It Sure Sounds Like Rafael Nadal’s 2012 Tennis Season Is Over

Hard courts are not the problem. Slowed down hard courts that encourage 5 hour “classic” 5 setters and 4 hour “classic” 3 setters are the problem. Who else on tour is experiencing these problems with hard courts? Maybe Roger should lobby to have all the tournaments inside on low bouncing courts to suit his game and his back issues. Give me a break.

September 25th, 2012 at 11:12 am

Pretty honest and straightforward assessment of things by rafa.

Few point he made:

1- Return in 2013: I think we all pretty much thought it would be then anyhow. It’s the smart thing to do- so no surprise there.

2- Progress of fitness: ‘The only thing is to recover well. I want to be 100 per cent when I come back. ‘ As a fan that is good to hear-e is progressing and ONLY wants to return when completely fit beyond any doubt.

3- Participation in wimby: In hindsight, yes he probably should have skipped it. He lost to Rosol- but most fans here, especially rafa fans, recognized at the time that he playd pretty awful v bellucci- probably Tomaz should have even won. Considering this issue started from IW and got pretty bad during the latter stages of FO- he should have stopped. BUT like rafa mentioned, it is hard to stop when you are on a roll.

4- Hardcourt future: Yes it is bad for rafa’ body- for anyoe playing with his knee issue. EVEN ANDY MURRAY stated post match after his USO win in the final, that playing on HC is very tough on the bod and can take alot out of you so no surprise that rafa makes that point with his injury issue. He’s right- he doesn’t have much choice here, bu down the line he may to play more clay tournies.

All in all, no surprises in this, IMO, and i think rafa has got his prioritize correct: he’s placing emphasis IMO, on fitness and career longevity. At age 26, its the right thing to do.

Good luck rafa!

September 25th, 2012 at 11:16 am

“I am 100% sure it is wrong”.
WHAT IS WRONG?? CREATING HARD COURTS?!?!

Don’t know what u actually think rafa. But now I think it’s ok for me that I stopped rooting for u like I used to and became a big fan of fedex whom I used to dislike once

September 25th, 2012 at 11:17 am

It will be sad if his season has ended. But you underestimate Rafa at your own peril. He is as physically gifted as any player in tennis history. And he owns the most devastating weapon ever. http://tennismaven.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-most-devastating-weapon-in-history.html

@Deborah, hard courts are a problem in general for tennis players. Listen to Murray’s comments about the pain and suffering he has to endure … For nadal, it is a bad combination. His style of play is 100% all out. It is grinding, high impact and doesn’t lend itself to a long career, let alone a healthy set of joints when playing on hard courts.

September 25th, 2012 at 11:21 am

@Tz:

‘WHAT IS WRONG?? CREATING HARD COURTS?!?!’

Christ you and others need to stop over reacting on this issue. The following:

1- Nowhere, and in this article, does rafa say tennis being played on a hard court is wrong this. His issue is ONLY with the potential injury issue’s it can create for the body.

2- Any concerns rafa has regarding HC are INJURY RELATED- now when you consider his injury issues- is it really a surprise that rafa has such concerns? Would anyone in his position, with his knee condition voice such concerns? Damn right they would!

3- NOWHERE does rafa say HC tennis should eliminated. His ONLY concern is the amount of HC and how it can affect the body. Not an unreasonable point to make. Most players would agree that clay, and even to an extent, grass courts are less taxing on the body. So nothing controversial there.

4- OTHER PLAYERS have voiced similar concerns. The victorious ANDY MURRAY post the USO final stated that HC tennis is tough on the body, and it can be difficult to recover at times. So rafa IS NOT THE ONLY ONE who makes this point- there are others who share his concern.

So let’s not make a big deal out of this- especially to the extent that rafa, all of a sudden, has an issue with HC as a tennis surface. No he does not- the ONLY issue is the amount of tennis and what can do to the body. NOTHING CONTROVERSIAL about that- especially when it is someone with a knee issue, so naturally he would have concerns for his health!

September 25th, 2012 at 11:36 am

Yeah, it’s true: if you have only a solid serve, and poor technique on your strokes so that you have to rely a lot on sheer muscle, and not a great deal of variety, then you are going to do a lot of running on hard courts. And that puts a great deal of strain on the body.

That’s the way it is. Either learn how to play tennis or suck it up. Don’t demand that the whole universe be changed to suit you.

There are plenty of players who can sustain a high level of play on hard courts; Djokovic has played a full hard-court season: semis at IW and Dubai, finals at Cincinnati and USO, and wins at AO, Miami, and Toronto. He’s not complaining about it, and he’s fine.

So just because Nadal thinks hard courts are so destructive of the body that no one can possibly keep playing on them, doesn’t mean it’s true.

For someone who has had one of the most successful careers in the history of men’s tennis, Nadal sure whines incessantly about how unfair his life is.

Far from being unjustly victimized by the way the sport is played, he’s been extremely fortunate to have come of age in an era when racket technology and the slowing of all surfaces has homogenized the sport and made it possible to win everywhere with a monotonous, topspin-saturated baseline game predicated on great defense and counterpunching.

Had he been around in Sampras’ day he’d have never made a final at Wimbledon or US Open. He would have won only on clay, and even then, not as much as he has. He would not have had anything remotely resembling the career that he enjoys today.

Instead of appreciating his good fortune, Nadal sees himself as a victim, when that is the last thing he is.

September 25th, 2012 at 11:50 am

@Tom – I still believe the slowing down of hard courts has hurt more than hard courts themselves. I also understand the combo with style of play have taken their toll. Players choose their style of play and have to live with where it takes thme long term. Obviously slow high bouncing courts are a liability to a player with a single handed BH and have been contributing factors as well.

September 25th, 2012 at 11:58 am

@Steve-O:

Interesting post from a fed fan. Nice to see you understanding things from rafa’s perspective- very charitable of you. But could you please clarify a few points, at least for my benefit:

1-‘Don’t demand that the whole universe be changed to suit you.’ Could you please list evidence, when rafa did demand such a thing.

2- ‘Nadal sure whines incessantly about how unfair his life is.’ Again, can you find evidence where rafa says life is so unfair towards him. Would appreciate it.

3- ‘Had he been around in Sampras’ day he’d have never made a final at Wimbledon or US Open. He would have won only on clay, and even then, not as much as he has.’ HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT? Such a point, stated so factly, solely shows what you think- as opposed to what the reality could be. Who knows, maybe- just maybe- rafa would dominate on clay even then!

4- ‘Instead of appreciating his good fortune, Nadal sees himself as a victim,’ Again- can you please find EVIDENCE that support your claim that rafa, somehow, DOES NOT APPRECIATE his good fortune and sees himself as a victim.

LOL, UNLESS you find some evidence to support your definitive claims would it be unwise to see your post as a FED FAN who thinks very little of rafa and his game and is just over reacting to the points rafa has made? I think not!

September 25th, 2012 at 12:01 pm

@steve-o — once upon a time, tennis wasn’t even played on hard courts. Are you now going to assert that what they were playing then just wasn’t tennis?

Somehow, I have a sneaking suspicion you were one of those people who ignored what Novak and Nico had to say about that blue Madrid surface being dangerous to play on, and only hyper-focused on Rafa’s concerns about it.

Just a hunch.

:-/

September 25th, 2012 at 12:07 pm

Can’t beleive what I am reading here about HC. This surface has been around for several tennis ERA’s and just lately we are getting complaints? Change your style of game. If we continue on this trek the game will be played on sponges!

September 25th, 2012 at 12:09 pm

Ditto Steve. Kneedal is plain and simple f*#$ed up.Jesus he is just a terrible excuse. Don’t mention hard courts and don’t play on it motherf*#?$er.

September 25th, 2012 at 12:13 pm

@M: No, they were all three of them whiners. There was a lot of whining from a lot of players, except for the man who sucked it up, figured out how to play on the alien surface, and won the tournament.

