Novak Djokovic Says He’s “Neutral” On Combined ATP/WTA Events

I would like to see some more women’s opinions about combined events. From what I cam recall off the top of my head I remember hearing similar things to novak. “It’s great and exciting for the event, but geeze is it hard to get on the practice court!”
As a fan, the 3 American Premiere/Masters events must be heaven- smaller than a slam, but star power from both sides- and plan to go to Miami next year.

October 10th, 2012 at 12:44 pm

Far fewer people are interested in watching women’s tennis. Separate the two for a year and see how much revenue they generate. Then decide on prize money.

I am sure most of the objections to this will come from women.

Equal pay for equal work. That’s how it should be.

October 10th, 2012 at 1:53 pm

Let’s be honest about this – the Men’s circuit attracts far larger crowds as a rule and the Women’s circuit would benefit from riding on the coat tails of the Men’s tour. That’s the bottom line of it. Combined events are fine, but there is a crowding issue for the players, and the fans at the smaller venues. Like Djokovic – I’m neutral, but that’s the way it is.

October 10th, 2012 at 2:15 pm

Djokovic also said nice things about Nadal how much he and the tennis are missing Rafa on the Tour.

BTW, I think that major person behind the push to separate ATP&WTA is Mirka. She knows very well what happens whem male and female players are bumping into each other to often in the locker rooms…remember Sydney2000?:)

October 10th, 2012 at 4:55 pm

Djokovic also said nice things about Nadal how much he and the tennis are missing Rafa on the Tour.

BTW, I think that major person behind the push to separate ATP&WTA is Mirka. She knows very well what happens when male and female players are bumping into each other to often in the locker rooms…remember Sydney2000?:)

October 10th, 2012 at 5:09 pm

Wogboy Djokovic said nice things about Nadal how much he and the tennis are missing Rafa on the tour,thats nice to hear,at least someones missing him.

October 10th, 2012 at 5:20 pm

Hi, WB, hi, alison.

I managed to read the end of “that” other thread. What nonsense. It’s almost a full circle now: I was massacred defending Rafa last year, I am a Rafa “hater” now because of a misquoted joke. I really don’t have nerves for this any more, and I decided to completely stop posting here.

Just want to say goodbye to all the nice posters I met here the last few years. They will know they are.

October 10th, 2012 at 5:54 pm

Mat4 please dont stop posting,i enjoy your posts please dont let the trolls drive you away,that would be a shame as your one of the fairest bloggers on this forum,i know we have had our differences and i know that we cant all agree on every thing,but dont let them drive you away that would be such a shame,ok if you need to just take a break,but dont go for good,this forum needs posters like you,at least sleep on it,please dont do anything rash.

October 10th, 2012 at 6:03 pm

Hello, Wog. I tried to resist smothering you with any more praise cause you got enough of that on the other thread, but your Mirka comment is hilarious. Think she’s got it in the bag, though.
And you mention novak and everyone missing rafa- it is true, but from Facebook and Twitter rafa seems very happy in his time off! Get well and get back on court, Rafael, its been too long

October 10th, 2012 at 6:08 pm

And mat4 don’t let a rough patch with posters get you down. Tennis x is called dysfunctional for a reason, don’t let any one keep you from posting!.

October 10th, 2012 at 6:10 pm

mat5,

Everybody who reads your post knows that it is the way you write……. double meaning, joking, beeing cheeky. I think Skeezer noticed that on the other thread and using word “hate” in that post is obvious what it means. Means the same when I tell my wife, on every second saturday when she pushes lawn mower out of garage and handing it to me that I “hate her”.
I am not here to defend you, first I don’t like to defend anybody and second you are too good yourself in foing that so why would anybody else defend you.
Last but not least, there are very few of us Nole fans (same aplies to Andy’s fans) and I think it is selfish and not fair to us if you quit, and not fair to others that like your style of writting.
At the end of the day it is your decision, but I would like to be able to pay you drinks that I owe you, one day.
In a case we don’t hear from you, good luck….AU REVOIR, SALUTE, CIAO, DO VIDJENJA !

October 10th, 2012 at 7:56 pm

“SALUTE” without “E” :)

October 10th, 2012 at 7:59 pm

Hi dari,

Thanks, I am not worried su much for Rafa’s injury as that this is first time since his childhood that he is probably enjoying life outside tennis. Is he going to lose that drive and the edge or he is going to be more hungry, remains to be seen. He didn’t have talent of Roger, Nole, Andy but his work ethics were and are next to none and talent is only 10% of success anyway, the rest is hard work.

October 10th, 2012 at 8:08 pm

Wog Boy, did you see Nole’s full interview somewhere? I just saw a snippet or two.

mat4, Take a break if you need it, but come on back; who else will bring up poetry?

October 10th, 2012 at 8:18 pm

jane,

No I haven’t seen it. It was on radio news this morning while I was driving to work. News reader was joking about Nole wanting to get back at #1 but yet is missing Nadal on tour and than they played part of Nole’s interview from yestrday, he did sound very genuine when he was talking abou Rafa “one of the best player ever” as he said.

