Nadal is one of the toughest opponent to play. But recently his weakness has been exposed by Djokovic and we can already see he is a bit worried on that front. Not only on Nadal, but Djokovic’s run last year had an effect on other players too making them believe that Nadal can be defeated. This aspect is very important in today’s game as tennis is not only a physical game, it has become a mental game nowadays. If we look at 2011 game analysis of the top 4 (http://bit.ly/ADp4rh ), you can see the dent in Nadal’s game. If his service does not improve in AO, its going to be very hard for him to win AO again!

January 15th, 2012 at 3:52 am

Nadal is one of the toughest opponent to play. But recently his weakness has been exposed by Djokovic and we can already see he is a bit worried on that front. Not only on Nadal, but Djokovic’s run last year had an effect on other players too making them believe that Nadal can be defeated. This aspect is very important in today’s game as tennis is not only a physical game, it has become a mental game nowadays. If we look at 2011 game analysis of the top 4 ( http://bit.ly/ADp4rh ), you can see the dent in Nadal’s game. If his service does not improve in AO, its going to be very hard for him to win AO again!

January 15th, 2012 at 3:53 am

I just read on the other forum that Nadal critisized Federer for keeping quiet and not supporting the other players about overcrowded tennis calendar. He said by doing so he makes him and a majority of the players look like a rebels and he (Federer) pretends everything is fine that makes him look good in the eyes of atp officials. Apparently he said that in interview in Spanish. Does anybody know more about this and is it true?

January 15th, 2012 at 7:22 am

Oh dear, does that mean the “bromance” is over….;)

January 15th, 2012 at 8:07 am

Its on espn.com
Regarding these two, they’re tough words from Rafa, but he just comes across more as a whinger. Love to be a fly on the wall for their players meetings. Love Rafa’s line that maybe Fed has a “super body” and never gets hurt but the rest of them will not finish their careers “as a rose”.

Awesome that their in the same half!

January 15th, 2012 at 8:25 am

I am a bit confused by those name changes and multiple aliases. There are Jane and jane, alison and aliso, Michael and Michael, Kaiser and Kimberly…

After some time you build a relationship with somebody. I like to joke with Skeezer, to discuss poetry with jane, to exchange tennis opinions and ideas with Grendel, Daniel, margot… Suddenly I feel a bit uneasy.

January 15th, 2012 at 8:28 am

Just to clarify, only that question he answered in Spanish. My guess, it was yesterday in Melbourne. I read it at RTS1 (serbian television)site, they are usually accurate.

January 15th, 2012 at 8:30 am

Yes, it’s true:

Nadal, Federer rift emerges at Australian Open

“Responding to the suggestion that Federer disliked players complaining openly about problems on the tour because it tarnished the image of tennis, Nadal said he took another view.

“No, I totally disagree,” he said in comments translated from Spanish. “For him it’s good to say nothing. Everything positive. ‘It’s all well and good for me, I look like a gentleman,’ and the rest can burn themselves.”

http://tinyurl.com/7lvew6l

Doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.

January 15th, 2012 at 8:30 am

Nadal is finally showing his true colurs through tese statements about federer. Nobody can hide his real self forever from others, hahaha. ;)
Hopefully djoker crushes him at AO!

January 15th, 2012 at 8:36 am

@Tennis Vagabond:
@racquet:

Thanks, I knew they are usually accurate…in sport :)

January 15th, 2012 at 8:40 am

Ajet, hold the fire…they have first to make it to the final. One step at the time :)

January 15th, 2012 at 8:48 am

hey rafa nadal:

