Rafael Nadal Signs Up To Play Federer’s Hometown Basel Event

I play my hometown event for chumps. I don’t argue over money, and I am a good sport. Plus I don’t threaten to leave. I am a long termer. Ask Barcelona and MC.

April 29th, 2013 at 10:14 am

Told you so, they saw all that star-dust blowing around in Barcelona and, don’t blame them really……this is the Rock Star of tennis we are talking about!

#gimmesome

April 29th, 2013 at 10:33 am

^^^ Hahaha. Rockstar indeed!!
Vamos Rafa!!

April 29th, 2013 at 11:02 am

Now that’s just mean of Rafa. :-) Actually, should be interesting if they end up playing each other in Basel. We all know Rafa’s huge edge over Federer in their match-ups, but Fed wins most of their indoor matches.

April 29th, 2013 at 11:17 am

And it’s a good sign that Rafa feels confident enough to plan to play indoors that far ahead.

April 29th, 2013 at 11:18 am

And it’s a good sign that Rafa feels confident enough to plan to play indoors that far ahead.
—
Nah..I just prefer to get some money now to pay for Xisca’s shopping. Around Wimbledon time, I am done mentally and physically.

There are no top starts in Base. It’s just another tournament with mental midgets. If it comes down to it, I can beat them all.

April 29th, 2013 at 11:46 am

Basel, Paris Bercy (in 2014 will be the first Master 1000) and London in a row again. If Nadal wants to have a chance to win the WTF, he should withdraw from Bercy

April 29th, 2013 at 11:52 am

HR,

You never beat your owned GOAT in indoors. Maybe you are feeling that the old man might not be able to keep his indoor streak going against you this year. Perhaps that’s why you chose to play basel this year ;)

April 29th, 2013 at 11:52 am

HR,

you seem to have Nadal’s financial account details and stuff, since you seem to know that he doesn’t take money to play in Spain (ha ha… don’t be THAT naive).

As for mental midgets, my man Djokovic has shown who it really is (or have you forgotten MC already??).

April 29th, 2013 at 11:53 am

I have a feeling that the goat will not play Basel under the false pretense of contractual problems. You know the real reason.

April 29th, 2013 at 12:17 pm

“You know the real reason”

you didn’t mean that YOU are the reason, did you?

Nah, the goat never escapes from meeting his so called owner. It’s the owner who doesn’t like to meet his goat under the roof

April 29th, 2013 at 12:25 pm

HR, Federer announced he is going to play the Swiss Indoors a few weeks ago: http://tennis.si.com/2013/04/10/roger-federer-swiss-indoors-basel/

April 29th, 2013 at 1:19 pm

HR, since 2010, Nadal has only won two slams (rain saved him in one of them). That’s 2 out of 9, when he was supposed to be in his prime years.

Nah, now he just going to play clay or where there is good appearance money. One is for some titles (hopefully, even that’s in doubt now), the other is for pure money. He (Nadal) knows his career is winding down – he is smart to cash in while he can.

April 29th, 2013 at 2:05 pm

It seems Rafa thinks the time has finally come when Roger is not going to be a threat even indoors. Roger had a poor indoor season last year and it probably will only get worse going ahead. Roger’s indoor record vs Rafa will definitely not remain perfect in the future. Of course, they have to meet each other first. With the way Roger is playing, he may lose in the earlier rounds.

April 29th, 2013 at 2:11 pm

Rafa has a new financial adviser in the form of Rumble! Wow! So much insight and foresight! #Joker

April 29th, 2013 at 2:13 pm

Since 2011, Nadal has reached 5 slam finals, winning 2. Only 1 player has done better in that same span, and he happens to be number 1.

It’s also ridiculous to assume Federer will have another poor indoor season. He made 2 finals last year, despite losing them. So not exactly “terrible.” Only terrible to his standards. He had an awful indoor season in 2009 and look what happened the following years.