October 10th, 2012 at 8:47 pm

New York Times on Combined Events: Sharing a Tournament, but Not a Culture
http://tinyurl.com/9fsovhp

October 10th, 2012 at 8:47 pm

mat4,You are Noles fan,and You should know that Noles fans have to pay the price just for being that.DO NOT STOP POSTING PLEASE….love Your posts.

October 10th, 2012 at 9:11 pm

*MAT4*

We all are at times misunderstood. You are not the type to back down. Surely Nole’s best days are ahead of him and as a fan you are are fully obligated to stick around and toot the horn as needed! I am calling you out on that! ;).

I fully expect you back and bring some “character” that is always need to this “dysfunctional” place. Blog on and ignore the idiots.

October 10th, 2012 at 11:06 pm

@Mat4, I’ve not been posting here long, but have been reading for close to 2 years. You didn’t do anything wrong, so don’t let other people get you down over silly disagreements. Keep writing and defending your fave, it’s what we all do on tennis forums.

October 10th, 2012 at 11:47 pm

Wog boy Says:

Hi dari,

[Rafa] didn’t have talent of Roger, Nole, Andy but his work ethics were and are next to none and talent is only 10% of success anyway, the rest is hard work.

Total rubbish. Rafa is only teenage prodigy not only amongst the top 4, but for the last 8 years.

October 11th, 2012 at 3:01 am

Talking about the men’s tour attracting larger crowds, why are the stands still empty in Shanghai well into the week. It’s Thursday and hardly any spectators. The only match that had a decent crowd was Federer vs Lu.

October 11th, 2012 at 3:09 am

Correction – Rafa is the only teenage prodigy tennis has had since Marat Safin in 1999 – 23 years!

October 11th, 2012 at 4:00 am

I am entitled to my opininion. I consider your opinion rubbish, we are even now, OK !

October 11th, 2012 at 4:17 am

Wogboy good morning or evening depending on the time of day where you are,JMO but i agree with you to a certain degree,i think Roger and Andy play a more effortless style of play,especially Roger,but i think Nole and Rafa are similar,both have to work harder to retrieve the ball at times,especially Rafa,my two cents.

October 11th, 2012 at 4:31 am

alison,

Good evening, maybe didn’t come out the way I wanted. In no way I wasn’t trying to put Rafa down, exactly oposite.
I just don’t like when some posters talk to me the way they talk. I will leave it there.
You said it better, thanks.

October 11th, 2012 at 5:02 am

“in no way I was trying” I think this is proper English, meaning I didn’t want to put Rafa down.

October 11th, 2012 at 5:17 am

Rafa is a teenage prodigy, that needs more talent than working your way up slowly to finally achieve in your 20s. A tleneted player will do well before they are 25.

October 11th, 2012 at 6:08 am

A talented player will do well before they reach 25.

Talent is not defined by how long the points last, that’s a case of style. Why is it that these so called talented players are unable to impose their game when they play Nadal. He gets the better of them more times than they get the better of him.

October 11th, 2012 at 6:26 am

Wog Boy, as you questioned yourself it’s, “..in no way was I trying to….” English language is barking mix of contradictions.
And honestly, as I’ve said b4, as long as we get your gist, doesn’t matter how you put it :)

October 11th, 2012 at 7:46 am

Margot,

Thanks:)
Making sentences in second language, English in this case, is the problem because we position words differently for the same meaning, but when we position english words in the way I would do in my first language the meaning of the sentence is different….i hope you know what I mean.

Easy win for Andy, though his body language wasn’t quite right, was it?
Easy one for Nole too.

October 11th, 2012 at 8:22 am

“Talent is not defined by how long the points last, that’s a case of style. Why is it that these so called talented players are unable to impose their game when they play Nadal. He gets the better of them more times than they get the better of him.”

Errrrrrr… ever heard of Novak, you know the guy who tuned Rafa in 7 consecutive finals in 2011?

October 11th, 2012 at 8:49 am

Talent is overrated.

How many slams the so called talented players like Gasquet and Nalbandian won?

I’m sure Nadal does not give a ______ if people consider him talented or not.

As a matter of fact, the only talented player on tour that has more slams than him is Fed.

Murray and Nole are more talented than Nadal but they won’t end up with as many slams as the Spaniard.

McEnroe, Edberg and Becker were more talented than Borg but it was Bjorn who won the most slams out of these players.

October 11th, 2012 at 9:26 am

skeezer, Rafa still has a 19-14 h2h against Novak.

October 11th, 2012 at 9:30 am

What is the definition of talent in tennis, anyway? You only get marks if you win the point, you don’t get marks for presentation or artistic content. As long as you win the point, who cares how you go about it?

I like watching the long rallies as much as I like watching the quick points.

October 11th, 2012 at 9:35 am

You cannot deny that Nole has been imposing his will on Rafa the last 2years

October 11th, 2012 at 9:35 am

Not in their last 3 matches Nole imposed his will on everyone in 2011 not only Rafa, before that Rafa was squarely in the driving seat.

