Rafael Nadal Back on Top of Clay Heap with Monte Carlo Title Over Gael Monfils

That’s right amigos. Beast mode.

April 17th, 2016 at 2:09 pm

congrats to Rafa and fans.
wish monfils would have forced a tiebreak in set one. oh well.

April 17th, 2016 at 2:10 pm

Sorry Jane…..not in the cards today…..Rafa made a comeback….again, but will it last?? We will have to wait and see. I have hope that he gets back to his best, but it’s a tall order…..with age, wear and tear on his body, definitely not on his side.

Thanks for the congrats!! I am happy about the outcome, for a change! It has been a long dry for us Rafa fans.

April 17th, 2016 at 2:38 pm

This was a great win for Rafa beating quality players along the way. Hope he can build on this.
Still smiling!
👍😜👏🏿😊
Vamos Rafa!

April 17th, 2016 at 2:51 pm

https://twitter.com/spaintennisbook/status/721765262832218112

April 17th, 2016 at 2:55 pm

Rafa is the only male player ever in the history of the game to have won 2 different tournaments on a record 9 occasions
(Monte Carlo and Roland Garros) .
It also marks an all time record consecutive 13th year for any player to have won at least 1 title in the European clay swing.
Vamos Rafa!

April 17th, 2016 at 3:21 pm

PS I think the second paragraph of above post is incorrect unless Hamburg is counted in the European clay court swing which I don’t think it is.

April 17th, 2016 at 3:31 pm

Thanks for the congrats, not predicting a second coming or anything, but its great to see Rafa back in the winners circle again, after such a dry spell, nice to have something to cheer about, VAMOS RAFA ….

Giles thanks for the pieces of info too ;)) ….

April 17th, 2016 at 4:26 pm

Rafa at least looks better than last year. To bad that Monfils conditioning failed him. Rafa was the one that played an almost 3 hour match against Murray the day before. And Monfils barely played over an hour. Looking at the 2 on court today, you would think it would have been the other way around. I told a friend that this match would go the distance, but Monfils would run out of gas in the 3rd. It didn’t surprise me one bit when it happened. I am happy that Rafa is getting back into form. I still think he isn’t at the 2014 level when he won the French and needs more time to get to that level. But he is definitely in better shape than last year at this point in the season. If he wins in Barcelona, he will be looking to get back to the top 4 before the French Open and avoid Nole in the QF’s. It could be the big 4 in the top 4 again very soon.

April 17th, 2016 at 4:34 pm

Too much tiresome choke talk on the other threads, Rafa actually beat Stan, Andy, Monflis, all acomplished players, two of them in the top 10, so not exactly journey men ….

Sorry Elina as your favorite played brillianty in the first two sets ….

April 17th, 2016 at 4:34 pm

Gosh, this could be the seniors tour a few decades ago. Tsonga is 31, Stan is 31, Monfils is 29, Nadal is 29, Murray is 28, Fed is 34, Granollers is 30. Milos was a baby in the QF at 25.

The young guns failed again. Maybe the best-of-five at Roland Garros will finally bring about a new young champion.

What a weak era. Expendables 3.

April 17th, 2016 at 4:57 pm

Dave says: “To bad that Monfils conditioning failed him. Rafa was the one that played an almost 3 hour match against Murray the day before. And Monfils barely played over an hour. ”

Dave, the first two sets lasted more than 2 hours! Two hours with Nada will completely exhaust a man, as Juan Monaco could testify…

PS
I mean 2 hours of tennis between Rafa and Juan – whoever thought anything else has a dirty mind (not that anything is wrong with that)

April 17th, 2016 at 5:08 pm

Congrats to Rafa fans. Well deserved win, he had the toughest draw of all, his confidence level must be growing by hour.

April 17th, 2016 at 5:23 pm

TB,

You’ve done it again:) Sorry Rafa fans, but had to lough, guilty as charged.

On the other note, watching Roger against Tsonga the other night, for the first time he looked to me like and old man, I really think and old man compare to other players, just out of place, maybe it’s time to retire or switch to legends tour, just saying.