There was not one injury, not one at Madrid. I know because if someone had so much as sprained their pinkie toe during a practice session, we would never have heard the end of it.

Ironically, Benneteau slipped and fractured his elbow on the courts of Monte Carlo just a few weeks prior to Madrid–but of course you will not hear Nadal or Djokovic or anyone complaining about how dangerous the Monte Carlo clay is and how things need to be changed to ensure the players are don’t get hurt.

Spare me the crap about their being concerned for the safety of the players. They were motivated purely by self-interest. And the whiners got their way–the Madrid clay is going back to red. So why the hell are you sore about it?

September 25th, 2012 at 12:15 pm

Brando are you for real. The evidence is in his statements. Ever heard of interpretation. You are just as dull as your idol.

September 25th, 2012 at 12:18 pm

Lmao with this ultimate or ultimatum from Rafa.

Theguy is losing it.

if he wants to ban hardcourt he should retire or play goldenswing all year round. he is sure to winall those tourneys.

btw
he is not playing au open if he skips the remaining part of the year.

September 25th, 2012 at 12:37 pm

Brando

Nadal says:”
‘I can’t pretend not to play on hard courts when two of the Slams are on hard courts, but there is a mistake with our game. You don’t watch footballers playing on a hard surface, or basketball players, those sports with rapid movements.
‘It’s not going to change for me and my generation. Hard courts are very negative for the body. I know the sport is a business and creating these courts is easier than clay or grass, but I am 100 per cent sure it is wrong. I may have to play more on clay than before but there aren’t that many options”.

This is the heart of what Nadal has to say about hard courts, and whilst it is entirely understandable in his particular circumstances, it is also self-serving. That’s not to make a judgemental point. Who wouldn’t be bitter and partial when his whole world threatens to collapse about him? But the result is that he makes it sound as if the problem is universal, whereas in fact the problem is his.

September 25th, 2012 at 12:48 pm

when nadal was number one they slowed down all the courts for him he is juiced up big time until he gets off the shit he will never return he should be drug tested a lot

September 25th, 2012 at 1:17 pm

@ brando,

i don’t think i over reacted, i was just surprised about the line “i am 100% sure it is wrong” from rafa. I just wanted to know why would he say so. I see u made some good points about it

Nadal as well as murray have told that the effect of playing on HC are negative. I agree, playing on grass and clay are less painful than on hc. But don’t u think that only nadal and murray are saying this about hc?? I think it’s because of their playing style they feel more pain than the others. Because these two guys rely on longer rallies, they have to do a lot of running. It’s gonna have much more impact on their bodies compared to others who prefer less running or shorter rallies

**(sorry for the lack of my english skill. I’m not much good at writing long posts)

September 25th, 2012 at 1:21 pm

When Nadal was riding high and winning the majority of his matches against Federer, esp on clay, we heard few complaints. He has always moaned about the year end tournament whether in Shanghai or London. Uncle Toni even went so far as to suggest that it be on clay as if there weren’t 3 Masters (at that time) on clay already. Then, the Djoker went gluten-free and we’ve had Nadal fussing at the Us Open, walking off the player’s council, putting forth a 2yr ranking system, accusing Roger of caring more about his reputation than the players, etc. etc. Now it’s all the fault of the hard courts.

September 25th, 2012 at 1:43 pm

first of all the first post on this thread just nailed it! it’s indeed the slowin down of hard courts which’s problem n not the HCs themselves! these courts need to be sped up n penalty should be imposed for takin too much time to serve, that way the points would end faster, brilliant aggressiv tennis would recover its former glory n nobody could complain about it, haha! :D

secondly, nadal would’ve pretty much dominated the sampras era clay courts as much sickeningly as he dominates now, the only difference woulda been that neither fed would in that case have made multiple FO finals nor would Rafa woulda made multiple wimby finals! but fed n rafa would still had won at least one FO n one wimby respectively if not more!

finally i used to doubt nadal’s ability to win on fast courts until 2010 USO happened! this makes me think that even if the courts even now woulda been like they used to be in pete era, if the current pack had been playin on it, nadal would without a smidgen of doubt have won the USO n WIMBY!

nadal’s by n large not a classically aggressive player, but i’ve seen a brilliantly aggressiv world beatin nadal in WIM 08, FO 08 n USO 10 who imo would have surely beaten any of the current players on his day even if they met in pete era courts!

September 25th, 2012 at 1:47 pm

Football is not played on clay either. It is played on grass. Therefore, the ATP tour should consist only of grass court tournaments. However, I am not sure Rafa would be happy even then and Rafa fanatics would cry foul and say that it would benefit Roger more. Ultimately, the only acceptable solution would be an all-clay ATP tour, all four majors on clay and so on and all of Rafa’s problems would get solved. Roger, as the players council president, must push for this in the larger interests of Rafa’s health and longevity in the game. I am sure he will find strong support from Novak and Andy and the rest of the players in this noble but much-delayed endeavor. Rafa’s career winning average and records against top-10 and top-4 players would become surreal then. Now the slight hitch with this is that such surreal domination would raise questions about the quality of competition and reinforce the weak clay era arguments and Rafa and his followers wouldn’t be happy then……….

September 25th, 2012 at 1:51 pm

@Noogie:

‘Ditto Steve. Kneedal is plain and simple f*#$ed up.Jesus he is just a terrible excuse. Don’t mention hard courts and don’t play on it motherf*#?$er.’

CLASSY and substantial post- just what is your secret?

September 25th, 2012 at 1:57 pm

@Grendel:

– ‘That’s not to make a judgemental point. Who wouldn’t be bitter and partial when his whole world threatens to collapse about him? ‘: First of all thanks for trying to understand things from rafa’s perspective and then making a considered judgment on the topic on hand one way or another, as opposed to reading it and posting judgment that ONLY show one’s hatred towards the man in question (i.e. noogie).

– ”But the result is that he makes it sound as if the problem is universal, whereas in fact the problem is his.’: Yes, i can understand how it appears as such to others, even myself, that this is an issue for rafa primarily triggered due to his knee issue.

– In a competitive, individual sport such as tennis rarely, if ever, are the concerns of players not in some way, shape or form self serving to some degree. In such a Darwinian sport such as men’s singles tennis, the need of the hour is self preservation and taking self interest is the need of the hour. So if rafa or anyone makes such claims then, IMHO, we cannot blame them too much since how could they not think otherwise. Some here have taken this claim by rafa as an example of the shortcomings in his character- which to be honest is quite frankly ridiculous. How can you judge anyone without knowing them at all? So I am glad you recognised and understand rafa’s reason to think as such.

September 25th, 2012 at 2:12 pm

Tz:

‘**(sorry for the lack of my english skill. I’m not much good at writing long posts)’

First of all i think your english is rather excellent so there is zero need to apologise. You make some valid and good points Tz about the playing style being an issue for rafa and/ or andy.

September 25th, 2012 at 2:16 pm

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/08/sports/tennis/us-open-speed-bumps-on-a-hardcourt.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.www

September 25th, 2012 at 2:17 pm

@Huh:

Excellent post. I am glad that at least one non- rafa thinks he has a chance on clay v the 90s players. Very brave move.

Lol!

September 25th, 2012 at 2:19 pm

“finally i used to doubt nadal’s ability to win on fast courts until 2010 USO happened”

The USO surfaced has slowed down since 2004 ( see link a above ).

September 25th, 2012 at 2:25 pm

From Skeez’s article:

‘It comes as no surprise that Federer, who is seeded third this year and prefers faster playing conditions, has been the most vocal about the slower court speed.

“It’s just unfortunate, I think, that maybe all the Slams are too equal,” he said after his first-round match. “I think they should feel very different to the Australian Open, and now I don’t feel it really does.”’

Whilst I AGREE with roger here, this just shows that rafa is not the only one who would like things to be different. So would roger and so would many others.

Bottomline is: every player would like things to favour them, in one way or another. Very normal to do so.