October 11th, 2012 at 9:45 am

Nole is a better version of Nadal. Everything Nadal does, Nole does better. Nole should have been beating Nadal regularly a long time ago. Everywhere. Not just since 2011. Not just off clay. The fact is Nole wasted his career big time from 2008 AO to 2011 AO. Three wasted years. This is the reason why he won’t finish with 10+ slams. Now there is the Murray threat to boot!

October 11th, 2012 at 9:49 am

“What is the definition of talent in tennis, anyway? You only get marks if you win the point, you don’t get marks for presentation or artistic content.”

What is talent? Doing both.

October 11th, 2012 at 9:50 am

Nole is nothing like Rafa, nothing. Rafa is unique, no one else plays like him. Yes, Nole should have been beating Rafa just like Nalbandian, Gasquet, Federer should have been beating Rafa. The fact is he beats them all far more than they beat him and that’s all there is to it.

October 11th, 2012 at 9:54 am

Rafa is nothing like Fed

300!

#WhosBad

October 11th, 2012 at 10:10 am

Yes, Rafa is nothing like Fed, Rafa is unique.

October 11th, 2012 at 10:28 am

Talent is manifested in the number of matches you win and Rafa has the highest % of matches won of all current players.

October 11th, 2012 at 10:34 am

skeezer Says:
“You cannot deny that Nole has been imposing his will on Rafa the last 2years”

Last 2 years? They played 4 times this year and Rafa won 3 of them.

October 11th, 2012 at 10:52 am

Fed is the most talented player ever along with mcenroe an natase. They just seemed to be born to play tennis.

October 11th, 2012 at 10:55 am

Didn’t watch Fed match but journos saying Wawa tanked the third set big time. Any views?

October 11th, 2012 at 10:56 am

@Giles Wawrinka was completely broken mentally after he lost the second set. He had a good chance to win that set but didn’t take it. His concentration was gone and started spraying his shots.

October 11th, 2012 at 10:59 am

Stan ran out of steam in the third set. He had a tough match prior to facing Fed. He was serving at around 38% for first serves in the 2nd set. In the third set he couldn’t get in a first serve and was returning badly.

Nothing in that match could indicate that Stan tanked, but just Fed raising his game.

October 11th, 2012 at 11:12 am

I don’t think Wawa tanked, he just couldn’t play at that level for long. He over-reached himself in the first 2 sets and had nothing left in the 3rd.

October 11th, 2012 at 11:19 am

EIEIO,

WTF?

I said 2yrs, not 1.

Look, you can toot Rafa all you want. The truth is, right now he is not playing and is not relevant until he comes back. The fact is he has not won a title outside of Clay since 2010!

I don’t want to speak poorly of Rafa but you’re posts are getting silly, especially when it comes to describing the word “talent”. Lol….

October 11th, 2012 at 11:39 am

Jannet Says:

‘Fed is the most talented player ever…….’

Glad that Rafa owns him then.

October 11th, 2012 at 11:40 am

So what if Rafa has only won on clay since 2010, he’s made more finals than Federer in that period; what’s wrong with winning on clay?

October 11th, 2012 at 11:42 am

EIETMO I;m glad that makes you happy considering thats one of the only things he has over him.

October 11th, 2012 at 11:44 am

Jannet, owning someone is the ultimate achievement.

October 11th, 2012 at 11:56 am

EIETMO winning the most slams is.

October 11th, 2012 at 12:04 pm

Give Rafa time, he’s not done yet. Assess them when they retire.

I’m quite happy for Roger to be seen as more talented and for Rafa to beat him more than he beats Rafa.

October 11th, 2012 at 12:10 pm

Uncle Toni Nadal gave his expert, informed and intelligent opinion on the respective roles of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in tennis history.

Uncle Toni confirmed the judgment that Federer was the greatest of all time: “do not bother comparing them. Federer is better than Nadal. The number of titles won confirms it. The debate on the greatest in the history of the sport should not concern Federer and Rafa but rather Rod Laver and Federer”.

What about the head to head stats of Nadal and Federer’s duels? Toni Nadal: “They have no more meaning than that. Davydenko has a favorable stats sheet against Rafa but we agree that Rafa is better than Russian…. from our point of view, I would have preferred that Federer is not here as Rafael would won more titles and been number one more times. But it is the same for Federer, who could have won three Roland Garros more without Rafa.”
http://www.eurosport.fr/tennis/toni-nadal-j-aurais-prefere-que-federer-ne-soit-pas-la_sto3452902/story.shtml

Exactly what I’ve been saying for years. Smart guy, this Uncle Toni.

October 11th, 2012 at 12:22 pm

No. We are assessing now. We are in now. In 5 years the wind may blow left or right. Wait for everyones career to be over then. Be fair. Wait for Murray, wait for Novak, for Raonic, etc.
pffft.

October 11th, 2012 at 12:25 pm

Thank you Dave!

October 11th, 2012 at 12:26 pm

Forget the talent, just give me the h2hs.

October 11th, 2012 at 12:26 pm

Even Rafa calls Federer the greatest and we all know what he does to Roger most of the time. Mind games!

October 11th, 2012 at 12:29 pm

Mind games, humility, going with the flow; Rafa marches to the beat of his own drum.