April 17th, 2016 at 5:28 pm

^^Or maybe ATP tour is becoming legends tour..

April 17th, 2016 at 5:46 pm

Roger is starting to show his age I think Wog Boy. He isn’t mentally as sharp the longer a match goes on. That really showed in the Tsonga match. Push Federer to 3 sets or over 2 hours, and if your consistent, you have a real opportunity to win the match. As far as my comment goes about conditioning with Monfils goes, if a player dedicates himself fully to what it takes to physical conditioning, he can match Nadal. The work ethic needs to be there first. Nole learned this and also got his breathing issue figured out as well as diet. Murray also learned this. Rafa is human like anyone else. Monfils has no body fat on his body. It absolutely comes down to conditioning and drive to match an opponent physically. Monfils was given just as good of genetics, maybe even better than Nadal or any other player. He might be the most physically gifted player there is on the ATP tour. It is possible to match Nadal with the right training behind the scenes. It’s up to each player to do that.

April 17th, 2016 at 8:51 pm

WOW! I’m thrilled for Rafa, and of course his x-fans here.

I think Rafa can very well end the season as #2. I still don’t see anyone challenging Novak’s dominance. I think only Stan can really challenge him at a Slam. But you never know- if Stan get in Novaks half, and Rafa is on the opposite side, we might see a 10th coupe for the Bull.

I’ve been noting for a while: Monfils is creeping up there. Gael, Milos, Kei and a little behind, Goffin are stepping into those perennial QF/SF spots (aka always a bridesmaid, never a bride). Taking the place of Berdych and Ferrer.

Fed and Murray are wild cards. Are they finally on their way out? I didn’t expect to say this, but I would put money on Rafa making another Slam final now ahead of those two.

But all this is strictly undercard talk. The big question on the tour remains, is anyone coming up who can challenge Novak? if the hope for that is Thiem/ Zverev/ Coric or Kyrgios, they all still seem light years away.

There were some comments about the Seniors Tour feel of the top ten. The corollary is this: has there ever been such a lack of consistently competitive calibre of players between 18-26? That’s 2 or 3 generations of tennis there, or used to be. Of course, the Big Four have sucked the oxygen out of the game, but there’s only 4 of them: if there were ‘lesser greats’ among the youngsters, we would see them filling out the QF spots consistently. That just hasn’t happened, until recently with Kei and Milos, and they’;re already mid-20’s.

Someone or someones is going to come along to shake up the applecart, but until that happens, these Slams are Novak’s to lose. If he falters, it will be because his level drops. Nobody is rising to meet him.

Unless, of course, I’m wrong…

April 17th, 2016 at 9:24 pm

Tennis Vegabond,

I said at the start of the season that Rafa was getting to number 2. I firmly believe the same as you in this regard. One of the biggest reasons for this is that Rafa can still consistently beat his other main rivals not named Novak. Examples: Murray, Wawrinka and never had a problem beating Federer. These are the 3 players ahead of him not named Novak. I don’t see any of them stopping Rafa from taking over the number 2 spot. I thought Murray could do it, but he showed that he will allow anything to distract him. Stan seems to allow things to distract him during a match as well. I don’t know if they both did this when playing Nadal as an excuse because they knew they were going to lose or what the deal was. Whatever the case was, they both played into Nadals hands by getting so distracted. Nadal is mentally stronger than anyone other than Nole. His consistency is starting to come back along with his confidence. It’s only a matter of time before he takes the number 2 spot away from Murray or Federer.

April 17th, 2016 at 9:35 pm

i don’t if i’d lump andy and stan together in terms of what prevents them from being more successful. to me, it seems like andy does get distracted within matches themselves, but with stan it seems like sometimes he shows up to fight and other days he’s more like “meh, whatever.” we’ve seen this time and again with him. he even said in his postmatch interview that he’s “allowed to lose” to rafa on clay. well, if you go into the match with that mindset, there’s a pretty good chance that’s precisely what will happen. with stan it really is a matter of which stan shows up that day: stan “the man” or stan “the meh.”