ONLY difference, IMHO, is how they argue their case or state their concerns. Rafa, i feel, maybe doesn’t do a good job of it or at least his timing could be better, i.e. make his case when he is not injured. Despite this, i do not feel it is reason enough to trash him as if he is the only player on the tour concerned with his own interests- since the truth is very, very different from that particular notion!

September 25th, 2012 at 2:28 pm

@Skeezer:

Thanks for the article.

September 25th, 2012 at 2:28 pm

@grendel: but that’s precisely what Nadal does. He consistently conflates the general interest with his personal self-interest. What is good for him is THE good, what is bad for him is bad.

Hard courts are bad for him, ergo they are bad. A two year ranking system is good for him, ergo it is good (even though it would make it very hard for young players to break through).

That is a refined form of selfishness. You see, it’s not that he is consciously mean and selfish, with no regard for others, oh no!–all innocently, he sincerely believes that what’s good for him is good for everyone else. And what’s wrong with that?

Silly that anyone would actually buy that explanation, but there are people who would swear that they saw the sun rise in the west and set in the east if Nadal ever said so.

September 25th, 2012 at 2:31 pm

Rogerrafa are you aware of the new surfaces in many football competitions in europe gras is not the sole surface anymore.

Ialso like to point to other sports who have indoor outdoor competition .

Iceskating, american footbal, atletics etc there are many sports who use different surfaces and conditions. only nadal and his fans want a single slow surface clay that is also easy on only Nadal s body.

September 25th, 2012 at 2:47 pm

skeeze

i have discussed here already many times about courts in general slowin down a lot since sampas era, no? hard to search for the links now, but i defenitely think how i believed all the HCs n Grass has slowed down so much since pete retired, but my contention about rafa winning is based on just the determination n the change that rafa showed in the form of that bloody serve for USO 10 that makes me not doubt that nadal woulda won USO no matter which era! just look at the guy how dreaded he made his serve for that uso win, that was incredible! easy draws or not, i just don’t see any guy beatin that rafa in 2010 USO, thus i firmly believe that nadal would win USO even then! from what i have seen of nadal, he is a player who like, if once he makes up mind, he has to get it, he gets it! he’s a lot like federer in terms of mental strength at times, though still less than fed n this respect! but at least nadal shows he can do it so long as he is holdin a racquet in his hands, those GS wins! i don’t expect him to be fed, but nadal is still great, though not the greatest like fed!

September 25th, 2012 at 3:05 pm

Brando

frankly speakin i don’t see any clay courter of 90s holdin a candle to nadal’s clay genius except guga, who i think might have defeated nadal at least once, if not more! guga was a wonderful player and one of my all-time faves due to his free flowin style of play even thou he was primarily a clay giant! and the rest… nadal’d eat for snacks anytime in FO unless he’s very unfit!

September 25th, 2012 at 3:09 pm

however with due respect to rafa, his suggestion for 2 year rankin system was plain hilarious, hehe

September 25th, 2012 at 3:11 pm

@ brando,
“First of all i think your english is rather excellent so there is zero need to apologise.”
thanks for the compliment. i hope u r not being too humble! ;)

September 25th, 2012 at 3:16 pm

Brando, I generally take Nadal’s side on this site cos I feel the opinions are a bit biased against him, but on this matter it really does look like Nadal is simply whining.

Sure, hardcourts are tougher on the body. So? Why does that make Nadal imply that making more hard courts is ‘100% wrong’ ?

I mean – A golf player could imply that tennis is tougher on the body than golf…a sprinter could say that a marathon is tougher on the body – does that negate the validity of these kind of sports? As long as they dont cause any kind of real damage to the body (and apart from Nadal, nobody gets recurringly injured playing on hard courts), why should these courts be called ‘100% wrong’ ?

September 25th, 2012 at 3:23 pm

Nadal: Indoor tennis is not real tennis

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=441106

LOL. So blunt. Didn’t Guillermo Vilas say once that grass was for cows? I read it somewhere. Or was it another Argentine player?

Grass is for cows.

Indoor tennis is not real tennis

Did Sampras ever say that clay was for pigs?

LOL.

September 25th, 2012 at 3:27 pm

http://www.firstpost.com/sports/grass-is-for-the-cows-clay-for-specialists-12407.html

Lendl said Grass is for cows as well.

September 25th, 2012 at 3:30 pm

Brando: Federer argued for a little more variation on tour. Not that a certain kind of surface was inherently “wrong.”

Sure, it benefits him to have a couple more fast hard courts courts–and everyone else who has the skills to play on faster courts; Djokovic, Murray, Del Potro, Tsonga, and Berdych would all thrive too and all have beaten Federer on fast hard courts. But it also benefits the game to have more diversity. More different kinds of players with fundamentally different styles would be great for the game.

OTOH, if he said that the tour should cut down on the clay courts, that clay was bad, that would be analogous to what Nadal is saying. But Federer didn’t say that one surface was bad–just that it would be a good thing to have a mixture of speeds. He didn’t say that there was something inherently wrong with slow hard courts.

Nadal’s rationale is also bogus. There is no epidemic of hard-court injuries plaguing the tour. There is even not really an epidemic of injuries, period. Players get injured: it’s part of the game. And (assuming Nadal’s injuries aren’t just psychosomatic) most of them are not so fortunate as Nadal in their ability to recover and resume their career; compared to someone like Del Potro, Nadal has gotten off very easy.

There is quite a difference between what Federer said and what Nadal said–and it is an important difference, even if it is a subtle one.

This “but Federer did it too!” excuse is wearing very thin. Is it even possible for Nadalites to defend their man without justifying it by claiming that Federer said the same thing? I’m really beginning to doubt it.

September 25th, 2012 at 3:31 pm

Is Nadal the first player to say “Indoor tennis is not real tennis”?

September 25th, 2012 at 3:31 pm

Nadal should not play until clay season 2013. He is a one surface player these days. Last title off clay was 2+ years ago and counting. He is so over off clay.

September 25th, 2012 at 3:37 pm

Anyone thinking this is a silent ban? He’s dubious for AO… I don’t think a player has been out for so long unless he had surgery. Nadal and Soderling. Silent ban? Makes you wonder..

September 25th, 2012 at 3:41 pm

@RSP

Appreciate your post. It must not be easy saying anything negative about a player you admire. I have had problems with Feds comments here and there, so its not like anyone is perfect.

The thing with Rafa is this latest comment is not new, he has compiled a historical documented series of interviews that validate critics opinions about him, and justifiably so. And playing the “translation” card just doesn’t hold water anymore.

Whatever. It is sad he is out till next year, he brings a dynamic to the game that raises the overall watching to a higher level.

September 25th, 2012 at 3:41 pm

I have a funny feeling that not only Federer has won his last slam already but so has Nadal. Fed like Sampras, had a slamless year in 2011 like Pete in 2001. Sampras then won his last slam the following like Fed this year. Borg won slams for 8 years in a row, took a sabbatical but never won a slam after coming back from his sabbatical. Nadal could emulate that as well. The slam differential between Fed and Nadal is 6. Same case as with Sampras and Agassi. Yep. These 2 are done winning slams.

2013 will be the first year where neither Fed nor Nadal will win a slam. They are over as slam winners.

2013 will be the beginning of a new era with Murray, Nole, Del Potro as slam winners.

September 25th, 2012 at 3:55 pm

Mark my words:

2013 slam winners

AO Murray
FO Nole
Wimbledon Murray
USO Del Potro.

September 25th, 2012 at 3:59 pm

Jamie
Some are floating the idea of the silent ban. I remember Justine abruptly retiring and returning again. I recently saw some photos of Laura Robson with big biceps and popping veins.

PS Your predictions will come to haunt you.

Brando,
Murray does not have knee problems to the extent that Rafa does. They do not compare.