October 11th, 2012 at 12:32 pm

Now you want to forget “Talent”? I’m done here…wishy washy blowin smoke…You need help….please get checked for Rafaitis. Its a condition where no matter what facts are laid in front of you all you see is Rafael Nadal in Armani underwear.

October 11th, 2012 at 12:34 pm

You keep the h2h, I’m more then happy with fed making the history book his personel domain. #fedthegoat.

October 11th, 2012 at 12:36 pm

Federitis is terminal.

October 11th, 2012 at 12:38 pm

The h2hs are fact. At least the last time I checked.

October 11th, 2012 at 12:38 pm

Certainly not seeing Federer in Armani pants.

October 11th, 2012 at 12:50 pm

Federer is a real human being, with genuine thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Not a bland, empty, media-friendly cipher which pleases everyone by virtue of its emptiness–which is what a clothing model is.

A professional model is an object, not a subject. His/her job is to be the object of others’ desires; other people are to project their fantasies onto the model without interference from the model.

Nadal is perfect: he’s just an empty vessel which others can fill with the content of their choice. He has no will of his own, so others can will for him. He can be sold as an innocent little boy or a hunka hunka burning Spanish love–whatever image the occasion warrants can be projected onto him by his PR handlers.

Any individual qualities the model may have detract from his/her effectiveness as a model. Genuine human beings, those who have a great deal of spirit and character and individuality, do not make good models.

So I’m actually quite glad Federer doesn’t model Armani clothes. His destiny is not to be the mere object of others’ desires and fantasies but to pursue his own star wherever it may take him and inspire and enrich the lives of others thereby.

October 11th, 2012 at 1:41 pm

Thanks, steve-o; I haven’t laughed so much for a long time.

Of all the excuses I’ve heard for Federer not being asked to model Armani. ROFL

October 11th, 2012 at 2:05 pm

Steve O JMO but i think thats rather unfair,while theres nothing wrong with Fed choosing to live his life his way,i think its unfair to judge Rafa for the way he wants to live his life either,both do their own type of endorsements,its just that both do things differently,it gets quite patronizing when female fans are stereotyped into only been interested in him for his looks or his body,ok he has a quiet persona,whats wrong with that? Rafa too is a real human being with genuine thoughts feelings and emotions,i read his autobiography and his family,friends and personal life are what he conciders the most important thing in the world to him,hes not interested in the limelight hes a very private person,fishing is his favorite passtime,so with all that in mind i dont think hes some plastic fame hungry wanabee,just a down to earth normal human being,he and Roger are more similar than you think,well in that regard anyway,granted totally different on a tennis court.

October 11th, 2012 at 2:19 pm

Maybe he simply doesn’t want to, EIETMO. Ever think of that? Or are you not capable of entertaining alternate possibilities?

Maybe he doesn’t just offer his image to the first person who throws millions of dollars at him–unlike your man shilling for Bacardi, selling booze to all those impressionable kids under the pretext of “responsible drinking.”

And to think there are people like yourself who actually believe that horseshit excuse! You would believe that the sun rose in the west and set in the east, if your man said so.

October 11th, 2012 at 2:27 pm

I wonder why people jump to the conclusion that Nadal’s fans are not interested in his tennis but are just lusting after him and that thought never crosses their minds regarding Federer’s fans. Do they think Federer has no sex appeal?

October 11th, 2012 at 2:38 pm

Not worried about. rafa or Feds sex appeal, just worried about there tennis performance. Why should that be a determining factor for a tennis fan?

October 11th, 2012 at 2:43 pm

steve-o. Fed would never be Armani’s choice for modelling anything. He doesn’t have the good looks to warrant being a model of any kind. Best he stick with the Lindor and coffee!! #justsaying. Oh, and his chest is too hairy!!

October 11th, 2012 at 2:44 pm

So Steve you are saying that it’s possible that Federer may have been seen as ‘a bland, empty, media-friendly cipher which pleases everyone by virtue of [his] emptiness’, and he could have been asked to be a clothing model but he may have turned down?

October 11th, 2012 at 2:45 pm

^Fed has got Rolex, Benz also.

October 11th, 2012 at 2:45 pm

Skeezer completely agree,the most important thing is what they do on a tennis court,what they do off it is their choice,and none of our buisness.

October 11th, 2012 at 2:50 pm

steve-o, it’s the people who accuse Rafa’s fans of not being interested in tennis but only lusting after him who think that sex appeal is a determining factor.

Nadal is indisputably one of the greatest players of all time, why on earth should his fans not like him as a tennis player, full stop.

October 11th, 2012 at 2:50 pm

isn’t this everyone guy the same clown who tried to lie that federer has a twitter account?

October 11th, 2012 at 3:17 pm

federer is more talented than rafa. even djokovic, murray, gasquet and berdych and tsonga.

Of these federer is the only one who has so much talent that he can overshadow rafa’s numbers [except on clay], inspite of having a life and having fun.