It’s certainly interesting that Nadal has signed up but we’re so far off, speculating is pointless.

April 29th, 2013 at 2:20 pm

HR, since 2010, Nadal has only won two slams (rain saved him in one of them).

random, dont be a sore loser and accept if not for the first delay, would have been in straight sets.

April 29th, 2013 at 3:08 pm

^^^^^^^^^

The operating word is “probably”. Roger is moving towards the finish of his career. There is a gap of four years between 2009 and 2013. It is ridiculous to assume that history would repeat itself and he would continue winning just because he did it in the past.

April 29th, 2013 at 3:10 pm

@ Rumble

Rafa has had a lot of success this year. There does not seem to be any sign that his career is winding down. He is still pretty young and he should remain a serious contender for the majors for at least two more years.

April 29th, 2013 at 3:15 pm

Rogerafa,

Nadal is “pretty young”? He will be 27 in a few weeks. Not young in tennis terms. Few people have won slams past 27.

He hasn’t faced Murray this season – outside of clay, I think he will have a hard time beating Murray. And we all know what Djoke can do to Nadal.

Nadal’s problem is that his main competition is no longer a player 5 years older. His main competition is two players who are both 1 year younger.

And then there are the Rosol’s of the world…..

get ready for disappointment dude…..

April 29th, 2013 at 3:45 pm

Nadal has yet to lose before a final this year… there really aren’t that many Rosol’s out there.

April 29th, 2013 at 3:50 pm

If Rafa has not faced Murray this year, whose fault is that, Rafa’s? Where was Murray in Indian Wells and Monte Carlo? Rafa made the scheduled meeting rounds as I recall……he was waiting.

Ooops forgot, Murray decided he didn’t want to face Rafa then, he would meet him at a time and place of his choosing, and walked out on the tournaments……

*eyeroll*

April 29th, 2013 at 4:05 pm

Few people have won slams past 27.
Rofl

Vilas
Becker
Lendl
Rosewall
Laver
Ivanisevic
Gomez
Federer
Sampras
Agassi
Newcombe
Korda(well,
Gimeno
Kodes
Muster
Ashe
Connors

Another hater who does not know who is Nadal and what is capable of. It is ignorant to say that “few have succeeded.”
baby, if you do not know what you mean, it’s better to keep quiet.
It is only at age 30, when it is almost impossible to get a grand slam, it’s few have done and really, Nadal has little opportunity to do so at that age. But, while possessing the mentality and motivation intact, his chances of getting great things, remain intact. Meanwhile, it would be nice to come back to your cave and you remain there for a long time.

April 29th, 2013 at 6:09 pm

Wait, so they didn’t have money to increase Federer’s fee, but they do have enough to pay Nadal’s appearance fee in addition to having Federer? This does not compute.

The money has to come from somewhere. Federer’s the one playing without a contract, so they are free to take it from him, if they wish.

April 29th, 2013 at 6:17 pm

From what I have seen this year, Rafa still looks very impressive.

I watched the final in IW, where he played very, very well against a player he doesn’t like to play, on a court that suits DelPo quite well. In the final of MC, I thought he was not sliding well, not defending quite the way he used too, but he was very aggressive, played deep, and his FH was outstanding.

He made the final of every tournament he played since his comeback, against good competition. So, if he is on the decline, I would like that my fav declines in such a manner too.

About Roger: Roger played a full schedule last year, peaking at least twice: in the spring and in the summer. He peaked a third time around the Masters but after that, it is normal he didn’t play that well and needed a rest. His back hampers him, not his tennis which is still absolutely celestial, as his best performances clearly demonstrated.