April 17th, 2016 at 9:53 pm

Hi Jane,

I understand what you are saying. How I see it is a little more open ended when I say distracted. There are many ways to be distracted. Andy and Stan have different things that get them distracted. If Stan doesn’t show up and isn’t focused during a match, he is distracted with something. Sometimes it’s not apparent or visible like it is with Murray. But if a person isn’t there mentally during a match he is somewhere else, therefore distracted with something else going on mentally. Me using the word distracted as a broader term. That’s all.

April 17th, 2016 at 10:02 pm

Word.

April 17th, 2016 at 10:16 pm

dave i get what you’re saying but i don’t know if it’s so subconscious for stan. you say

“If Stan doesn’t show up and isn’t focused during a match, he is distracted with something.”

but how do you know “he is distracted”??

sometimes, it seems to me, like he just isn’t in it for the fight on that day. he’s like “meh” i don’t care what happens; i’m “allowed to lose” to rafa on this surface … or whomever on whichever day. some days, however, he fights tooth and nail. i don’t know if that’s a distraction issue or a motivation one.

April 17th, 2016 at 10:41 pm

i guess we’ll never know if it’s distraction, motivation or both. but we can likely agree that both are inconsistent, with stan being generally more inconsistent that andy. cheers dave.

April 17th, 2016 at 10:58 pm

It could be a combination of both for sure. Stan is more inconsistent than Andy. I don’t know why he can’t seem to put it all together. It helps you to appreciate the consistency of other players who somehow stay motivated and mentally focused throughout the year.

April 17th, 2016 at 11:03 pm

It is easy to be distracted and lose the focus when you have teenage girlfriend..your focus is somewhere else..

April 17th, 2016 at 11:54 pm

“I said at the start of the season that Rafa was getting to number 2. I firmly believe the same as you in this regard. One of the biggest reasons for this is that Rafa can still consistently beat his other main rivals not named Novak. Examples: Murray, Wawrinka and never had a problem beating Federer. These are the 3 players ahead of him not named Novak. I don’t see any of them stopping Rafa from taking over the number 2 spot.”

They play tournaments on grass and HC too. And indoor. Thought I’d throw that in there.

April 18th, 2016 at 1:09 am

5.08PM Crude and smutty as ever, this the guy that calls people out on racism, and before you say anything, yes i have called people out on racism, yet seems to have no problem making inuendo about a players sexuality, or joining in to support two bullies, that are bullying another poster, go figure ….

April 18th, 2016 at 1:46 am

Thanks Tennis Vagabond your a gentleman, a rare anomaly on this forum ….

April 18th, 2016 at 1:59 am

It is really a morale booster win for Rafa ahead of the Clay season and I think this will do his confidence a world of good beating quality players to win his record shattering 9th title at Monte carlo which is a phenomenal achievement by any stretch of imagination by any living player in the annals of Tennis history.

That said, he would have savoured his win at Montecarlo even more if he had managed to beat his Nemesis Novak Djokovic to conquer the title. Neverhteless, he cannot be faulted for it as Novak was dislodged in the second run itself.

April 18th, 2016 at 2:04 am

Michael can we leave Novak out of it he wasnt a factor, he got eliminated, it doesnt make this title less legit because he didnt beat Novak ? ….

April 18th, 2016 at 2:08 am

Come on GL, it was benign joke, you can’t compare that with racism, it is miles apart, but then again you are entitled to your opinion same as I am entitled to mine or anybody else for that matter.

April 18th, 2016 at 2:17 am

Wogboy i just dont care for double standards, racism, sexuality, its all the same to me, i dont care for people making fun of any of it, no matter though, your defending a fellow fan, you find him funny thats your perogative, i dont thats mine, each to their own, going to work, chat later , SEE YA, AND TAKE CARE ;)) ….

April 18th, 2016 at 2:24 am

It’s clear to me it was a joke, nothing offensive

April 18th, 2016 at 2:33 am

Great win for Rafa. He was so happy although it seemed as if he forgot how to bite that trophy :(.

Sincere congrats to Rafa and Rafans here, all the nice ones, and that not nice one too :). It must be a big confidence boost. It is getting interesting. Rafa totally deserved this.