If djokovic, murray and others had someone like uncle toni kicking their behind since they were kids, they would have achieved more than rafa.[ djokovic still might, let’s wait and see] unfortunately these guys have a life and are good at other things. example, djokovic who is a great actor and a great show-man!

uncle toni even made nadal sweep the courts when he was a kid. who knows what else he made him do!

i would prefer players like djokovic who are their own-men and are not slaves for their uncle or mother or father!

October 11th, 2012 at 3:28 pm

@Rafael

Yep.

EIEIO,

Re read Dave ‘s post @12:25. Breathe in, breathe out, chill. Now re read it 2 more times so it can sink in. Now, have some Bacardi and play Poker Stars.

October 11th, 2012 at 3:32 pm

^^^ You should read Rafa’s biography and then you will be even more well-informed. #rafaisthebest

October 11th, 2012 at 3:34 pm

Djokovic already has better achievements than rafa @ 2 of the 4 slams : AO & USO.

He also has a better record at WTF and most likely end his career with more wimbledon titles than rafa!

Outside clay, rafa is really nothing special!

October 11th, 2012 at 3:38 pm

Federer is the most endorsed tennis star by a mile. and he doesn’t even endorse liqour or gambling like rafa. rafa would probably pimp his own mother for money! LOL!

Oh, and rafa fans would take the H2H? so by their imbecile logic, davydenko is a greater player than nadal? this is exactly why people think rafa fans are mostly empty in their heads! their lack of knowledge, intelligence and common sense is staggering!

think about this rafaturd who thinks any one having roger federer in their twitter handle is actually Federer! LOL! i dont think i have come across a more stupid person than that! cannot stop laughing!

October 11th, 2012 at 3:39 pm

Ofcourse djokovic is missing rafa on the tour. has he beaten any of the other top 10 guys 7times in a row? LOL!

If djokovic had a pushy parent/uncle, he might have thrashed nadal like federer beat roddick. 21-3 or 4!

nadal fans should thank their lucky stars that djokovic has a fun life and that tennis is not the only thing he is good at.

October 11th, 2012 at 3:46 pm

Rafa would probably pimp his own mother for money lol,really im a Rafa fan and as much as i dont agree with many of E.I.E.T.M.Os comments,i think that comment is uncalled for what a nasty thing to say.

October 11th, 2012 at 3:50 pm

All getting rather personal such a shame that this is where this forum is heading,where are the posts discussing tennis,im begining to think Mat4 had the right idea(sigh).

October 11th, 2012 at 3:53 pm

Alison,

EIE or whatever that clown’s moniker is, he is pretty much begging to have rafa slandered.

If he is going to take digs at Federer, we will not sit and let rafa get away with his faults!

October 11th, 2012 at 3:58 pm

Rafael. “Rafa would probably pimp his own mother for money”. You are now venturing on very muddy waters. Maybe the same insult would apply to Fed regarding his undying love for titles and records!!

October 11th, 2012 at 4:02 pm

It really is strange that inspite of everything Fed has achieved his fans are still so envious of Rafa. You just can’t be happy with your lot!! #badtotheextreme!!

October 11th, 2012 at 4:07 pm

Rafael im the 1st to admit Rafa aint perfect by a long chalk,and i dont condone anyones comments belittling Fed or his acievements,Feds the greatest ever,Rafas one of the greatest ever end of,i just think that comment was rather uncalled for thats all.

October 11th, 2012 at 4:08 pm

^^^ The calibre of some of the Fed fans in question again! #shame

October 11th, 2012 at 4:16 pm

Fedfans wish Rafa would go away.

October 11th, 2012 at 4:17 pm

I don’t understand how one player can be the greatest ever and another player one of the greatest. That doesn’t add up. So how many greatests are there. Is Federer the greatest of the greatest?

October 11th, 2012 at 4:20 pm

Federer had a twitter account that has been suspended

Roger Federer Official Twitter. Suiza. Follow Following Unfollow Blocked Unblock … Follow Roger Federer. Full name. Email. Password. Tweets · Following …

October 11th, 2012 at 4:25 pm

Giles, Fedfans get very aggressive when they lose the argument.

October 11th, 2012 at 4:26 pm

Right, we lost the argument that fed has 17 slams to 11.

he has 7 wimbledons to 3,

5 USO to 1, 4 AO to 1, 6 year end championships to none.

9 ATP fan-favorite awards to 0,

More endorsements than Rafa. 300 weeks @ number 1 to 102.

yes, we are so envious of nadal with his 7 french opens and his stupid fetch game that dogs are excellent at.

October 11th, 2012 at 4:30 pm

Didn’t someone say Rager has never had a twitter account? Make up your minds, he either had one or he didnt.

October 11th, 2012 at 4:31 pm

While federer is described by terms like God and Genius, go check the adjectives for nadal.

beast, monster, ogre. LOL! this is by journalists around the globe. I haven’t seen those adjectives used as frequently for any other tennis champion other than nadal.

I guess all the journalists are envious of nadal, too! LOL!

October 11th, 2012 at 4:33 pm

Why does every thread turn into a Fedal warzone,honestly my dads bigger than your dad so what,school playground talk,i thought the thread was supposed to be about Djokovic.

October 11th, 2012 at 4:34 pm

for english and common sense challenged nadal fans [ i know i am being redundant] :

go check the dictionary for the meaning of sarcasm!