April 29th, 2013 at 6:31 pm

My predictions NOW:

Madrid: Djokovic
Rome: Djokovic
RG: Nadal
Queen’s: Murray
Halle: Federer
Wimbledon: Murray
Montreal: Federer
Cincinnati: Djokovic
USO: Djokovic

April 29th, 2013 at 7:18 pm

Pretty close, I would say.

http://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2013-02-17/11621.php#comment-425600

April 29th, 2013 at 7:19 pm

Shanghai: Andy Murray
Paris: Juan Martin Del Potro
WTF: Andy Murray

April 29th, 2013 at 7:21 pm

It looks to me that Basel proved to be better, as usual, than Barcelona. Possible line up: Federer, Nadal, Delpo, Tsonga, Berdych, Nole … way better, and they are not short with money either. Basel wins:)

April 29th, 2013 at 7:41 pm

Wog boy, key word, possible. Barcelona could have had Nadal, Murray, Delpo, Berdych, Ferrer, would have been a nice field….But Murray and Delpo no showed, Berdych and Ferrer sucked, and only Rafa left with media so desperate to hype anything they called his match with Raonic a showdown.

April 29th, 2013 at 9:22 pm

uhh oh rafa fans, Jamie is predicting Rafa to win RG. But Jamie predicted this last year and was right (of course in 2011 we were told to take Nole’s win to the bank).

I think the ultimate Jinx determation is made by Sean Randall, he’s really had it going as of late.
He picked against Nadal three matches in a row in Indian Wells, including against Tomas Berdych! THen he picked Rafa to beat Nole in Montecarlo. As soon as he announces Nole will win Roland Garros my life will be easier. If he picks Rafa I will have to turn to voodoo or find some method of casting an anti-jinx?????!!!!!!

April 29th, 2013 at 9:25 pm

What’s happening here? Posts appear, disappear, there’s jamie suddenly with new predictions..

April 29th, 2013 at 9:32 pm

Kimberly,

:) for jinx thread

About Basel-Barcelona, I was just trying to spice things up, thread was going too quiet for dysfunctional TX blog. But if there is one thing in Barcelona bigger than any other tournament, even GS one, that is the trophy. Jesus, is there any bigger trophy in any other tournament, I don’t think so? Madrid one looks strange too, scared to say the word I am thinking off … Sean Randall would kick me out of TX.

April 29th, 2013 at 10:10 pm

^ ha ha ha

April 29th, 2013 at 10:22 pm

Great to see Rafa participating in Basel, a tournament which is dominated by his contemporary. A Roger Vs Rafa final would be a fitting finale but that is by no means assured with Roger’s participation still in doubt. If Novak too joins, then it will turn even more interesting.

April 30th, 2013 at 12:46 am

It’ good see Rafa come back to Basel, for him, for alls your fun and for tennis!!! I’m with Nole, but welcome back Rafa!

April 30th, 2013 at 6:47 am

Steve 27 (and others) – misleading with data – that’s your game, ha?

Forget about Laver and Rosewall and others – the game was hardly as physical as its now. Or the wooden racket era. Those are irrelevant observations.

Lets look at those that make sense (player and age at which they won a slam in the last 20 years, which is all that you can say as being relevant):

Agassi, 32
Sampras, 31
Federer, 30
Agassi, 30
Korda, 30
Ivanisevic, 29
Agassi, 29
Sampras, 28
Federer, 28
Becker, 28
Federer, 27
Sampras, 27
Muster, 27
Federer, 27

That’s a total of 14 slams past 27 years of age.

Now how many were at the French? 3.

On the men’s tour, 21-26 year olds account for the bulk of slams, especially in the last two decades. Mostly 23-25 year olds.

If you don’t think 27 is over the hill in mens tennis, you got to tell me what you smoke.

April 30th, 2013 at 11:56 am

@david young,

it depends on fed’s form at that time and Basel is still 6 months away…..

April 30th, 2013 at 12:01 pm

@Rumble

”Nadal is “pretty young”? He will be 27 in a few weeks. Not young in tennis terms. Few people have won slams past 27.”’