As far as Le Monf is concerned, this is really a shame that he cannot last for more than two sets. What is he gonna do at Slams when he comes across Rafa or Novak who obviously have better stamina? This match had great points, amazing defense on both sides, but also showed Gael doubling over in the first set already. All his matches at MC were beat downs, he can’t say he was tired.

In any case, well deserved win for Rafa.

April 18th, 2016 at 3:27 am

5:08 Funny one;)

April 18th, 2016 at 3:44 am

Green Lady and other Rafa fans. I had a glance at Tennis.com yesterday and the amount of support there for Rafa was absolutely stunning…long time since I’ve seen that….overtakes anything I’ve seen anywhere for the crowd “favourite” RogerF.

Cheers, K.

April 18th, 2016 at 3:59 am

Nadal’s match against thiem where he saved all those breaks points was the highlight for me .
I believe it gave him so much confidence moving forward
You need to understand Nadal plays better in every match heading towards the final
However I still think he needs to gain more confidence to beat Djokovic who will be even more determined than ever to finally win Roland Garros
As I said earlier in the year Nadal at Phillip Chatrier can beat Djokovic if he’s playing well ? Time will tell !
Nadal needs strong showing at Barcelona Madrid & Rome if he plays at high level he will be big threat for number 10
No one is unbeatable … Vesley proved that
As for Nadal taking number 2 spot … It’s possible

April 18th, 2016 at 8:39 am

Agree MMT, too soon to say Nadal will get back to #2 soon.

I can definetly see him back at #4 because I donçt think Stan will defend his RG title, and once his points droo of (if he at least reaches semis) he will be dueling wiht Nadal for #4.

Also, if this week Nadal happens to lose to Nishiori, Ferrer or even Fognini who he can play Quarters, suddenly he is back to where he was a few weeks back. Now the pressure is on him to back the MC vicotry with upcoming clay tourneys.

If he wins Barcelona, than hyp will increase, but Madrid will be the real test with the complete field. we have to remember that several players skip MC (non mandatory), even with the Big 4 there, some skips made the draw easier in ealyr rounds: Kyrgios, Kei, Ferrer. If those players are in the mix some matches are tuff from the get go.

I’ll wait Barcelona and Madrid before considering Nadal back at #2. So far his last titles are on clay, and there aren´t much of those left, plus he will have to defend Hamburgo after grass. And Slams are what make the bulk of points as well, he will have to perfomr in Rg, which is the only Slam he is safe to go deep (at least Quarters), because Wimby and USO he is vulberable.

April 18th, 2016 at 8:57 am

Actually, Monfils looked like he couldn’t even last set. He was bending to hold his legs in midlle of set 1 after some long rallies, don´t even Know how he made the second set so competitive.

In fact, Nadal served for first set at 5-3 and was broken, than had a 0-40 in middle set 2. He could have finished the match way sooner and easier and that is a bit cause for concern. But judging what he went thorugh in big matches before, understandabe.

April 18th, 2016 at 9:00 am

This is a good win for Nadal, after a dismal couple of years almost. But he will still feel the shivers against Djokovic unless he gets a W there. he’s lost what 9 or 10 straight against djoke since the 2014 French final. I don’t know if even Fed lost 9 or 10 straight to Nadal.

Oh how acutely we need some young players to step up. This geriatric tennis is getting boring – just longer and longer rallies ending in an error. So few winners, so much more defence than offence.

April 18th, 2016 at 10:26 am

James,

Nadal lost last 6 to Djoko, but prior to RG 2014 had lost another 4, so he is 1-10 last 11.

April 18th, 2016 at 10:50 am

At least Nadal is a respected sportsman, despite his time delays, especially in big matches.

Fed’s old “rival” was the “never was good” Roddick who played the “I’m really abusive & ignorant, but who cares? I’m making $$$$$$$. Fed took advantage of me so I can’t be great legend” game.
Can you imagine Lendl saying in 2004 “balletic, beautiful magician McEnroe was so perfect that i couldn’t be a giant 12 slam hero”? The other sports’ athletes would’ve laughed at him & the overrated McEnroe.