September 25th, 2012 at 4:23 pm

Poor odds given for Federer and Nadal at the slams next year.

http://www.oddschecker.com/

September 25th, 2012 at 4:27 pm

“easy draws or not, i just don’t see any guy beatin that rafa in 2010 USO” – Huh.

I am in no doubt about that. Nadal was a man on the warpath in 2010. My sense was (at the time – yes, it was, promise)that even before Wimbledon, even before the French, Nadal had targeted the US Open. I believe that in some level in his mind, he knew he wouldn’t have too many chances to get the US, maybe only one. No, he didn’t know that for sure, obviously, it’s not the kind of thing you can be sure about. But I think he had a gut feeling: this year or never. Of course, should the title fall into his lap another year, well and good. But this year, 2010 – that title was his. Nobody was going to get in his way.

He prepared meticulously. So the court wasn’t as fast in 2010 as in 2004? On this occasion, didn’t matter. Let it be fast. He was prepared for anything. The title belonged to him alone.

He played like a man possessed. Easy draw, true – procession. A tough draw would have made no difference. Still procession. In the final, the very tough Djokovic never had a chance. If it had been Federer, Becker, Sampras, Agassi, McEnroe – would have made no difference. Nadal had set his heart and mind on winning that year, and win he was going to do.

Of course, he had done this very remarkable thing with his serve, and, scarcely less remarkable, he played like a hardcourter. Something in his psyche allowed him go to against the grain on that one occasion. I don’t pretend to understand it, but Nadal was a force of nature in New York 2010. He did, because of his extraordinary mind, what the great Lendl, in comparable circumstances, was unable to do at Wimbledon. Lendl was, by the end, playing terrific tennis on grass, by sheer application of will. But even so, you still saw the doubt in his eyes when faced with a natural, as opposed to manufactured, grass court player. There was no doubt whatever in Nadal’s eyes. He was in Flushing Meadows to perform the task of a lifetime, and he knew what he had to do and he did it.

Afterwards, of course there was the letdown. That serve disappeared, injury resurfaced, the all surface player again became the great claycourter who could be very dangerous on other surfaces.

But for 2 weeks in 2010, Nadal was the greatest hardcourt player in the world, and he won one of the greatest hardcourt matches of all time.

September 25th, 2012 at 4:54 pm

Rafa just come back when you are 100% fit and let some people eat their words.

September 25th, 2012 at 5:13 pm

jamie Says:

Anyone thinking this is a silent ban? He’s dubious for AO… I don’t think a player has been out for so long unless he had surgery. Nadal and Soderling. Silent ban? Makes you wonder.

NO!!!!!!

Only people like you. Evil thinkers are evil doers. Don’t judge Rafa by your own low standards.

September 25th, 2012 at 5:24 pm

Wow Nadal indoor tennis is not real tennis?!?!

The lack of knowledge about tennis and particular its history is immense.

The disrespect he gives tennis is also disrespectfull. Remember he also claimed The Sampras era was not real tennis. To much serve and no ralleighs.

What is wrong with the guy ? He imust be so fristrated by always being in the shadow of Federer and then finally after years he got the #1 losing it first to again Fed and teh second time to DJoker making Djokovic the real successor of Federer.

Rafa will go dwon as the third player of this era. behind Fed and Djoker.

His lack of appreciation for the history of the game is in contrast to the great Roger who always talks great about tennis and its history. Their diofferences could not be bigger on this important issue.

Nadal speaks the tone of a loser.

September 25th, 2012 at 5:32 pm

Jamie
I think Roger will lift his second Garros title in 2013. Remember he has Rafa;s number in the lst 2 out of 3 meetings. And should be focussed wel enough for Djoker.

They go up and down with eachother so it might be his time again.

September 25th, 2012 at 5:35 pm

Steve-o: I really agree with your post esp the part I’ve quoted. During the uproar about the Madrid blue clay, Federer pointed out that when he was first on the tour, surfaces were varied and players had to learn to adjust almost week in and week out. IMHO,the players doing the most complaining before and during Madrid had never had to do anything except play the same way regardless of surface.

“Sure, it benefits him to have a couple more fast hard courts courts–and everyone else who has the skills to play on faster courts; Djokovic, Murray, Del Potro, Tsonga, and Berdych would all thrive too and all have beaten Federer on fast hard courts. But it also benefits the game to have more diversity. More different kinds of players with fundamentally different styles would be great for the game.

OTOH, if he said that the tour should cut down on the clay courts, that clay was bad, that would be analogous to what Nadal is saying. But Federer didn’t say that one surface was bad–just that it would be a good thing to have a mixture of speeds. He didn’t say that there was something inherently wrong with slow hard courts.”

September 25th, 2012 at 5:53 pm

@Deborah,

“Federer pointed out that when he was first on the tour, surfaces were varied and players had to learn to adjust almost week in and week out.”

Yes indeed. This era of players are spoiled wrt surfaces. You would think the game should have improved as a result( This is why they did it, no? ). In a few ways it has, but mostly not ( Does anyone have time to watch a 5-6 hour tennis matches? If so, you need to get a life. )

What makes the Tennis Game so unique was the variety of surfaces, which requires the ultimate skill and the player(s) who have the most complete game, as it should.

September 25th, 2012 at 6:09 pm

I read the following on an article, which is an excerpt from an interview with Nadal, and I don’t know if it’s true.

Part of an interview of Nadal by L’Equipe.

Is it true that you have a private coach for poker?

Yes. He is a spaniard called Isaac Vega Mayolas who was world champion in 2006. I learn everyday but it?s only for fun. I?m just playing with friends.

Are you a defensive or an aggressive player.

I am aggressive but not kamikaze. I like to keep my self-control so that I’m in control of the situation. I love analysing the game.

You haven’t played since you lost to Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon, how is your recovery going?

That wasn’t a match. I wasn’t playing tennis on that day. I am not yet ready to go on court. I’ve not picked up a racquet since, but I’m working hard everyday. I swim a lot almost a mile everyday. I also work a lot in the gym, following my doctor’s orders.

I don’t understand the part on the Rosol match, whether the interpreter is a poor translator, or something’s missing.

On the slowing of the courts, I think the big servers who were playing prior to 2000, have stated that the courts were definitely slowed down and some have said that the balls are a lot bigger and heavier. At Wimbledon, apparently Tim Henman has kept a ball from each year’s tournament, and he has seen a difference in the size.All of this is just conjecture by a mix of writers.

September 25th, 2012 at 7:27 pm

@eietmo

I think this is a 6 month ban for PEDs use.

This is not the first time either.

I believe in 2009 he also served a silent ban.

This time he got a longer ban than in 2009 for doing it again. He just doesn’t learn…

In 2010, it was an easy year for him, no need to juice. Soderling and Berdych in slam finals and Nole who was overwhelmed after beating Federer for the first time at the USO. The truth is the only top 4 player that was on fire in 2010 was Nadal. He didn’t need to use PEDs that year to dominate the slams.

In 2008-early 2009, Federer and Djokovic were very competitive, Murray as well, so Nadal needed something to help him win all those marathonic slam finals. He payed the price in 2009 with a ban. Plus he is a bad matchup for Federer and Nole had not reached his peak yet.

Same story last year. Only that peak Nole WAS a better version of Nadal and despite the juicing, Nadal lost all the finals to a better player, bad matchup.

September 25th, 2012 at 7:34 pm

@Sienna

AO and RG are the slams where Federer has the least chances of winning. They are SLOW.

Nole will win RG next year. book it.

September 25th, 2012 at 7:37 pm

@jamie
Yep. He won both.

September 25th, 2012 at 9:25 pm

Alok,

Good info thanks. I think what is important in this topic is regardless of the slowdown of courts in the early 2000’s Fed managed to accumulate 17 Slams. Amazing since his critics have been saying all along he is fast court player.

September 25th, 2012 at 9:46 pm

“Lendl said Grass is for cows as well.”