”If you don’t think 27 is over the hill in mens tennis, you got to tell me what you smoke.”

if you think 27 is over the hill on the atp tour 2013, you have absolutely no understanding of the modern game.

the average age of top players has vastly increased from previous eras because the game is more technical meaning it takes more years to master the skills and it is more physical meaning 18-21 year old boys struggle to play fully developed men unless they’re freaks.

haven’t you wondered why there are no teenagers in the top hundred?
haven’t you wondered why many players are playing their best tennis, getting their best results in their late twenties?
haven’t you wondered why the average age of top players is higher than ever?

using data from previous eras to attempt to prove the difficulty of 27yr+ players winning slams NOW is a very poor argument. for the reasons i just outlined.

but maybe you’re right. 27 is over the hill now. i suppose we can expect the majority of the top 50 to go to challenger level in a year or two.

April 30th, 2013 at 12:38 pm

Roy,

Being top 100 ot top 50 or top 10 is one thing. Winning a slam is quite another. Haven’t you learnt that if you have looked at data, as you claim?

There’s way more competition today than 30 years ago, and the game being too physical not only means its harder for oldies, its also harder for players too young. Its not monotonic. That’s why we are unlikely to see a 17 year old win wimbledon, and we are unlikely to see Federer win any more slams.

You can hone your skills, get fitter, get better, and become like Tsonga, or Berdych, or Ferrer – all above 27 (Ferrer above 30). But that doesn’t get you slams. The physicality involved in that very last step is what makes age an enemy when it comes to winning slams past 25/26. Certainly past 27.

Some players have been supremely gifted to still be able to do that, occasionally. Just like Nadal may win a slam or two more. But he is unlikely to win more than that.

Or are you saying we will suddenly start seeing the peak slam winning age to be 27/28/29? Get real dude. Not in singles anyway.

April 30th, 2013 at 12:55 pm

And since you seem to want to nit pick, let me be more precise:

27 is over the hill for winning singles slams in mens tennis.

Not so over the hill for being top 10 or 50 or 100.

Why? Because its all best of 3 now, outside of slams. That’s the only place where you have to win 7 matches, and all best of 5. THAT’s why oldies (27/28 year olds) can hang tough and win masters and 500 tournaments and get their rankings up – but falter at winning slams.

Or don’t you understand this simple difference between slams and the rest of the ATP tour?

April 30th, 2013 at 12:58 pm

Slams are the only tournaments with best of 5 matches, and 7 of them. The oldies (27/28/29 year olds) can win masters and 500 tournaments and get their rankings upto the top 10, but they mostly falter at the slams. The physicality of slams is totally different from other tournaments, That’s why you find so many 27+ players in the top 10, but so few winning slams.

April 30th, 2013 at 1:51 pm

“……Just like Nadal may win a slam or two more. But he is unlikely to win more than that. ”

Please Miss, can one of those 2 Slams be RG 2013??

April 30th, 2013 at 3:03 pm

^
Wow Rumble I really like your posts, thx!

Seems like you know what your talking about, although I do wish both Fed and Nadal could win lots more..lol. Tennis without Fed and Nadal will not be funny :(

April 30th, 2013 at 3:26 pm

hahahahaha @Jaime’s predictions…they change every 5 mn…hahahaha

April 30th, 2013 at 4:27 pm

These were my predictions in February:

IW: Novak Djokovic
Miami: Andy Murray
Montecarlo: Novak Djokovic
Madrid: Novak Djokovic
Rome: Rafael Nadal
RG: Rafael Nadal
Wimbledon: Andy Murray

Not that bad.

http://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2013-02-17/11621.php#comment-425600

April 30th, 2013 at 6:45 pm

@nadalista

If your wishing and hoping that your man just wins RG trophies from here on out the next 3-4 years, i’m good with that ;).

April 30th, 2013 at 6:46 pm

@Rumble

Fair arguments posted.(eepecially 12:58 post! )

April 30th, 2013 at 6:48 pm

Fed 31 and a Slam?

He’s a Freak.