October 11th, 2012 at 4:35 pm

alison: I must beg to differ. There is a huge difference between Federer and Nadal.

Federer has lived a more difficult life than people often believe. As a young teenager he was forced to leave his parents and live with another family to train in the Swiss national tennis program. This program was in a French-speaking part of Switzerland and he only spoke German, so he had great difficulty adjusting.

But that’s one of the reasons he became the independent-minded person he is today.

His early coach, Peter Carter, was killed in a car accident. Carter was one of the most important mentors in his life–Federer has often spoken of how Carter taught him how to be a good person, not just a good player, and he still is in contact with Carter’s parents, whom he hosts at the AO every year. So he has known tragedy and loss.

His parents are middle-class, but of modest means and had it not been for the Swiss tennis federation, local tennis programs, and the good luck to have met several coaches who recognized his ability and nurtured him he might well have ended up like Gasquet or Gulbis, or worse.

This is why he appreciates the need to give back and contribute positively to society. He’s a product not of a single small clan but of a full community. He understands that others made sacrifices for him, so that he has to in turn give what he can to others.

He was born into a very rich, secretive clan–it has been described as “Sicilian”, minus the violence–and he has been in his uncle’s charge since he was a boy.

His family calls itself “middle-class” but his family owned several businesses, including a window factory, even before he came along. Despite their pretensions to being ordinary joes, they’re aristocracy–rich and well-connected.

Nadal’s uncle (Miguel, not Toni) was a famous Spanish football player so he’s always had high-level connections in the Spanish sporting world.

His Uncle Toni coached him for free since he was a little boy. And this was only possible because the rest of the family was rich enough to support Toni. He didn’t have to go anywhere to train because his family was rich enough to build top-notch training facilities just for his sole use!

Perez-Barbadillo (Nadal’s head of PR) has done a great job–he’s got Nadal’s fans believing that he clawed his way up from the lower depths through grit and hard work, when the exact opposite is true: he’s the scion of wealth and privilege, and nearly everything he’s had was given to him by his family.

Nadal has lived, and continues to live, in a bubble where his every need was catered to and he was the center of everything. He has no notion of how real life is actually lived, because he was protected from the need to face it, and still is.

Because he’s always lived in this bubble, he just thinks that the entire world arranges itself to suit him–and his demands that the entire structure of the tour be changed (fewer hard courts, 2-year ranking) just to make it easier for him to be at the top merely reflect that mentality. It’s all of a piece.

And he’s got his Uncle Toni and his PR flacks and the Spanish athletic establishment all out there trying to swing it for him, to keep the bubble going.

There may indeed be a part of him that is the simple-minded boy who loves fishing, but it’s really impossible to tell because of all the layers of protection he lives under and all the mental conditioning Toni Nadal has imposed on him.

Here’s where I disagree: Federer and Nadal are about as alike as the sun and moon. The sun and the moon both reside high in the sky, and both shine, but that’s where the resemblance ends. In all other ways they are very dissimilar, although they are closely linked.

I have noticed that the Nadalites always seek to minimize these differences and claim that Federer and Nadal are really much alike. Again this is quite in keeping with the winning-is-everything mentality of the Nadal camp–because they both win, they must be somehow similar. But of course that is a child’s way of thinking.

As a Federer fan I see the differences very clearly. It is like day and night, and I don’t like how people try to play it away.

My motto is Kent’s line from King Lear, “I’ll teach you differences!”

The sun is the sun and the moon is the moon–and let no one confuse the two.

October 11th, 2012 at 4:35 pm

alison :

you are asking why every thread turns into a fedal war on a djokovic thread?

doesn’t your question provide the answer? you can do your bit by posting about djokovic. no one stopped you. did they?

October 11th, 2012 at 4:37 pm

Rafael Says:

“While federer is described by terms like God and Genius, go check the adjectives for nadal.

beast, monster, ogre.”

How about ‘King’.

October 11th, 2012 at 4:37 pm

Uncle toni’s control of nadal is creepy, like dokic’s dad and other notorious tennis parents!

I hope rafa can become independent one day. There is nothing more sad than seeing a grown-up man who cannot make decisions for himself!

October 11th, 2012 at 4:42 pm

Re steve-o @ October 11th, 2012 at 4:35 pm

Your post explains your hatred of Nadal. Envy is the word I’m looking for.

October 11th, 2012 at 4:44 pm

^jealousy is yours

October 11th, 2012 at 4:47 pm

ofcourse. federer fans hate nadal. but nadal fans, they LOVE federer.

believe it guys! rafa fans are incapable of hatred. didn’t you know issuing death threats is done out of love and no envy or jealousy is involved? LOL!

October 11th, 2012 at 4:50 pm

So this guy who threatened Roger is a Rafa fan now. I thought he was just anti-tennis.

Fedfans bear a grudge against Rafa because he spoilt Roger’s party and took away from his aura so they wish he would go away.