And it’s the one slam he never won … hmmmm.

jamie, I don’t usually believe predictions, but sure hope you are right about Nole/FO next year. Would love to see him complete his career slam!! Fingers crossed. It would be great to see Andy win at “home” and Delpo win another slam as well.

As for Rafa not coming back this year, I had kind of already assumed that would be the case. But I disagree with those who would write him off. He’ll be back raring to go; that’s what I expect anyhow.

I wonder who’ll get the last spot for London then? Could be an interesting field – Fed, Nole, Muzz, Ferru, Tsonga, Delpo, Berdych and Tipsy? Actually Nico and Isner aren’t too far behind Tipsy.

September 25th, 2012 at 9:51 pm

You guys don’t know what will happen in 2013 in the slams. Maybe you all are predicting what you “want” to see, but no one knows the absolute future. Who predicted Nadal to be out after he won the French this year? All it takes is ONE injury and all your “guaranteed” predictions are down the drain. So people who are “guaranteeing” that Roger won’t win another slam – seems like I heard that same thing since he had 15 slams – now he’s up to 17! So much for those predictions! Lol

September 25th, 2012 at 10:05 pm

Rafa is sorely missed at the top of the game :(
Come back soon :)
Lendl has also advised Andy to shorten the points in order to prolong his tennis life……and, apparently, for the first time in his life, Andy is listening…;)

September 26th, 2012 at 2:22 am

jane Says:
“Lendl said Grass is for cows as well.”

And it’s the one slam he never won … hmmmm.

You say it like you think he hated Wimbly. I will explaine a bit about Lendl and his relation with wimbledon. Because your mhhh is a bot to spicy for my liking. Lendl was a champion of champions and he deserves to be remembered like that and not like a player who mhhhed his way through his tennis life.

He did say that. But I thought he said it at beginning of his career. Later on he developped a passion to win Wimbledon which in my book is unparalelled in modern day tennis.

He reached 2 finals and 5 semi finals at Wimbledon.

In his quest for the biggest of the slams he sacrificed several Garros winnings. Even to the extend of skipping garros.
But more important he tried to alter his game.
Ivan had a very big serve but he could not win Wimbledon with a serve and the a baseline game.

Wimbledon was not as it is today, because he certainly would have been a winner.

He tried to alter his game in a way that was heartbreaking. He became a serve volley player. Serving and the volleying his way tio semies and finals. But halas never he was quit good enough in that department to win in the end. He always missed that little bit you needed to become the winner at the net.

I think we sell him short by just stating that he never won wimbly so hmmmm remark you made. He had great respect for Wimbledon and wanted to win badly.

September 26th, 2012 at 3:19 am

grendel @September 25th, 2012 at 4:54 pm

AN ALL TIME GREAT POST!!!

FoT

Completely Agree!

However, if I have to make only one prediction for next year, I’d only say that Nadal won’t win any slam next year! Nobody won GS for 9 years in a row, so I doubt Rafa can do it either(and I certainly’d not mind him not bein able to do that, haha!)!

another thing, lesser of a prediction is that I somehow feel that JMDP is definitely gonna pick up a slam next year! :D

I’d love to see muzza, fed, jmdp n nole to win 1 slam each next year! won’t mind muzz winnin 2 slams in 2013 either! ;)

fed n rafa can wait for 2014, but not muzz, jmdp n nole! nole for makin the tennis so much more excitin needs to win at least one slam next year to keep his confidence goin n with it the unpredictability! :D

September 26th, 2012 at 4:01 am

Hope Rafa recovers and returns very soon. The game is definitely more exciting with the dynamic of the four.

September 26th, 2012 at 4:43 am

All matches on CC is a very good idea.

September 26th, 2012 at 5:27 am

i also hope nadal returns super healthy n fit n fed, muzz, delpo n nole kick his backside a few more times(partcularly in slams)! ;)

September 26th, 2012 at 5:57 am

Strange how no one mentions Berdych as a contender. He needs a bit of luck – conditions have got to suit him. The wind beat him at the US. We all know that luck and misfortune are key players in life, including tennis. If things go his way, he’s quite capable of winning slam. The odds are against, but not hugely.

September 26th, 2012 at 8:04 am

Agree with grendel on Berdych. It won’t be a surprise if he wins a major next year.

September 26th, 2012 at 8:20 am

Grendel, I think the reason Berdych is rarely mentioned is because he lacks the charisma of Delpo and Tsonga (barring the top 4 of course). Plus I think he lost many fans with the Almagro incident, myself included.

Theres no question that he has a big game and therefore can always pose a threat if it comes together but mentally I think he’s really shaky and more prone to choking than anyone else in the top 10. It was a tough wait for Murray to win his first slam and I think unless fortune favours Berdych its going to be even tougher for him.

September 26th, 2012 at 9:39 am

Understate Rafa at your own peril. I remember way back in 2009 Wimbledon and 2010 Australian Open where Rafa struggled with injuries and I wondered how long he would stay in the game. He then won 3 straight slams on 3 different surfaces. So, I don’t think we have seen the last of Rafa at the top of the game so long as he schedules his tournaments a lot better.

September 26th, 2012 at 10:27 am

*underestimate

September 26th, 2012 at 10:27 am

nadal is a whiner. Plain and simple. he is probably the most self centred all time great that I have ever seen. His disgraceful comments with regards to hard courts pretty much sums up his character.

September 26th, 2012 at 10:46 am

NADAL: “The only thing is to recover well. I want to be 100 per cent when I come back. I don’t want to keep playing every day with doubts, not knowing if my knee is going to answer all the questions.”
WHAT HE REALLY WAS THINKING WAS: i dont know how many more losses i can blame to “injuries” each day more and more people are not buying it anymore.
NADAL: “Hard courts are very negative for the body,”
WHAT HE REALLY WAS THINKING WAS: im soo stupid, i ask to slower hard courts thinking i could clean the slams each year, and suddenly djokovic beat me in my own game, he play my boring, ping-pong defensive tennis better than me, crap i miss playing federer.
NADAL: “Was it a mistake to play at Wimbledon? Maybe, but when you are playing well it is hard to stop. At Roland Garros I had to play with anti-inflammatories to get through. After that I felt really bad. My practice before Wimbledon was terrible. I played the first round with injections, otherwise it would have been impossible. That doesn’t help the knee,”
WHAT HE REALLY WAS THINKING WAS: 2 birds one stone, with same injury i justify my loss at wimbledom, even making me a warrior by playing with injections, mmmm i love drug injections, they make me run like mad for hours, and also the same injury add value to my roland garros cause i was a heroe plying and winning with injury.
NADAL: “This is a day-by-day thing, I have checks every week to see how I’m improving. I can’t predict what will happen,”
WHAT HE REALLY WAS THINKING WAS: damn, i was hoping djokovic and federer tired each other and i return dominating, just like federer did last year, but now murray chose to rise up, man i can get a break, each week i see more players i cant fight and win, i hope their level drop soon, i see them each week hoping it happend, so i can return in a window of oportunity.
NADAL: “I hope you see me in Australia,”
WHAT HE REALLY WAS THINKING WAS: i had zero chances of playing murray, djokovic and federer in indoors, so my season is ended, i may play davis cup, it will be easy to win, i guess, no top 3.
NADAL: “That is the biggest goal for me, to come back just before then in Qatar, but I cannot say for sure it is going to happen.”
WHAT HE REALLY WAS THINKING WAS: i may give it a try at the AO, i dream about the grand slam year, if i run into murray i can always quit, but if im lucky federer blast djokovic and i can play him in the final, otherwise i can excuse my lost for the long time out of courts, “find” my rythm in clay and start winning, of course that if i cant win even in clay i will retire and say “that injuries stop my career”

September 26th, 2012 at 10:48 am

WHAT HE REALLY WAS THINKING WAS: 2 birds one stone, with same injury i justify my loss at wimbledom, even making me a warrior by playing with injections, mmmm i love drug injections, they make me run like mad for hours, and also the same injury add value to my roland garros cause i was a heroe plying and winning with injury.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

This.