April 30th, 2013 at 6:49 pm

@Skeez:

Fair arguments and posts are nothing..

The best thing one can do is to read rafans’ posts before the final of Monte Carle and compare them to the posts after..

Anyway, just one more thought: it’s crazy how fans are similar to their fav: Novak’s fans are politically correct, Fed’s fans are earnest, and Rafa fans… I believe they are all doctors, since they write about injuries most of the time: Rafa won despite an injury, Rafa lost because of this or that injury.. I admit I learned a lot about injuries in general reading their posts..

April 30th, 2013 at 7:40 pm

Anyway, I thought I was joking.. but it looks so much like the truth..

April 30th, 2013 at 7:42 pm

Mat4 forget the other djokovic fans, how about we read your posts before and after Roland garros final last year? Lol.

April 30th, 2013 at 8:28 pm

@Kimberly:

You won’t, or you won’t be able.

If Novak wins, my posts will be pure poetry, and Rafans don’t understand poetry otherwise they would be.. nolefans, fedfans.. even andyfans (no, it’s too much, no one can be..). Anyway, it is a story akin the narrative of Ali vs Frasier: on one side, brutal power, on the other poetry, intelligence, technique, grace of movement.. So, rafans won’t read it.

If Novak loses (just to mention it, to be politically correct, or fair), I won’t post at least for two weeks..

April 30th, 2013 at 8:37 pm

@Kimberly:

Anyway, glad you’re here. Hope you’re well.

April 30th, 2013 at 8:38 pm

Mat4, lol. I couldn’t resist. Of course we can’t compare your before and after posts as we know. Good to see you also.

See I like the brute thing. The come ons, the fight, the bruiser. Watched some of the highlights of the delpo match and that was the rafa the bull I love.

Skeezer, the warriors not off to a good start, or more correctly Denver off to an amazing start but it’s early goings. Would be nice to eliminate them tonight but my gut is the warriors will win the series, but it will be 4-2 next game.

April 30th, 2013 at 8:48 pm

@Kimberly:

Didn’t see the “last year”.

I probably didn’t write for two months..

April 30th, 2013 at 8:55 pm

Anyway, it is much easier for rafans to bare such infortune: first, because when Rafa loses, he is always injured, so it is understandable, normal. Then, to quote his uncle Toni, he plays always against more gifted players, the best, the no1..

April 30th, 2013 at 8:58 pm

What are we supposed to say he got outplayed? Actually Novak fans any loss to rafa, in fact any win that’s not an utter thrashing claim he wasn’t at his best, injured, ate gluten because you guys really believe (possibly rightly so) that your guy is much better.

I actually think ( or tell myself i think) they are pretty even with tiny margins and mental edge determining how their matches go. I don’t think surface comes that much into play either. I believe rafa can beat Novak on a hard or grass court just like clearly Novak can beat rafa on clay. The mental edge is huge and right now Novak has that.

The thing that makes rafa potentially a favorite over Nole T Roland garros was stated by mat4 previously. Rafa is less vulnerable on clay v the field. In a raffle match I think it’s 50-50. Although it would be ironic if Nole won his career slam in a final v rafa as rafa won his career slam on a final v djokovic.

April 30th, 2013 at 9:08 pm

But right now I refuse to consider any alternative rafa winning the title. No other outcome is ok!

April 30th, 2013 at 9:10 pm

mat4,
If you are still around, it is bed time in Europe, sending you a link to play it when ever Nole wins and for the others to see the power of Plum Brandy or Slivovitza as it is cold in Serbia:)

http://youtu.be/Lk1l2x46HO4

April 30th, 2013 at 9:29 pm

“as it is called” and not “cold” though it might be cald right now overthere.

April 30th, 2013 at 9:35 pm

@Kimberly:

I can see now that you are serious. Not good, not good at all..

I’ll try to be serious a bit too: I most honestly think that yes, Novak is vastly the better player since 2011. But against Rafa, it is not a question of tennis: it is mostly a battle of will, of tenacity. I am certain that they both play for greatness right now, and one of them will get broken in the process.