April 18th, 2016 at 11:03 am

Congrats to Rafa and his fans here on Tennis-X. Fantastic tournament for him, coming through a tough draw to win.

April 18th, 2016 at 11:13 am

Thanks RZ and all of the other TXers who sent us Rafa fans congrats!!! I t has been a long time coming…..hope it lasts!!

April 18th, 2016 at 12:34 pm

Thanks, JK….appreciate it!!

April 18th, 2016 at 12:35 pm

And here we have Daniel trying to diminish Rafa’s win by saying the earlier rounds were not tough enough for him. The only comparatively easy match for him was Bedene. After that he played Thiem, Wawa, Murray, Monfils which were all very tough.
It is common knowledge that Rafa had the toughest draw and great that he pulled through.
This is all sour grapes me thinks. Joker lost to …… Vesely. End of story.
Rafa does not have to back up this win!!!

April 18th, 2016 at 12:37 pm

@Daniel, I wondered the same thing regarding La Monf
I thought he might be gold bricking…..but then came the 3rd set and he was toast….why wouldn’t a talented guy like he is not work on stamina?? Laziness is the only thing I can come up with. He wanted off the court bad that last set…..well so did Rafa…..lol

April 18th, 2016 at 12:41 pm

Nothing overrated about Federer or McEnroe for that matter.

While I do agree that the front end of Federer’s career wasn’t packed with great players. He’s reached 19 major finals with Novak, Murray and Rafa all in or near their prime and won 10 of those. Hardly overrated. And Fed’s run to last years USO final was simply breathtaking. He didn’t play better that this in any of the 5 USOs he actually won. Never has there been a better player in their mid 30’s than Roger.

As for McEnroe, he didn’t have a 2nd act but his first act was phenomenal. IMO, he played the best match in the history of slam finals when he beat Connors at Wimbledon. If only the demons and (… Lendl) hadn’t of eaten away at him. There should have been 3 or 4 majors left in him between ’84 and ’90. But, any guy who beats Borg at Wimbledon and Lendl at the USO deserves his props.

April 18th, 2016 at 12:44 pm

http://www.thenational.ae/sport/tennis/checking-time-violations-of-nadal-federer-job-of-chair-umpire-not-shot-clock

April 18th, 2016 at 12:46 pm

I am loving geriatric tennis…..I can relate!! 🙌

Another thing I noticed at yesterday’s match, Rafa got a 💇……..not that anyone but me would even care, but found this cute little emoji and had to use it…..I’m all about emojis these days in case you haven’t noticed…..lol!!

April 18th, 2016 at 12:50 pm

Giles,

I am not diminishing anyhting, but the fiLled in Madrid will be more packed than MC, has being so for year. I think actually this was the first year of the last 5 taht we had all the Big 4 playing it. So this by itself “elevates” the field if you wanna look it that way.

Let’s just wait for the Madrid draw and you’ll see if the pre Quarter rounds are not more heavy packed than MC. MC is the least traditional of Masters now that is not mandatory. It has the history (is an aold touney), in an awesome venue ithe the view, but is not like the other Masters last few years.

April 18th, 2016 at 1:51 pm

what’s “gold bricking” okie?

April 18th, 2016 at 1:53 pm

Rafa just need 130 more points at Barcelona to become no.2 in year end ranking (overcoming Andy and Milos.

April 18th, 2016 at 1:57 pm

@Giles….You are good at finding links….is there anything out there on the stats yesterday regarding time between points? I was just curious….didn’t notice if Gael had any complaints toward Rafa or not….

April 18th, 2016 at 1:57 pm

Okiegal,

Don’t understand that about Monfils as well, seems eveytime he was in a 20 plus rally he was about to faint after. Even his serve collapsed after a few long rallies. And he was taken he share bit of time between points as well.

April 18th, 2016 at 2:04 pm

@Jane…..The term started in the military….a shirker of one’s duties…..then it evolved to being used in the terms of trying to fool people….like acting tired and playing it up when in fact he wasn’t tired at all…..but in his case yesterday I believe that he was super duper worn flat smooth out! Another Okie term….Google it….good explanation there…..