It’s not roger who ever wanted to come across the ever humble gentleman, but you! That’s why roger has always been candid and called a pade a spade, unlike you, who, after beating federer in each match, would epeat that fake statement that fed’s the greatest ever in your opinion! Hehe! I knew it from the very beginning! You talked so honey sweet words that fed even startd beieveing it, and showing much respect to you on and off court, whereas he would always seem to fight a lot harder (and with a much more zealous and attacking body language to djoker or murray). Thanks for putting the curtains out for fed so that he may at least now realise that you’re indeed his UNKINDEST ARCH-RIVAL, and I for sure like to see the hate for you in fed’s eyes when he next faces you at the slams! And oh, novak already put you in your place last year and your too nice hugging of him at the net also ended! You couldn’t feign things any longer with novak, eh? ;)

on the other hand because fed’s a real gentleman, he has been voted for the stefan edberg sportsmanship award so many times, unlike you who’s won it just once. hehe! Tells much about how gentle you’re perceived with your intolerable fist-pumping, celebration in between points, injury time-outs, delay in serving etc etc.! People see more than you could imagine dude!

—————————————-

And yes, Go Fed, Get This Nadal this time!!! Play with passionate hatred against him on court, and the win will be yours!
C’MON FEDERER!!!

this nadal fellow by talking sweet has almost killed the attacking instinct of his rivals and made their losses to him appear palatable to them! good trick, eh? not anymore hopefully!

January 15th, 2012 at 8:56 am

yup wog boy ;)

January 15th, 2012 at 9:01 am

Humble Rafa:

Time to change your name to ‘GENTLEMAN RAFA’ or may be ‘BARBARIAN FED’, LOL! ;)

January 15th, 2012 at 9:04 am

@mat4:

You can talk with me about Zubrowka and Loza and some Meze and I will always stay Wog Boy.That is pretty hard to change, isn’t it.
I don’t think I am on the same level with you when it comes to tennis, but I am happy with me and my knowledge, still puppy and learning :) Cheers.

January 15th, 2012 at 9:06 am

Mat4, kaiser is my husband. He does not post on tennisx however he did log in to the post a top ten list for 2012 as he could not resist the chance to win the fabulous fabulous prize package promised by the tennis x writers. I, Kimberly, only have one name. However the computer somehow still had his name in the login and when I wrote the post I accidentally wrote it as him.

January 15th, 2012 at 9:45 am

Sorry,

it’s psychological. Then, on the WLT site I had some unpleasant situations. I saw above some posters promoting another site with the same post and it makes me feel somehow cheated.

@Kimberly: what’s that fabulous price?

@Wog Boy: Though I know well south slavic languages, I am not ignorant in matters of mastika, klekovatcha, shlyvovitza, though I persist to believe that our “fine” is better than loza. Let’s add that although you’re kind is tough in this domain, Russians are a bit better.

But meze… is an exceptional creation.

January 15th, 2012 at 9:58 am

Ajet: Who cares what Nadal says? If he feels it is okay to tell everyone that, even after defeating Fed 17 times out of 26, Roger’s still the “favourite” (even on clay, LOL!), then so be it. What matters is what transpires on the court, everything else is just sauce…

January 15th, 2012 at 10:23 am

^he’s just jealous..ya know…16 sSSsSSlams and all.

January 15th, 2012 at 10:41 am

mat4: u r safe with me, jane, grendel, alson/aliso, skeeze and majority of others. Although we did have a “Jane” for a while, who was NOT our jane and grendel was “dunbar” for a bit, but was really our grendel, which was strange. If u get what I mean!
Am really surprised there are two different “Michaels” posting. On well run sites they don’t allow this.

January 15th, 2012 at 11:04 am

margot i left the last letter off my first name on my computer keyboard by mistake,and sent some posts before i realised what i had done,so sorry to everyone for the confusion, the only difference in the two micheals is the way they spell there names i think the a and the e are the other way around,and ones fare and ones not so fare,jane and jane are before my time on the forum,so i only know of one well to the best of my knowledge anyway,same with grendel and dunbar,however i do think some posters who i thought came across as fare and also quite nice,have shown there true colours today,and they seem to be the ones with split personalities,mentioning no names.

January 15th, 2012 at 11:45 am

alison, when I open this site my name comes up automatically. Does this not happen to you?
Realised u were “aliso.” :)
R u doing the challenge-there’s still time, I think?

January 15th, 2012 at 11:58 am

Clear cookies, history, data or cache(depends on browser) and you should be good to go with starting fresh with your name.