Steve Tignor or Peter Bodo — I am not sure, now — had a great metaphor about Rafa, I’ll quote it from memory in my Pidgin: “Rafa was stabbed in the heart but he needed four sets to realize he was dead”. The matches at the USO 2011 and AO 2012 just opened my eyes on their rivalry: it is not a question who outplays whom, but about who outlasts whom. At the end of the story, there can’t be a draw, a winner and a loser, no, one of them is just going to be broken.

Although I esteem Rafa very much, I think that the obstinacy, which translate in unprecedented physicality, he brought is, in a way, harmful for tennis. I don’t think we noticed it when it happened, but it was the most important paradigm shift in tennis in the last twenty years. It is not a game any more.

April 30th, 2013 at 9:39 pm

@WB:

Where did you find those? Plum brandy is such a serious, noble thing.. You need style to get drunk in a proper way.. I am… shocked. I need a drink..

April 30th, 2013 at 9:43 pm

Hmmmmmmm, that’s deep stuff. You may be right. But I think they can both beat each other on any surface. I think they are closely matched, whether that close match is by skill or will, and that the winner is determined by who is having a better day and maybe a little bit of luck.

But you tell me, as a djokovic fan you seem to feeling threatened by rafa in my opinion. Is it because rolad garros nears? Will you feel most threatened by Murray later on in grass or hard court season? Not just you, all djokovic fans seem to eye rafa as the threat based on the posts I have read since Indian wells.

April 30th, 2013 at 9:47 pm

That is arguablly best Gipsy band in Serbia.

I will give you this one, check how Czech cannot resist Balkan music, they were going crazy:)

http://youtu.be/KtX-V4OE50Y

April 30th, 2013 at 9:53 pm

@Kimberly:

“But I think they can both beat each other on any surface. I think they are closely matched, whether that close match is by skill or will, and that the winner is determined by who is having a better day and maybe a little bit of luck.”

I agree with you.

“But you tell me, as a djokovic fan you seem to feeling threatened by rafa”

Yes, I do. But it is not because of RG. I wrote in my previous post that one of them is going to be broken — emotionally and physically — but I didn’t write it would be Rafa. After the USO, both got injured. After last RG, Novak was in a complete slump, Rafa stopped playing for 8 months. Where does it lead them?

Andy Murray can’t sustain the nervous tension Rafa and Novak put in their matches. He needed a cluster of favourable circumstances to win his only slam, despite his exceptional tennis prowess.

April 30th, 2013 at 9:55 pm

@mat4—-so you worry the brutality of their matches, win or lose for Novak could impact his ability to sustain performance after? I agree. But really what can be done about it. Neither of them quit. They both play the attrition game, against their other opponents very successfully.

But I agree with you. Madrid 2009. Then they both bombed out of Roland garros. And rafa out for months.

April 30th, 2013 at 10:13 pm

mat4,

I forgot to tell you, the first one was parody song with not bad looking dancers;) in a a tipical Roma (Gipsy) manner.

April 30th, 2013 at 10:17 pm

“I don’t think we noticed it when it happened, but it was the most important paradigm shift in tennis in the last twenty years. It is not a game any more.”

Completely agree. One of this days I posted something similar that I think this is Nadal’s biggest contribution to tennis, so far (he still can achieve more). Players are no longer able to rely on clear winners and service winners as before. The ball just keeps coming back from points where it shouldn’t.
One of the shots pisses me of the most is those ballon balls when the point is virtually over, the defensive player 3 m from the baseline hit up with only one hand in the racquet, usually BH up. Than the ball magically land deep inside court, a few inches from the baseline. The rally reset and usually the player controlling the point loses out of bemusement. One thing is the outrageous passing shots they all hit, but this defensive balloons should be banned:)

April 30th, 2013 at 10:29 pm

@Kimberly:

Yes, I forgot Madrid 2009, too. But it is not a question of one match, it is a war in reality: before Madrid, there was MC (a very close match, despite the score), then Rome, then finally Madrid.