He also makes Nole look like a spaz because he lost to an injured player in the RG final.

Nadal is so full of it….

September 26th, 2012 at 11:07 am

Yawn……

The usual anti-Rafa bile on tennis-x blog.

Oh please, can we have something different? Gets to be so boring reading the same old, same old………..

Yawn…….

September 26th, 2012 at 11:22 am

@ bstevens

I do not think any reasonable person can underestimate Rafa. He is a champion and his issue is supposed to be minor. That is why he continued to play after Indian Wells and dominated the clay season yet again. The drama about it being a “career-threatening” issue has gone on for far too long. In the meantime, Rafa has had one of the most successful careers of all time spanning eleven years. He can’t have it both ways though. His playing style and some of his questionable scheduling decisions were bound to have some repercussions. I am getting increasingly convinced that it probably is more a case of burnout and he has rightly taken a strategic break. This could turn into a blessing in disguise and prolong his career. Even as his rivals continue to slug it out, he will return fresh and rejuvenated next season and kick some butt again.

September 26th, 2012 at 11:44 am

”NADAL: “Hard courts are very negative for the body,”
WHAT HE REALLY WAS THINKING WAS: im soo stupid, i ask to slower hard courts thinking i could clean the slams each year, and suddenly djokovic beat me in my own game, he play my boring, ping-pong defensive tennis better than me, crap i miss playing federer.”

LOL, fully agree! :p

”NADAL: “This is a day-by-day thing, I have checks every week to see how I’m improving. I can’t predict what will happen,”
WHAT HE REALLY WAS THINKING WAS: damn, i was hoping djokovic and federer tired each other and i return dominating, just like federer did last year, but now murray chose to rise up, man i can get a break, each week i see more players i cant fight and win, i hope their level drop soon, i see them each week hoping it happend, so i can return in a window of oportunity.”

LOL, I again agree! :p

”NADAL: “I hope you see me in Australia,”
WHAT HE REALLY WAS THINKING WAS: i had zero chances of playing murray, djokovic and federer in indoors, so my season is ended, i may play davis cup, it will be easy to win, i guess, no top 3.”

LOL, partcularly agree with him havin zero chances vs fed, haha! :p

”NADAL: “That is the biggest goal for me, to come back just before then in Qatar, but I cannot say for sure it is going to happen.”
WHAT HE REALLY WAS THINKING WAS: i may give it a try at the AO, i dream about the grand slam year, if i run into murray i can always quit, but if im lucky federer blast djokovic and i can play him in the final, otherwise i can excuse my lost for the long time out of courts, “find” my rythm in clay and start winning, of course that if i cant win even in clay i will retire and say “that injuries stop my career””

LOL again at him hopin for playin fed in final! ;)
but he can be wrong too if fed plays one of his TMF mode matches n beat him in final, lol; coz after all AO’s not clay! :D

September 26th, 2012 at 11:53 am

milasde

frankly yours was A SUPER POST!!! one of the best ever!

September 26th, 2012 at 11:55 am

bummer news for rafa fans. i still hold to my thought that he will retire sooner than later (before some of the other main players). he just hasn’t sounded buoyant on tour in the past 1.5 years. i’m sure the injuries haven’t helped, but the grind of the tour, the ATP players council stuff – it all adds up to some negativity and possible soul searching.

September 26th, 2012 at 11:56 am

There may be something getting lost in the translation. Nadal is not a very articulate person. If he gives his interview in English, he may not be using the correct words to express himself. If it is in Spanish, the translator may be editing the words to suit what the translator wants to make out of it. In addition, I don’t think Nadal is a very smart guy, in any language. That’s how he appears to me.

September 26th, 2012 at 1:02 pm

Reading on teletext this morning,French Open champion Rafael Nadal does not know when he will be fit to play tennis again,but insists he has plenty of years ahead in the sport.The 11 time grand slam champion is recovering from a knee injury and has not played since wimbledon in June.I will return to the court when i feel that the knee no longer gives me pain,whether that is in two weeks or in 3 or 4 said the spaniard,so with that in mind,maybe im missing something but for me that does not sound like someone who has any intention of retiring just yet,i can understand how irritating it must get now for Feds fans when he looses a match the haters want to pack him off to retirement,now people are doing it with Nadal,for gods sake let the players themselves decide when they want to retire.

September 26th, 2012 at 1:07 pm

Huh says if i had to make a prediction,i would say Rafa wont win a slam next year,nobody has won a slam for 9 years in a row,so i doubt Rafa can do it either(fair enough),but Rafa is such a fighter and loves to prove people wrong,and never has doesnt necassarily mean never will,and what a record that would be to break,sorry just a thought you never know.

September 26th, 2012 at 1:25 pm

How many players in the top 10 have knee problems? Only Nadal. Its not hard courts – its his style of play. His game is mostly about getting every ball back, to the point that the opponent starts making mistakes and plays badly. If he had a better attacking game, points would be shorter, matches would be shorter (also if he stops doing time violations on every point), and his knees wouldn’t be like a 60 year old man’s knees.

the slowing down of all surfaces was very lucky for Nadal. Otherwise he wouldn’t have won anything outside of clay.

They really need to make attacking tennis more rewarding, by speeding up surfaces (at least some of them) to where they used to be upto a decade ago, and also restricting racket head size to restrict the vicious spins that players can now put on – they are unreal. Racket technology has moved this game too far in one direction.

With such a long break from tennis, I doubt if Nadal will ever be back to his old form. Already, he was not playing as well in 2011-12 as he played in 2010, his peak year. How, with such a long break, 2013 might turn out to be his worst year on tour in many years. Now he cannot even count on beating Murray regularly, since Murray is now a changed player. Nole is still around and strong. Hopefully, some newer players step up in 2013. The Fed-Nadal era is over, as of 2012.

As for Fed, the old man has almost every record that matters.

September 26th, 2012 at 1:49 pm

“With such a long break from tennis, I doubt if Nadal will ever be back to his old form.”

Ho-ho-ho! Oive eard thatun beforre!

September 26th, 2012 at 2:22 pm

Re: “Ho-ho-ho! Oive eard thatun before.”

You will continue to hear it. And then one of these days, it just may happen. Those knees will never revert back to normal. Nadal’s game needs strong and healthy knees. His breaks from the game due to his knee problems are getting longer. The more worn out they are, the longer it will take to recover and each recovery is not as complete as the previous one.

September 26th, 2012 at 2:31 pm

@nadalista

For you:

Rafa is great
Rafa is magnificent
Rafa is handsome
Rafa is fantastic
Rafa is……. Love

September 26th, 2012 at 2:32 pm

@Nadalista

If that’s the case, what the hell are you doing on this site?! Go back to Tennistalk, I’m sure the Nadal hagiography circlejerk is still going strong over there.

September 26th, 2012 at 2:51 pm

Grendel,

Agassi is the only one who has come back from a long break and been as good as before. But his reasons for leaving were different – not a physical problem.

Can you name anyone else who took a 6+ month break from tennis and came back to old form after that? Not even younger players like Del Potro manage to do that. Nadal is 26 – much older than most.

Remember, Borg retired at 26 because he knew he couldn’t beat the best anymore. Hardly any player has dominated after 26 years of age – except federer. Sampras managed to stay no 1 till he was 27 – but that was also largely because Agassi disappeared two years earlier, and he had no other big opponents at that time (can you name a single multi slam winner who sampras faced in 1997-98 – and I mean someone who eventually won 5+ slams).

3 years ago I wouldn’t have said this about Nadal. But he is no spring chicken any more. 26 is a ripe old age in mens tennis.

Nole should finally get his French title next year. He would have won this year too, had the rain not stopped the match.

September 26th, 2012 at 2:52 pm

[…] under: 2012 Season, Shanghai Tags: Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer « Previous Post Leave a […]

September 26th, 2012 at 2:55 pm

Polo Says:

I don’t think Nadal is a very smart guy, in any language. That’s how he appears to me.