April 18th, 2016 at 2:19 pm

Fed didn’t have to struggle with more than a handful of brilliant davis cup, masters cup, m1000 & slam matches because he never faced ambitious class athletes & legends (not Roddick and other injured & hobbling clowns).
Safin was very lucky but still admirable in 2005 aussie open, when fed finally lost after enjoying a 25 match win streak against those glorified journeymen.
It wasn’t until 2007 when Canas, not mononucleosis, scared the Fed fanboys for good.
How dare someone beat Fed on hardcourt?

Fed would be very tired from davis cup & his health wouldn’t have been in top condition without his absence in important Davis Cup ties from 2004-2010.

April 18th, 2016 at 2:19 pm

Okie. Much as I’d like to oblige I have no idea how or where to research that stat. I do know Gael was tying his shoelaces every two minutes. Lol. I think it’s just something the commies observe ( especially when Rafa is taking extra time but ignore when his opponent is doing the same thing). So, no I have no idea. Sorry. If I do happen to find anything I will post.
I don’t believe Gael had any complaints.

April 18th, 2016 at 2:22 pm

@J-Kath 1:57…..That is good news! I don’t keep up with points much…..but do know that Novak had 16,000 plus…..I kind of gave up on Rafa and his points…..forgot he could possibly pass the others since there is not a lot of difference between them…interesting….

April 18th, 2016 at 2:24 pm

@Daniel 2:04….I too thought he was over the limit. I guess the official cut them some slack after long rallies….and there were a few of those. I knew Gael was gonna DF after that long rally……

April 18th, 2016 at 2:29 pm

I think at one point in the end it showed 32 or 33 second for Nadal and 27-28 for Monfils

April 18th, 2016 at 2:33 pm

thanks okie. i’ve never heard it before. you come up with so many interesting expressions. the one i am familiar with in regards to one of your explanations is “rope-a-dope” which seems more common in sports.

April 18th, 2016 at 2:34 pm

^ the expression, that is. ;)

April 18th, 2016 at 2:35 pm

https://twitter.com/sportdw/status/722110133455757316
Here’s a nice stat

April 18th, 2016 at 2:35 pm

@Giles….that is a great stat….and agree the commies watch some players more than others. I noticed the shoe lace thing. Daniel stated above that the stat was pretty much the same as day before. I swear one time It was Gael that stayed bent over a long time when Rafa was serving..but of course long rallies being the culprit. I watched it live streamed on PC and had it on mute….I missed all of the warnings…..but not to fear, Rafa’s always make the news…..so can catch it later! Lol

April 18th, 2016 at 3:28 pm

@Jane…..the rope a dope started out a boxing term……..putting the opponent against the ropes and pounding away….this term was started when Ali and Foreman had their rumble in the jungle. Now I think it is used in sports in general as a strategic move…..

April 18th, 2016 at 3:38 pm

@Jane…..Yeah, I’m full of it…..as I am sure everyone on TX will agree! 💃

April 18th, 2016 at 3:42 pm

About Stan being distracted. Gee, I dunno what could be a more interesting distraction than a very public revelation that your divorce was partly caused by youthful lust, but I’d say he needs more distractions like that for FO2016 if we want to see that Stan show up again!

My heart goes out to his family, but man, that Stan is practically unbeatable (and not, you know, drone-like unbeatable, but fun unbeatable!)

April 18th, 2016 at 10:19 pm

Rafa clearly the favourite now for every clay tournament. Sadly, I think Novak will never win the French Open, Rafa is playing quite well nowadays, where as Novak is looking a bit shaky.

April 19th, 2016 at 12:17 am

Okiegal

There’s two sets of ranking points – the info. I mentioned yesterday was related to the Singles Race:

(1) Nole: 4,350 Tournaments played: 6
(2) Milos: 1,930 ” 5
(3) Andy: 1,925 ” 5
(4) Rafa: 1,800 ” 7
These are the nos. I was referring to so likely Rafa will go to No. 2 in the race by the end of this week.

At this point in the year, the Singles Ranking looks much different:

Nole is No. 1 with 15,550 points after 17 tournaments
Rafa is No.5 with 5,595 after 23 tournaments.