January 15th, 2012 at 12:09 pm

hi margot its my husbands computer and for some reason it doesnt always come up,i dont quite know why,i keep debating about doing the challenge but never quite get round to it somehow,sorry call me silly but i dont quite understand it,maybe im too late now anyway,will you fill me in please im confused?kept reading the posts for months on tennis x before actually finding the courage to post,im a bit of a computer phobe im afraid lol.

January 15th, 2012 at 12:10 pm

skeezer this is my husbands computer and believe it or not im still finding my way around,and i dare not tamper with anything too much,just in case i balls something up,or delete something i shouldnt,im probably about 5 years behind everyone else on this forum when it comes to computer technology im afraid lol.

January 15th, 2012 at 12:17 pm

Hi alison,

I am not terribly knowledgeable about computers either. It was obvious to me that “aliso” was just a typo! I am debating about the challenge myself — I already spend too much time on here and other forums, and I’m terrible at time management and afraid that I’ll spend even more time if I do the bracket challenge!

January 15th, 2012 at 1:02 pm

thanks lulu,glad im not the only one then,i always get my hubby saying are you gonna sit on that bloody computer all night,or can i have my computer back,sometimes i come home from work and sit blogging till midnight uk time,even when im not blogging im reading posts,flicking from one thread to another,total tennis x addict lol.

January 15th, 2012 at 1:27 pm

lulu i knew you were female too i never doubted it for a second.

January 15th, 2012 at 1:29 pm

mat4—the article announcing the 2012 top ten contest did not say what the prize was only that is was FABULOUS FABULOUS. I wonder if any prize even exists and if it does I’m quite sure it is not going to be “FABULOUS FABULOUS”!!!!!!

January 15th, 2012 at 1:42 pm

alison, this is the link:
http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketAussieOpenATP/kimberli254/default.aspx

I think you’ve got about 5 hours but you have to go on and give them your email, user name and a password. Then you can access the site. They’ll give yo a list of all the matches and you choose who you think’ll win each. There must be up to 20 of us doing it.
It’s great, light hearted fun and kimberly’s small sons do it and have on occasion, beaten a lot of us, including me…..
Also, as has happened to me in Masters, if your favourite goes out you keep your interest in the tournament.
Hope you manage it, if not now then make sure for next one!

January 15th, 2012 at 1:58 pm

thanks margot if i dont do it this time ill have a go the next time.

January 15th, 2012 at 3:08 pm

Nadal, who is vice-president of the Player Council, has spoken extensively over the past week about his concern that tennis will leave his knees ruined for life. He returned to the theme. “I have had experiences that I never could have dreamed of,” he said, “but to finish your career with pain in all parts of your body is not positive. If he [Federer] finishes his career as a rose, it’s because he has an extraordinary body, but neither [Andy] Murray nor [Novak] Djokovic nor I will end up roses.”

Nadal also addressed the question of career length. Federer is still a genuine threat at 30, as he showed by winning 17 straight matches at the end of last year. Given the way he is playing, it is possible that he could emulate Andre Agassi and go on until he is 35 or 36. But Nadal, at 25, already appears close to buckling under the weight of chronic injuries.

“At what age are we going to stop in tennis?” Nadal said. “Twenty-eight, 29 or 30? Then you have left a lot of life ahead and it’s also important that you are physically fit. Now I fear that then I won’t be able to play soccer or ski with my friends.”

I think I will wait until the full interview has been posted, but this does seem very ‘unrafa like’. He sounds a bit tense to me.

Roger has often in the past criticised and openly said the schedule was too long, but ultimately, it isn’t his decision. May be the new guy who has taken over from Adam Helfent will bring about some changes, but really, Rafa does have a choice. Don’t play so many tournaments!

January 15th, 2012 at 3:20 pm

madmax great post and i agree it sounds un rafa like,but i dont think as i said to jane that rafa would intentionally say anything towards roger with any malicious intent,just a difference of opinion im sure,although i do agree like you say,that rafa has a choice,and maybe should lighten the load a bit,hes taking all of february of so theres a start,and about time too,hope your fav and mine have a good tournament anyway.