October 11th, 2012 at 4:58 pm

@skeezer. The “h” word comes up again. By whom? None other than by Rafael, a fed fan! #stop preaching

October 11th, 2012 at 5:00 pm

no wonder you guys hate federer. just like people who hate God! and then they blame us saying we are envious that satan ruined our party!

really? he did? why is federer still #1 if the party is over?

October 11th, 2012 at 5:02 pm

skeezer, no point preaching to dumbazzes anyway, dont bother with these 2 clowns – giles and ewww i ewwwwww tmo!

October 11th, 2012 at 5:04 pm

and guess who is no.4 and will spend most of his remaining life as a cripple in a wheel chair because he played tennis in the most stupid way possible!

October 11th, 2012 at 5:05 pm

Actually some of the Rafa fans love Fed but only when he is playing Rafa because they know the outcome!! #kickbutt

October 11th, 2012 at 5:06 pm

Steve o but Rafa wouldnt be the player he is without some sort of talent,you can have all the money in the world,but without the talent to back it up it means nothing,Gulbis is a prime example,and its not like Rafa hasnt given back either what about his foundation? or the charity matches he plays,ok i know Roger does charity matches too,but im not a child or a Nadalite who seeks to minimise their differences.

October 11th, 2012 at 5:06 pm

Rafael. Whatever you wish for Rafa may the same happen for Fed! #evilperson

October 11th, 2012 at 5:08 pm

alison :

even armstrong had a foundation. if you hire a good PR agent, you can do a lot of “charity” dont be so naive!

October 11th, 2012 at 5:10 pm

fed is not the one with mushy knees at 26 years old.

no one to blame but a totally stupid style of play.

October 11th, 2012 at 5:11 pm

Rafael the only thing i was saying was Rafa gives back thats all (sigh).

October 11th, 2012 at 5:12 pm

Rafael, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Using ‘Rafael’ as your pen name says a lot.

October 11th, 2012 at 5:13 pm

Fed doesn’t have mushy knees but a mushy back. He’s gotta have something mushy, the guy is 31 years old!

October 11th, 2012 at 5:17 pm

Mushy knees, no talent yet still manages to beat Roger 18:10. Not bad, eh?

October 11th, 2012 at 5:22 pm

Beating Federer from a wheelchair is quite an accomplishment.

October 11th, 2012 at 5:25 pm

Steve O fair enough they are not similar in the way their careers developed,i got that wrong and im sorry for that,but the rest of my post was only objective all bar the last line of it.

October 11th, 2012 at 5:29 pm

^ Yeah, maybe in Rio 2016!! Hahaha. And at the same time deprive Fed of the gold medal!!

October 11th, 2012 at 5:29 pm

@Giles,

I read that post. C’mon that was done out of sarcasm. Please don’t twist my earlier post on another thread.

I am sure someone will come out one day and say “I hate so and so”. What I did say is it is rare from a legions of Fed fans. Not so rare form the Rafafanatics who use the word to call someone out for criticizing Rafael Nadal.

#nopreachingneeded

October 11th, 2012 at 5:53 pm

Nole is getting more and more popular !

125 posts on Nole’s thread and more to come.

OK, they are not all about Nole but it is his thread so he can claim them:)

Keep it up Nole, you will get there…one or another way:)

October 11th, 2012 at 7:49 pm

Wog boy,

This should have been all about Nole….hehe but you know…”dysfunctional” and all ;)

October 11th, 2012 at 9:19 pm

Wog Boy, LOL! ;)

October 11th, 2012 at 9:28 pm

Wog Boy, did you see Nole’s Facebook post on the Nobel Prize winning author Ivo Andric? Nole said he’s one of his favourite authors. I’ve only read “The Bridge on the Drina”; it’s a great book. Anyhow Nole’s post got close to 8000 likes, and Nole quoted the Andric as well, as follows (Nole’s hashtag not mine): “There is no greater task than to support somebody’s development; help the human being in its striving.” #respect

October 11th, 2012 at 9:34 pm

jane,

No I didn’t see, but since you mentioned Ivo Andric and “The Bridge on The Drina” that is exactly the book that I send to my friend to Ireland when he told me he would like to learn more about history of Balkans before he was due to meet me in Serbia, I was coming from Australia and he wanted to catch up with us since we haven’t seen each other (he is Aussie married to Irish girl) since my visit to his place in Ireland (Beautiful Galway). Guess what he told me after, that book was exactly what his travel agent recomended him to read before he travels to Serbia.
About Ivo Andric, he was awarded the Nobel prize for that book, I can only say brilliant writer with a brilliant mind or as William H. McNeill in his introductio of the book (believe it or not I am holding the book right now) says:
“No better introduction to the study of Balkan and Ottoman history exists, nor do I know of any work of fiction that more persuasively introduces the reader to a civilzation other than our own.” or this ” It is, rather, a symbol of the establishment and the overthrow of civilzation that came forcibly to the Balkans in the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries and was no less forcibly overthrown in the ninetheen and twentieh centuries. That civilzation was Otoman – radically alien to, and a conscious rival of both Orthodox Russia and the civilizatio of wester Europe.”
I am glad, more than glad, Nole is reading Ivo Andric, he is Serbian Dostoyevski, stayed true to himself until very last day of his life, did’t compromise himself. Great, Great Man.