April 19th, 2016 at 3:56 am

Thanks, JK…..for the explanation….appreciate you taking time to enlightening me!

April 19th, 2016 at 4:05 am

Enlighten not enlightening……

April 19th, 2016 at 4:07 am

Okie

U don’t need any more “light” U are bright enuf.

April 19th, 2016 at 4:29 am

Meant to say J-Kath, thanks for the congrats ;-))….

April 19th, 2016 at 4:43 am

@JK…..Thanks for that nice compliment…….you’re sweet!

April 19th, 2016 at 4:44 am

JK, I wanted to correct my mistake because it is very possible you could get called out for it…..lol

April 19th, 2016 at 4:46 am

Okie

Know what you mean…grin, grin.

April 19th, 2016 at 5:07 am

https://twitter.com/nnemeroff/status/721887161348460544
Good idea. 👍

April 19th, 2016 at 6:54 am

https://twitter.com/tennispurist/status/721840561150435329
The plot thickens! 😎

April 19th, 2016 at 6:59 am

“Fed didn’t have to struggle..”
“he never faced ambitious class athletes..”
“when fed finally lost after enjoying a 25 match win streak against those glorified journeymen.”

Yep, it was no struggle to get the all time records and titles. Life just gifted him his career glory. LMAO.
Jealous much?

April 19th, 2016 at 10:00 am

skeezer, there will always be sourgrapes who will try to diminish Federer’s achievements because that is the only way they can touch it. So, until somebody else reaches or exceeds 17, sit back and relax because such comments are nothing more than an expression of jealousy.

April 19th, 2016 at 10:33 am

No, Markus – it is obsession over a single stat that wasn’t in top prominence until Pete Sampras fans boosted it once Pete got to 13 “Slam trophies”.
It’s 4 events out of a busy yearly schedule that has more points and money dished out outside the Slams than in them.
As many know, some of the top players in the 70s, 80s didn’t bother with Slams they deemed a hassle or would cost them too much time and money to attend (notably the AO).
Federer is going to fare well with whatever “Greatness Measure” algorithms replace “Slam Count”. His weeks at #1, dominant years against a weak field but still dominating.., number of world championships, very respectable Masters, 500, and 250 counts will weigh in his favor.
Against?
Even Andy has a shot at surpassing him H2H, which is now at 14-11 Fed. Rafa owns him. Now Novak is his 2nd nemesis. And of course the weak era argument…Novak has a higher ELO. He has not beaten Rafa in a Slam since 2007.

April 19th, 2016 at 10:04 pm

I’ve always been super-impressed by skeezer’s loyalty to Fed. When Fed is like 60 and he has all the time in the world, and does a google search, he’ll come across tennis-x links and see how skeezer vociferously defended his honor. He’ll see skeezer always had his back even when he had a bad back. Skeezer’s knee-jerk reactions were always critical in defending when Fed had jerked his own knee. Fed will smile , and sigh, and say to himself: “I wish I had known about him earlier. Mirka ? Can we get in touch with him ?”

Skeezer has displayed unflinching, unquestionable, drop-the-mic-kind-of loyalty to his idol over the years. Tennis-x owes him a a lifetime test-of-loyalty award. Not giving him one will be a gross injustice.

April 20th, 2016 at 12:17 am

I really do not understand Nadal’s fans.Murrey said what he said and most of Nadal’s fans said it is OK.
I could understand if Murrey said that after losing from Novak,but he said that after losing from Nadal.
I am not Andy’s nor Nadal’s fan but I think even the child would know that he was thinking about Nadal.
Reading the comments was a great fun.

April 20th, 2016 at 1:27 am

@bojana
But he said almost exactly the same thing last November. Link is above.

April 20th, 2016 at 1:38 am

Margot,

Do not get me wrong,my point is not what Andy said my point is about love and hate.