September 26th, 2012 at 1:02 pm

Polo, you don’t sound too smart to me either. Rafa is smart enough to work out how to take Federer out 18 out of 28 times.

September 26th, 2012 at 3:06 pm

EIEIO,

Then what happened to the other 10?

September 26th, 2012 at 3:08 pm

i do agree with those who say that it’s just too much to expect nadal to return next year n repeat a 2010 lik year. that’s just too unreal even by your wildest dreams to think that rafa’d get anywhere close to that 2010 form! i mean nobody except perhaps rod has won more than 2 slams after crossin 26. Even fed hasn’t won 3 slams in a calendr year after turnin 26! 2007 was his last great year when he won 3 GS, ater that he didn’t. as soon as he crossed the 26 age mark, he finally became mortal n others dared to stand to him. Until then, there was simply no rival o his except rafa on clay!
And rafa already turned 26 in june! By December end, he’d be more than 26.5 years! No way he can repeat a year with 3 slams, not even he can have a year imo with 2 slams, definitely not with the threat of nole n the rise of murray. I’d say it’ll be real to assume that nadal may win 1 slam in 2013, but that’s it. Don’t expect more than 1 slam from nadal in 2013(this is or his fans who seem to think he’s some superman or stuff like that). I’m feelin strongly that murray’s gonna make life difficult for everybody next year, particularly perhaps at wimby! The 2 fed-muzz matches at wimbledon centre court this year were perhaps the best type of aggressive tennis anyone ever played against fed there or anywhere! With his soft hands n smooth style, muzza looked a lot closer to like a new darth two handed sampras n safin/nalby! And I swear, I LOVED MURRAY in these 2 wimby clashes vs fed!

Alison

I did say that I doubt nadal can win slams or 9 years in a row, never said he shall not win slams for 9 years in a row.  and yeah, if nadal does that(whih even I think he will, notwithstanding my brave lookin prediction which’s sure not base on my utter confidence but just the will to take a risk of makin prediction, which’s kina aventurous, lol ;) )

Finally I say this again, if the courts were like pete era, but the player were of this era, I don’t see anyone stopping nadal from winnin at least 1 AO, 1 USO n 1 WIM(thou surely not more than that either)!

September 26th, 2012 at 3:36 pm

skeezer Says:

EIEIO,

Then what happened to the other 10?

Rafa was ill or injured, and sometimes he let Roger win because he’s kind an he wants Roger to have some dignity.

September 26th, 2012 at 3:40 pm

alison

in my previos post i meant if nadal’s able to win GS for 9 years in a row, that’d almost be at par with fed’s emi streak, an achievement which may be near to impossible to break for anyone in future! winnin slams for 9 years in a row would be so great a thing that it may even stand the test of time n remain unmatched/unbroken till the end of days!!

and i’m pretty sure that fed’s GS SEMI streak gonna remain unmatched forever, let alone broken; it’s IMPOSSIBLE TO BETTER THAT! similarly if nadal does the thing that i’m talkin about here, then that comes the next to impossible thing to do after fed’s GS semi streak, pretty obviously!

September 26th, 2012 at 3:42 pm

Huh honestly no offence was taken or meant,i was just throwin in a what if theory,just for fun,and the shear hell of it really,its only a possibility nothing more than that.

September 26th, 2012 at 3:43 pm

“Rafa was ill or injured, and sometimes he let Roger win because he’s kind an he wants Roger to have some dignity.”

Funny. But it more than likely proves the delusional response that it was.

September 26th, 2012 at 3:44 pm

EIETMO talks like he/she’s nadal’s soulmate who seems to know everything about rafa’s mind, LOL ;)

September 26th, 2012 at 3:45 pm

i’m afraid now some other rafatard may come out n say like yeah: nadal even handed that wim, uso n AO(after fightin for nearly 6 hours) to nole coz nole n rafa r friends, lol ;)

September 26th, 2012 at 3:48 pm

Rafa is not only a great tennis player, he is also a good actor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1jOiHYwN8Tk#!

September 26th, 2012 at 3:56 pm

Huh i completely agree with your two above posts,i see theres still a possibility of Rafa winning a GS next year(i dont know where though),but im in agreement when you say the dominating days are over,he is going into a decline and theres no two ways about it,and im not saying that in a negative way,as i am happy with what he has achieved anyway,and TBH every slam he wins from now on is just another bonus,to suggest he will win more than 1 in a year is unrealistic,Rafa caused Roger problems,Nole caused Rafa problems,and i now have a hunch that Murray is going to cause Nole problems(i hope so as Andy is my second favorite player),although i have said it before and ill say it again,i wouldnt put it past Rafa breaking that record(i hope),or Roger winning another slam,write them off at your peril.

September 26th, 2012 at 4:01 pm

and we all know rafa must be a good F@#$%^ too! ;)

btw its funny to see EIETMO comin down heavily on polo failin to realis that polo was atually defendin nadal by sayin that he may’ve been failin to convey his feelings properly in english! every nadal fan should hope that it is indeed the case otherwise some of the comments of rafa about indoor tennis, pete era tennis, HCs, comin out in open complainin against fed are not failin to create a negativ impresson about him! it’s rather rafa who needs to be smarter n not polo, haha!

September 26th, 2012 at 4:04 pm

I have to say as dissapointed as i am that hes effectivly out for the rest of the season,Rafa does say and do some bloody stupid things sometimes,everybodys right about Rafas comments regarding the HCs,no argument from me on that score,ill leave it at that,dissapoiting Rafa(sigh).

September 26th, 2012 at 4:19 pm

wow, jamie and others saying nadal not the favorite for the french open.

Djokovic/Federer/Murray combined record against Rafa at roland garros 0-10.

He’s the favorite to beat them all on one leg with bad knees until one of them actually beats him there.

September 26th, 2012 at 4:23 pm

^Exactly Kimberly well said^.

September 26th, 2012 at 4:25 pm

with all fairness though federer is probably a sick number like 10-1 against the top 3 at wimbledon.

September 26th, 2012 at 4:31 pm

this is funny and tony is cute.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jOiHYwN8Tk

it’s fun to see him in commercials, but on court would be better!

September 26th, 2012 at 4:39 pm

Re: “…EIETMO comin down heavily on polo…”

That is because he sensed the truth in what I said. Rafa may be great on court but I have never heard him say anything smart. He has basically the same answer to everything. It’s not his fault. He was born that way.

September 26th, 2012 at 4:58 pm

Dari love the commercial,he looks so cute in glasses lol,but your right court would be better.

September 26th, 2012 at 5:03 pm

This guy agrees with my prediction. He predicted Fed for Wimbledon 2012, Nole for AO 2012 and Murray for USO 2012. He gave no prediction for FO 2012…. don’t know why…

I deleted all the astrological part but this is what he says for 2013:
_______________________________

Ok this is how I see 2013. Andy is going to have a stellar year, and I can see him winning the Australian and the holy grail, Wimbledon in 2013. Novak is still coming off his high year in 2011 and I see him as the main challenger to Andy in 2013. Rafa has got issues. I have a feeling that his knee problems and health issues are going to plague him through 2013 too. This will change at the end of 2013, but this will be a new 28 year cycle for Rafa and I could honestly see him thinking seriously about his career. If he does try to play through all this, I cannot see him being at his best because his style is so physical. Roger’s win at Wimbledon I saw as his last hurrah. He has had a fabulous career, but time waits for no man and even if he wins the odd title here and there (and this is possible), he is getting towards the end of his tennis life…

____________

Bottom line:

No slams for Fedal in 2013.

By the end of 2013 Nadal will ponder about his career and if he stays until 2014, a new cycle will begin for him where his bad luck will change and might win his last slam in 2014. But he might retire at the end of 2013 and that means he will not benefit from the new cycle that begins for him in 2014 and no last hurrah in 2014.

September 26th, 2012 at 6:09 pm

Fedal are over.