January 15th, 2012 at 4:01 pm

Mat4, i can see, you are good in that topic too, for the moment I thought that I found the topic I can do better then you ;(
I agree about Russians, Bulgarians are close enough, I spent lot of time in Sofia and Black sea resorts, when I was young.
Knowing south slavic languages you probably can hear something sometimes that is R rated, from Novak and JJ, if you watch women:)

January 15th, 2012 at 4:23 pm

Well, I did do the bracket challenge for the first time! I picked according to what I HOPE will happen more than what I think really will happen, at least in the final rounds. I have Murray and Rafa to the final, with Rafa winning. I’m probably going to crash and burn big time, but it’ll be fun to root for my picks.

Rafa does seemed very concerned about his body lately. I hope all is well.

January 15th, 2012 at 4:29 pm

Alison & Madmax, the problem with that choice is , less tournaments less points. If you are aiming to be #1 it is not good , not at all. Rafa knows that. Was it him that suggested for points to stay two years, now you know why.

January 15th, 2012 at 4:30 pm

wog boy you have a point,but less tournaments mean fresher and surely more likely to peak at the majors,then as they say the rankings take care of themselves, well in theory anyway.

January 15th, 2012 at 4:35 pm

i would love to here swiss maestros take on the whole rafa/roger so called rift.

January 15th, 2012 at 4:37 pm

alison and wog boy. Have to say, very suprised at this so called ‘outburst’, but I have just seen the video link to it and rafa comes across as angry. I haven’t seen him like this before. I really do think there is an underlying worry in his head about Australia and he has just ‘popped’. Federer needs to stay cool over this as it will get over exaggerated.

But really, rafa knows there is very little he and roger can do in terms of sitting on the council, they can make their opinions heard, but it isn’t their overall decision and rafa knows that.

I for one think that the tennis year is way too long, but then that is where smart scheduling comes in. Yes, alison you are right. Rafa is taking february off, but he wasn’t playing in any tournaments during february anyway, so where is the loss? He also makes the decisions to play the exhibition matches and davis cup. I understand he feels the pressure to play for his country, but he can’t blame roger for that. Roger played davis cup too this year and you didn’t hear a peep from him.

With rafa playing exhibition matches for his foundation, again, he doesn’t have to do this. May be the pressure of too many things ‘outside’ of the tennis calendar is making him feel edgy.

January 15th, 2012 at 4:44 pm

madmax i agree with everthing you say,and i dont know what more i can say,im not a hater i believe in objectivity,your right what rafa does aint rogers problem and vice versa,i just dont buy that rafa said this with any malice towards roger,i think it was a heat of the moment thing,that got blown up out of proportion.

January 15th, 2012 at 4:59 pm

madmax never the less what rafa said was stupid and un called for.

January 15th, 2012 at 5:07 pm

allison,

what’s stupid about it? there will never be change if everybody is a coward.

what nadal said is not stupid, it is a fact, roger does find being called the player “who don’t have injuries” or the “gentleman” or the “greatest sportman” of the sport more important than looking out for other players. it’s a fact! i’ve said it all along and i applaud nadal for having the guts to speak it. in fact, nadal is free to his opinions. people are going to criticize him anyway, so, what the heck!

this is simply the truth! roger is the kind of person who doesn’t go against the tour for anything or anybody because the tour gives him anything he wants; he gets the schedule he wants; they hire the people he wants hired; if he wants a surface change to benefit him, he gets it and so on and on; therefore, he doesn’t say anything that he thinks may “taint the image of the tour” even though it may be beneficial to players overall. nadal is the opposite; he has no allegience to anyone and he is not a coward nor is he afraid to stand up for causes he believes in. bump what people say!

he is absolutely spot on! every time he mentions the calendar, the season is too long, drug testing procedures are too stringent, he is called names, criticized, despised, lied on, and everything else. he is the one seen as the selfish bad guy who is looking out for himself only.