October 11th, 2012 at 10:39 pm

jane,

Thanks,
I just saw it:)

October 11th, 2012 at 10:56 pm

Skeezer,

:-)

October 11th, 2012 at 10:56 pm

No problemo Wog Boy. BTW, I am a little worried about the Haas match. For whatever reason, he’s a tough match up for Nole. The H2H is 3-2 Nole but all of their matches have been close, and Tommy routed Tipsy today. It could be a difficult match for Nole tomorrow. I am glad he has those 500 points from Bejing! :)

October 11th, 2012 at 11:49 pm

jane,

You are not the only one…worried.

October 11th, 2012 at 11:53 pm

@mat4, #Ajde, dont leave TX! Whom will I discuss tennis, linux, firefox and slivovitz with? I know I can discuss slivovitz with Wog boy — but he is obviously biased ;) By the way, ubuntu sucks… recently i upgraded from 11.04 to 12.04 and the wireless drivers have gone berserk… may be i will move to ArchLinux.

@jane, Wog boy — you cannot be serious! All except one of those matches happened before novak became nole… And nole won that recent match. #QuasiFear #Ajde

@Wog boy — i did try a Hungarian slivovitz. It was like many of the (good) European liquors made from pear, herbs, plum etc. I wonder if the Serbian slivovitz is like the Hungarian one…

@jane — it gives me great pleasure to see you spell “Wog boy” as “Wog Boy” *evil grin* Back to tennis: after the Dimitrov match, I would be scared for all Nole’s opponents! Boy, is he serving bombs? Karlovic, go hide!

@skeezer — congrats on Fed’s #300. quick question: has Fed started BH slicing more than usual this year? I was watching a few of his vids this year and it appeared that way. I mean, he has always had that shot, but he is using it a lot more these days…

@alison — dont worry about the criticisms about Rafa! he is an all time great; you know that, and i am sure he knows that himself ;)

@Margot — is the party @ MuzzVille still on ;)? Or did Raonic switch the plug off on the music ;)? But seriously, Nishi and Raonic are delightful…

@grendel — you dont seem to be around now, but i did read your reply; thanks…

@Huh — you dont seem to be around too… but a shout to you as well!

October 12th, 2012 at 2:03 am

harry,

You are not wrong, I am very bias when it comes to Slivovitz:)

The original one is unique taste, it is not sweet, it is not liquor it is spirit, very strong one. My Aussie friends call it “Rocket fuel” but they like it, they don’t shy away from drinking it. I love spirits and I am not shy to try other countries national drinks but my answer it doesn’t taste like any other other drink and there is lot of fruit spirits around Eastern Europe , even Slivovitz, but they are different.
I will tell you more next time and anyway thanks for asking.
Good to see you again here:)

October 12th, 2012 at 2:32 am

BTW, Wog Boy is correct, but when I posted first time on TX, I wrote Wog boy and left it like that, so jane is right:)

October 12th, 2012 at 2:35 am

@skeezer. So, when the fed fans use the “h” word it is deemed to be sarcasm! Yeah right! #whoareyoutryingtofool !

October 12th, 2012 at 2:44 am

Thanks for the explanation, Wog boy… You have got me excited about Slivovitz again ;) I will have to try the Serbian Slivovitz now ;) You mean “liqueur” instead of “liquor”, right? I have had both, of course ;) Also, I will have to read “Ivo Andric” #janeOpedia

October 12th, 2012 at 2:46 am

harry,

Yes, I forgot there is difference between two in English language, in my language “liker” is word for sweet drinks, strong or not doesn’t matter and spirits are only spirits, no liquor or liqueur:)
As for Andric, you cannot go wrong, but you have to be openminded and think out of square, sometimes it is hard to digest certain scenes from the past times.

October 12th, 2012 at 3:52 am

@Wog boy — thanks for the quick note on Andric. i was reading some reviews about “The Bridge on the Drina”. Seems really interesting… i will discuss with you once i read it (not this weekend, may be the next one)…

October 12th, 2012 at 4:04 am

Thanks Harry for those sweet words,i have never had a problem with objective critisism,i wouldnt be here otherwise,but some of the posts were really below the belt,downright spitefull,i was so close to saying bugger it,i dont need this agro i get enough of that in the real world,i came very close to doing a Mat4 and calling it a day,never to be seen again,thankfully things seem to have calmed down for now,and we seem to be back to talking tennis again hooray,from now on ill just ignore the trolls,and talk to real tennis fans.

October 12th, 2012 at 4:45 am

harry,
No problem, though when it comes to literature jane is more qualified, I might know more history and facts and …. whatever we can talk about.

October 12th, 2012 at 5:02 am

alison,

Come on, Yorkshire girl is not quitter;)

October 12th, 2012 at 5:17 am

Wog Boy – phew! :)

October 12th, 2012 at 9:32 am

Wogboy haha thanks your such a gentleman,shame they are not all like you.

October 12th, 2012 at 5:12 pm

@alison: Vamos!

October 12th, 2012 at 8:33 pm

Vamos Harry haha.

October 13th, 2012 at 4:13 am