I think if You love somebody You will try to protect that person if she or he is wrongfully attacked.
If You hate somebody You are going to attack that person no matter what.
What is stronger love or hate.
Reading some comments I think the hate is stronger.They do not protect the person they love they attack the person they hate.They attack BB and Novak.
On other hand Andy said many times things about Novak and this time in my opinion he was pointing to Nadal and Novak.As for now I did not hear Novak
attacking Andy.
It is not matter that Andy said exactly the same thing last November it is matter what he said.And egain the hate is stronger and all Andy’s Federer’s and Nadal,s fans are blaming BB and Nole for Andy’s words.

April 20th, 2016 at 6:21 am

Bojana

I do not think Nole is hated. Possibly envied. As for Boris, he is more respected now than in his early days with Nole…but he still jumps into situations without due prudence. Unfortunately this has a backlash on Nole.

The taking of performance drugs is a hotly debated subject as we witnessed with the Maria case. Will it ever go away? There must be a way to resolve this.

What if each player had to comply with a quarterly “Reveal” drug testing rule that could be accessed/viewed by anyone – (similar to the personal Tax Reveals that UK politicians are now publishing)?

April 20th, 2016 at 9:09 am

and that is the single most coveted stat by all professinal tennis players. Last year, Djokovic won almost all the clay tournaments yet failed to win the French Open. I am very confident to say that he and his fans would gladly give away all those titles in lieu of the French. All the other tournaments are mere ornaments but the slams are the crowns.

April 20th, 2016 at 11:27 am

^^ that was for cf1.

April 20th, 2016 at 11:28 am

You have glorified journeyman Gael, within a point of reaching Us Open semi & possibly winning US open.
Roddick did nothing close to Del Po, Stan, Berdych, Tsonga, Gael or Benneteau vs. fed in slams & masters1000.
Simon also smoothly beat Fedal.
Roddick got more money for breaking rules & harassing a lineswoman & opponents.

The tour was so bad in 2003-2007 that the so-called #1 Roddick got paid $15 million by sponsors, after the injured Nalbandian choked match point against the US golden boy, coward & fed lap dog Roddick.
Roddick bragged that he was paid millions just because he entered the atp.

Roddick struggled badly on european indoor hardcourt and couldn’t beat top 10 stars in Davis cup. He notoriously avoided clay because he knew he was a greedy clown, joke & fraud.

Of course, the maligned Nalbandian & Safin turned out to be higher peaking & classier than Roddick.
Wawrinka far surpassed that clown Texan.

Even true usa star Isner stretched nadal to 5 sets at french open & humiliated devoted Davis Cup stalwart Fed in 4 sets.
You don’t need to win Slams if you beat Fed in 4 sets.

April 20th, 2016 at 12:27 pm

J-Kath,

I really know and see what is going on,every body has right to say what they want only Novak and people around him do not have right.English and American journalism find Novak wrong what ever he say.
It would be different story if he is from England or from America.
To be honest I am very happy that he is not and only thing to all this hatred I could say:Hajde Novace nauci ih pameti…..NAPRED SAMO…

April 20th, 2016 at 4:42 pm

Bojana

There is no “English” singles player of any ranking at this time. Andy is Scottish and/British but never ENGLISH. He promoted Scottish independence) …for which he got death threats within the UK. Only when he gives 100%+ in Davis Cup is he forgiven (apart from a few good people on Tennis X and elsewhere) – for a short length of time. Most USA journalists take the lazy route i.e. doesn’t bother to understand the reality.

You may not accept it, but Andy gets more hassle by those who ought to be thankful to him than any other player from any other country anywhere.

So, in summary it is not a different story for Andy. It is much worse.

Hatred is much too strong for any one to use as an argument – but I appreciate English is unlikely to be your first language.
K

April 20th, 2016 at 6:24 pm

I never used hatred as argument I gave my arguments.The worst comments about Novak are coming from English journalists.If You think that Andy’s comments are OK,if You think that English and American journalists are more friendlier toward Novak than toward Andy, that means We see things differently and it is OK with me.
Yes dear J-Kath English is not my first language and I am sure that my English is not good but is not worst than Your Serbian.

April 20th, 2016 at 7:42 pm

Sorri I don’t speak Serbian…I can try French if that helps….anyway all journalists should be unbiased.

April 21st, 2016 at 3:07 am