i understand perfectly what he is saying. he is not envying roger’s style; he’s not being disrespectful; he is being realistic in that he knows that other players are susceptible to injuries although roger may be the exception. he’s not blaming roger for that; he is merely saying something has to be done to protect other players and the future of tennis. the tour can’t run with just roger. that’s common sense!

what’s wrong with rafa having an opinion that’s different from roger’s. roger is not God!

anyway, good for nadal; he gave steve tignor, bodo, randall, gainey, and writers who thrive on exploitation of nadal’s every work something to have a field’s day on while giving the fans something to dissect, rant, rave, and wallow in until cows fly.

vamos rafa!

January 15th, 2012 at 7:04 pm

@mem It’s not a fact that fed finds his image more important, it’s an opinion, one thats clearly filled with some anger towards roger. I get your a nadal fan but don’t make things up, federer doesn’t aleways get what he wants. Do you think he likes the fact that almost all the courts are slow? Hell no the one who benefits most from this is nadal. Did he want hawekey? No and he still doesn’t like it. Your right nadal has every right to voice his opinion, but so do the people who critize him for it.

January 15th, 2012 at 7:26 pm

Drake,

save it! nadal didn’t request for the courts to be slowed, but roger constantly complains and suggests that the courts should be faster. now say i’m lying! i respect nadal for accepting the surfaces as they are and working hard to adapt rather than requesting that they be changed to make it easier for him to win. show me where nadal asked for the surfaces to be slowed down. show me some proof! if you have a problem talk to the people who slowed them down.

roger doesn’t want hawkeye because, not having hawkeye would give him an advantage. when close calls are made there would be no way to confirm whether the ball was in or out and of course, that would benefit him. he doesn’t seem to ever want anything that benefit the majority.

do you think i give a rat’s tail if you criticize nadal. anybody who is unafraid to rock the boat is going to be criticize. nadal is use to it and so am i! you’re free to do so!

January 15th, 2012 at 8:10 pm

@mem I never said nadal suggested it to be slow and I know fed has complained about the court being slow, my point was that he doesnt get what he wants, something you claimed. And we both know that isn’t the reason he dislikes hawekey. Funny you critize fed for being selfish while it was nadal who has come up with ideas that are rather self seving, 2 year ranking for example. But ofcourse you as the die hard nadal fan will defend him no matter what.

January 15th, 2012 at 8:20 pm

Drake,

like i said, you are free to your opinion and of course, i’m going to defend nadal no matter what. words are inadequate to express what he has contributed to this sport and it does not go unnotice with me, not for one minute. he is most exciting and intriguing player i have ever witness. i love his character and what he stands for as a person; qualities that can’t be brought!

i thought that was what members of the council suppose to do, come up with ideas to address certain issues; nadal had an idea, so,
why does proposing a two-year ranking has to be self-serving; it is an idea. others are free to put ideas on table.

at least nadal has ideas as opposed to roger who seem to always think everything in tennis is just fine, nothing needs changing. that’s what you call self-serving! face it, nothing nadal proposes is ever going to be good enough. what nadal needs to do is move on, focus on himself and his tennis, leave the ideas to players who the council want to support. his vp position is a waste of time and energy. move on, be done with it! that’s my opinion!

January 15th, 2012 at 8:55 pm

“roger who seems to always think everything in tennis is just fine, nothing needs changing”?

That is utterly false; even as an opinion, it lacks all forms of veracity (one has to be momentarily lying to oneself at the moment of aberration).

January 15th, 2012 at 9:24 pm

“i’m going to defend nadal no matter what”

There ya go. What kinda rationale is that? Passionate, in love, no doubt. But, being in Love, which is a beautiful thing, makes one blind and foolish lacking rationale. Proves you have little interest in Tennis, and never seen you just post for any other player. Its only because Rafa is there. Basically, whatever Rafa does or says, you will defend him? Too bad u have to go dumping on other Posters who don’t share your Love. Rafa is showing his true colors and you can’ t accept it. Worse now is that your makin sh!t up about Fed so your Love looks better. Obsess another celebrity and let Rafa make his own records by just doin it and not complaining about how things should be to adjust to him. Fed had to play by the same rules, and made all GOAT records. Rafa is great, and can be one of the greatest, but his complaning is not helping his cause.