There are also their matches from 2008 for the no 2 ranking — Hamburg, Queens — but then Rafa clearly won, managed to win WB, and Novak lost in the second round of WB after five GS semis in a row.

I believe that their rivalry will shorten their careers. And yes, there’s nothing that can be done about it.

April 30th, 2013 at 10:29 pm

Kimberly,

“I actually think ( or tell myself i think) they are pretty even with tiny margins and mental edge determining how their matches go. I don’t think surface comes that much into play either. I believe rafa can beat Novak on a hard or grass court just like clearly Novak can beat rafa on clay. The mental edge is huge and right now Novak has that.”

– I tend to agree with you about being fairly evenly matched and that it comes down to margins, partly, I think those are mental, but not entirely – sometimes a player might be just missing the marks, or may be physically hindered in some way.

– However, while I agree that they CAN beat each other on all the surfaces, the edge goes to Rafa on clay quite substantially imo. And the H2H backs that up:

16 of their 34 meetings have been on clay; the clay H2H is 3-13. I don’t think that’s realistically a 50/50 proposition.

Rafa’s current winning index on clay is .919 and career .929

16 0f their 34 meetings have been on hard courts; that H2H is 5-11, so the odds are slightly better of Rafa beating Nole on hard.

Nole’s current winning index on hard is .909 and career is .815, so you can see that it’s lower than Nadal’s on clay, especially the career index.

Nadal is .768 on hard (career), and Nole is .776 (career) on clay; so that shows how on each other’s opposing / strongest surface they are still doing pretty well.

On grass they are 1-1.

Overall, they do match up well.

“Although it would be ironic if Nole won his career slam in a final v rafa as rafa won his career slam on a final v djokovic.”

– Actually, I somehow think this would be appropriate, as opposed to (or in addition to) being ironic. These two have played more than any other current players, maybe will even pass the all-time “biggest” rivalry (Mac & Lendl) in terms of number of meetings, so in a way it would “fit” if each completed his career slam against the other. :)

April 30th, 2013 at 10:42 pm

When the string technology evolved players didn’t realize right away what were the new possibilities of their racquets.

Rafa was probably the first one to really understand how to use the new spin for exaggerate bounce. I think that Novak promoted how to use improved spin for more angled shots, and that were are now turning the page — after more control, the new direction is more power and flatter shots: FHs are routinely faster than 150 kmh, BHs manage 140 kmh. The slice has been reintroduced, and with it, net play is seen again.

I also noticed that more and more players serve to the FH, or simply wide. I am certain, there, that Novak has copied his spots and his patterns from Federer.

April 30th, 2013 at 10:42 pm

jane wrote:

“Actually, I somehow think this would be appropriate, […] so in a way it would “fit” if each completed his career slam against the other. :)”

God knows how much I agree..

April 30th, 2013 at 10:45 pm

@jane:

Did you use stats from tennisabstract? ;-)

April 30th, 2013 at 10:46 pm

Jane, great post. The stats proved an interesting look at how they compare as players, and their h2h on different surfaces. Novak only has 3 wins on clay but several very close matches that he lost, madrid and MC 2009, hamburg 2008. Rafa also had a few close ones on hard court that he lost Australian open 2012, Miami 2011 come to mind.

April 30th, 2013 at 11:03 pm

great posts going on here and fun read.

mat4,

great analogy on strings, and true.

jane,
good stuff and thanks @ 10:42 post

K,

Warriors lost :(. Better win at home. Curry is beat up.
ugh. So who would your team like to play in the finals that would make it interesting? Anybody?

April 30th, 2013 at 11:43 pm

hi mat4, I got the stats just from the ATP reliability indexes. I looked at that site you and harry were discussing the other day but to be honest I didn’t understand some of it. But then again, math is not my strong suit!