January 15th, 2012 at 9:55 pm

skeezer,

the same as what you do for roger. so, don’t lecture me with your hypocrisy. i could care less what you think!

January 15th, 2012 at 10:02 pm

I agree with skeezer.Yes you can have a fav but don’t be blinded by reality.

January 15th, 2012 at 10:08 pm

Drake,

you can agree with whomever you choose. it doesn’t make you right and me wrong.

if i’m blind, i’m certainly not the only one. maybe you guys should take your own advise and take off your blinders before you preach to me.

January 15th, 2012 at 10:16 pm

mem, I call you blind because you say you will defend nadal no matter what. My fav is fed but I would never do that. If he does or say something wrong I would admit it instead of blindly defend.

January 15th, 2012 at 10:34 pm

Drake,

how you handle your business is up to you!

when i say i will defend nadal no matter what i meant was, i will be loyal as a fan, through ups, downs, wins, losses, rough spots and all.

i assumed you guys would be able to interpret my comments in terms of loyalty, but since that’s not the case, if it makes you feel better, i will explain, i do not support anyone blindly, not even nadal, but at the same, i’m not going against him when i believe what he said is reasonable and there is no law against him having an opinion that does not coincide with roger.

when i see a reason to speak against something nadal says or does, and if i believe it’s something he shouldn’t have said or done, i will not hestitate because he is human; i never claimed he was a saint, but i don’t take too kindly to everything he says and does being criticized when i know novak or roger can say the same things and everybody pretend there’s is nothing wrong with it. i can’t stand hypocrites and phonies! if you are going to call one player out for something, then, be fair and apply the same principles to other players, regardless of who they are. i’m not naive, i know that will never ever happen on this blog and i don’t care, but don’t preach to me about my flaws, when everybody else has them.

nadal was spot on in this case and i echo his thoughts. simple as that!

January 15th, 2012 at 11:13 pm

Well good too know.

January 15th, 2012 at 11:30 pm

“when i say i will defend nadal no matter what i meant was”….

Uh uh….sure. Been there done that mem with all your Rafa love rants and NOBODY else. My post stands and so does yours, Obviously you could care less and so could all of us who could care less, right? Leave it at that, we all have pur right to opinions, especially you?

If your fantasy Love wins AO we will all bow down to your love fest. Ohhhh…Rafa…ohhh..wait…just had an orgasm…excuse me.

Be careful who you accuse, name call, verbally abuse…it has ways to come back and bite.

January 16th, 2012 at 12:24 am

I feel that consecutive string of defeats against Novak is taking its toll on Rafa. He is now feeling insecure and rightly so. He has now pounced on the Authorities and has sought a change in the Tennis schedule. He has also not missed an opportunity to criticize Roger who he feels is not taking this issue up seriously by standing up for the players. He has also expressed his jeaolousy in categorical terms on Federer’s physique. Too bad for Rafa to be so blunt and open in his criticism especially against Roger who has been his long time friend despite the intense rivalry which Tennis has not seen before. It is not Roger’s fault that he is having a relatively injury free career. He has scheduled his tournaments in such a manner that is not so taxing. Moreover, his movement on court is so easy and with rare elegance. Might be Nadal should learn a lesson or two from Roger’s strict tournament selection policy and his way of playing Tennis. He an surely try the former, but his cramped Tennis will not enable him to do the latter. He can only do what he is doing now – Envy Roger and his brand of Tennis.

January 16th, 2012 at 1:01 am

Well, I think is a better interview from some of the others I have read and watched:

Federer and Nadal have disagreed on multiple fronts lately.

Nadal supported Richard Krajicek, the former Wimbledon champion, for the top ATP post; Federer wanted a more experienced businessman. Nadal supports a shift to a two-year ranking system in the interest of protecting players from the effects of injuries; Federer continues to back the existing one-year system, arguing that it represents tradition and also allows emerging players a better chance to break through.

The two stars had a private discussion in London in November during the World Tour Finals in which Federer said they cleared the air. But some clouds remain. Although Federer said, without naming names, in a recent interview that he preferred that players keep their criticism of the sport private and focus on working for change behind the scenes, Nadal disagrees.

“It’s very easy for him: ‘I say nothing, everything’s positive, I stay a gentleman and the others can burn themselves,’ ” Nadal said Sunday, referring to Federer. “Each of us has our opinion. Each of us is free to have a different vision of things that need to be improved on the tour.”

Nadal added, “If the majority think one thing and very few think another, maybe they are the ones who are wrong.”

Nadal has rarely addressed the prize money issue publicly, focusing more on reducing the physical toll of the sport by calling for change in the calendar, the ranking system and the Davis Cup, the team event that he won with Spain in December but that he does not plan to play in this year.

Some changes have already been instituted. This season will end in November, two weeks earlier than the 2011 season ended. Federer has said he would prefer to observe the effects before calling for more drastic action. Nadal struck a more evolutionary than revolutionary tone himself Sunday.

“Can we make improvements without forcing a drastic change on the tennis world?” he said. “Without a doubt, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

I don’t think this is the right time to be talking about changes in the schedule or nadal being disrespectful of Roger’s style of play or putting him image before everyone playing tennis, I mean that is just an outrageous comment.

In many of Fed’s interviews he has always spoken about the important the the new guys breaking through and he has always defended rafa like a brother.

Rafa should not have said what he said at this point. There is a time and a place and this isn’t one of them.

I just hope Roger doesn’t add to it to be honest and just focuses on getting through the first few rounds of the AO instead of this, but for nadal to say ‘and others burn themselves’, is just not clever by any ones standards.

January 16th, 2012 at 1:07 am

alison,

only just found the interview at the AO official website, I think the one referred to above has been translated from spanish (I think).

http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/interviews/2012-01-15/201201151326617238371.html

January 16th, 2012 at 1:17 am

Nadal now wants Feds help in ensuring that he is healthy enough by the year end to defeat Fed during the hard court season and further improve his h2h.

January 16th, 2012 at 1:25 am

skeezer,

im’ so scared, i’m shaking in my boots!

let me get this straight, you are the master of making false allegations against nadal and you have the nerve to give me advice. you’re as phony as they come. don’t get me started! i don’t see you being interested in the truth when you are lying on nadal and twisting his words. you’re not qualified to tell me squat. go play with your toys!

January 16th, 2012 at 1:25 am

mem lets imagine today is the 31st december 2011. guess what….it means that tomorrow would be the 1st january 2012. do us a favour please…. disappear like 2011 slowly, quietly with the last bit respect you have for yourself , PLEASE? in the words of the GREAT SKEEZERWEEZAAAAHH………….Shhhhammmooooooooooonnnnn!!!!!!!!!

January 16th, 2012 at 2:05 am

Interesting match between Dimitrov and Chardy. Currently 3-all in the 5th set. Both have horrendous break point conversions. Seems like the winner will be the one who has the better 1st serve %. I hope that Grigor comes through!

January 16th, 2012 at 2:15 am

ding dong,

your name describes you perfectly, a ding dong!

have you bought this blog? if so, then you can give me orders, if not, you know what to do.

January 16th, 2012 at 2:34 am

mem i am not giving you orders. that was just a friendly request. you display the same mentality as nadal. petty, arrogant and stupid. just shut up. you are depressing.

January 16th, 2012 at 3:03 am

ding dong,

i must be quite interesting i got a ding dong like you to respond to my comments.

btw, thank you for placing me in the category with nadal. i’m honored to be associated with such a charming, beautiful, humble, extraordinary person and player. you did good!

January 16th, 2012 at 3:35 am

boring

January 16th, 2012 at 5:29 am