Cheers, Kimberly & skeezer…

April 30th, 2013 at 11:52 pm

@skeezer, from the west, I think the hardest series for ubwould be the spurs. Who do u think east or west has the best chance to beat us?

Btw mat4 really enjoyed our conversation, a semi civil dialogue between a hardcore rafa fan and hardcore djokovic fan can occur, lol.

May 1st, 2013 at 12:13 am

@skeezer, I think your warriors will take care of business in game 6

May 1st, 2013 at 12:14 am

Kimberly,

Hope Warriors take game 6. They’d better!

Think you’re right, Spurs would be the most competitive matchup. I mean Heat should win another title, but lets make it fun to watch them earn it! ;)

May 1st, 2013 at 1:04 am

@ K & mat4,

Enjoyed reading your conversations also, no “my love rafa” or vice a versa with Nole, just good tennis talk.
*applause*

May 1st, 2013 at 1:08 am

Nadal does not threaten to never turn up for tournaments?

need to be reminded what he said about Madrid last year?

May 1st, 2013 at 6:39 am

@Kimberly:

“a semi civil dialogue between a hardcore rafa fan and hardcore djokovic fan can occur, lol.”

You’re quite right. And I can guarantee that we shall be even more semi and rafans even more civil when Novak wins the FO. ;-)

– – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Joking and bragging aside (joking is good for health, BTW IMHO TBH LOL; bragging even more), we are witnesses of a period of change, with champions who are redefining tennis. I would be very happy if some of the more knowledgeable posters here come with their own insights about the details that add up to change the physiognomy of the game.

May 1st, 2013 at 6:44 am

” I would be very happy if some of the more knowledgeable posters here come with their own insights about the details that add up to change the physiognomy of the game.”

Don’t look at me;) I am just a sidekick for knowledgeable No1e fans, in charge of good atmosphere and keeping the spirits high, particulary when you disappear after Nole loses.

Good thing is that real tennis fans can learn something reading this thread, even I managed to follow the thread, though it wasn’t easy.

May 1st, 2013 at 7:58 am

@WB:

“when you disappear after Nole loses”

I won’t disappear anywhere soon..

May 1st, 2013 at 8:04 am

mat4,

Good to hear that:)

May 1st, 2013 at 8:06 am

Nice to see some nice conversation going on here among some nice posters. Tennis X seems a bit odd though ;)

May 1st, 2013 at 8:20 am

@Sirius:

There was a time when tx was a very decent place, with a lot of fun, joking, teasing, and nice and knowledgeable posters: alison, Ben, Contador, dari, dory, Grendel, Harry, jane, Kimmi, Kimberly, Skeezer, TF76, TL, Von… You could argue with ajet too, Daniel I believe came later, I am not sure, anyway I am sorry if I forget some of them.

The rule was, most of the time, when you try to be objective and make a valid point, no one would take offence and be unpleasant, and you could have a chat, a debate, unhindered with the posters you choose.

Then, it slowly changed, with a few new posters whose only aim was to insult somebody. I am not a Dave fan, and I had some very unpleasant exchanges with him, but at least he tried to give facts, stats to defend his opinion. And he also respected the reputation of other posters: while I like to tease and boast about the successes of my fav — and I know I am quite often over the top, some posters always try to be objective and Dave never attacked them. It all changed suddenly, and posters like alison, jane, conty were offended and vilified. Hope it will change.

May 1st, 2013 at 8:56 am

@mat4

Probably that was before 2012…..

But T-X seems much nicer now and that’s a good thing for posters whom you’ve mentioned above in your post

** i liked dave’s post. Too long but the stats were great. Hopefully he’ll show up again

May 1st, 2013 at 10:53 am

Apparently, it will be a HUGE SURPRISE(that’s how hard things are looking) if Nole wins RG this year according to some *mate drinker*.

May 1st, 2013 at 1:10 pm