The Andy Murray era has begun.

Andy will win AO and Wimbledon in 2013.

Nole will win RG or USO but NOT both.

The other remaining slam(RG or USO) is the enigma. Won’t be Federer winning it and very likely not Nadal. Winner could be Del Potro or a breakthrough player.

September 26th, 2012 at 6:19 pm

Jamie you bet it?

September 26th, 2012 at 11:51 pm

“Steve 27 Says:
Jamie you bet it?”

This sh!t is so fake. Worthless posts. They will never bet on there own predictions, are u serious? Why would they lose money? They will never post here to put there money where her mouth is. This is where you find the truth in predictions, put some money on it. Side kicks don’t. Why ? The scam gets exposed.

September 27th, 2012 at 12:58 am

Jamie’s predictions for Wimbledon final were better than Sean’s….just saying…;)

September 27th, 2012 at 2:01 am

”Kimberly Says:
wow, jamie and others saying nadal not the favorite for the french open.

Djokovic/Federer/Murray combined record against Rafa at roland garros 0-10.

He’s the favorite to beat them all on one leg with bad knees until one of them actually beats him there.”

completely agree with everything!!!

but what’s the scariest part is that though fed’s 10-1 in wimby against top-3, he has at least lost to berd, ancic, tsonga, henman(perhaps at 2001??) in wimby at some point of time or the other, so that’s some losses, like not less than 5 losses!

but DARTH NADAL has LOST JUST ONE FUC#ING MATCH in his entire career in FO n have been pushed to 5 sets just once!!!

THIS IS MONSTROUS N GODSOME RECORD at FO!!!

Million Kudos to Nadal for such an unbelievabl feat!

there really may never be any player so great as nadal on any particular surface(clay/grass/HC)!
NADAL’S GODGIFTED!!!

September 27th, 2012 at 3:46 am

and on these threads, soderling(sod) looks like a forgotten man! if anybody has ever beaten rafa in FO, it’s ONLY sod! it can never be just luck! it definitely needs unmatchabl class to beat nadal in RG, which sod perhaps has at least in flashes! i want sod to come back strong n get back in form n kick a few arse! it would be so nice to see a guy like sod win at least one slam intead of jerks like berdych!

MISS YA SOD! PLEAS COM BACK SOON! :)

September 27th, 2012 at 3:58 am

@ HUH

Or he is steroid pumped which is more likely. I wonder who is more skizophrenic. Nirmal Kumar or HUH

September 27th, 2012 at 3:58 am

noogie. Or should I call you BOOGIE. I think you are on the sauce again! Idiot!

September 27th, 2012 at 6:38 am

Just to highlight what Kimberly and Huh already said,Jamie said to me on another thread,Rafas done winning titles off clay,his last non CC title was in Japan in 2010(fair enough),Rafas best chance of winning a title is on clay,to win the FO would be a great achievement,to which i laughed thinking err WHAT A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT,JUST EXACTLY HOW MANY FOs DOES HE NEED TO WIN,WHAT EXACTLY DOES HE HAVE LEFT TO PROVE AT THE FO? he is still the favorite at that slam until someone beats him there and proves otherwise,whatever he does now at RG or on clay for that matter as Skeezer would say is all gravy.

September 27th, 2012 at 6:41 am

Polo, you’re always wanting to finish people off. First Federer, now Nadal.

Why not wait and see what happens. We can agree Nadal is unlikely to have another 2010. But he may still have a very productive career. Or he may not. For what it’s worth, I’m inclined to go for the former. One thing is for sure, with such a unique player – and in all sorts of ways, not all of them good, Nadal is certainly unique – precedents are of limited value.

Huh, I was just wondering about Soderling the other day, and tried to find out about his illness. There was absolutely no recent news, and unfortunately in this situation, no news is probably bad news.

September 27th, 2012 at 6:53 am

Noogie
probably one and the same. If you know what I mean?

September 27th, 2012 at 6:56 am

@alison

Havent you appear on the british vesion of “come dine with me” or d”dinner date” or “dating in the dark – uk”

September 27th, 2012 at 6:58 am

Grendel great post,but hasnt Nadal already had a very productive career? or did you mean the rest of his career,sorry just wondering?

September 27th, 2012 at 7:01 am

alison – sorry to be unclear, yes of course the rest of his career. You just never know how things will pan out.

September 27th, 2012 at 7:24 am

Thanks Grendel.

September 27th, 2012 at 7:28 am

Nadal is obviously the favorite at RG until proven otherwise, and even if he loses he’s still the favorite simply because of his record.

On the other hand, it’s not so easy to always win major titles. People talk as if Nadal’s winning another three RG in a row is a sure thing. That seems absurdly optimistic. It’s a knockout system; one mistake, one off-day will cost you dearly.

I suspect that Nadal’s drop-off will be a bit steeper than Federer’s. He relies so much on that machinelike mentality that if it slips even a bit, his results will suffer even against lower-ranked players. Plus his game is very physical, and that’s going to make it harder for him to perform at his absolute best level as he gets older.

But I don’t think his uncle will allow him to retire until and unless they have broken Federer’s Grand Slam record.

Things can dry up suddenly, as with Wilander who never won another major after winning three in one season. It’s not always easy to predict.

September 27th, 2012 at 9:08 am

@ Steve – O

The top dogs normally become the benchmark Steve. Just that some can be figured out easily than others. With the evolution of the game since the Wilander days and especially the Nadal technique its a bit harder these days I suppose. The Rosols and the Soderlings have cracked that code which is simple. Negate his on-court tactics like MTO’s etc etc. Or resort to the tit for tat approach of Djokovic.
Federer was always impatient and tried to rush the game to suit his own style, hence his record and in particular the psychological upperhand in favour of Nadal.

But I will jump the bandwagon. Nadal Crackhead’s days are gone. It takes a new tactical approach to make a turnaround with the everchanging eras which I think is Novak and Murray now. Who is their daddy. The one and only Fed.

September 27th, 2012 at 9:24 am

grendel

you said it well. it’s indeed bad news at this point if we hav no news about a guy like sod. :(

September 27th, 2012 at 9:24 am

“Things can dry up suddenly, as with Wilander who never won another major after winning three in one season. It’s not always easy to predict.”

Steve-o, it’s NEVER easy to predict. Or rather, it’s easy enough to make a prediction, but impossible to be certain it will be fulfilled.As recently as the USO, Fed was playing beautifully and couldn’t possibly lose – until he did! Never mind the circumstances – high winds or whatever – in the end what matters is the RESULT, and that you cannot know in advance. Never, never, NEVER.

September 27th, 2012 at 10:04 am

Margot

Seans predictions represent what?
Jamies predictions represent what?

There-in you will find the magnanimous difference.

September 27th, 2012 at 10:12 am

Steve o i dont believe hes a shoo for the FO title,i was merely stating hes a favorite,of course you still have to go out and win the thing,matches are played on a court and not on a blog,i believe any player can win or loose on any given day,hes won the title now 7 times,he may or may not win the title next year who knows?and even if he doesnt so what,for goodness sake how many does he have to win?

September 27th, 2012 at 10:40 am

@alison
As long as his steroids would allow him to do so.

September 27th, 2012 at 10:49 am

and we just know NK dumped both of his former lovers noogie n sienna who’re missin him so much n are mad with anger n ventin it on Huh thinkin he stole him n gav him to anothr gal, lol!

doctor n counsellin recommended for both heartbroken NK lovers, lol!

September 27th, 2012 at 11:31 am

I thought at times this sight gets over run with @ss comments( including mine own) but when I recently visited another blog site it appears we are Angels :)

Tennis X Rocks!

September 27th, 2012 at 12:26 pm

If Nadal is healthy, he should surpass 14 GS of Sampras. Two more FO, one Wimbledon and one hardcourt major (most probably Australia) surpass Federer record is almost impossible, there is one Agassi who can be in his late years better than in his “prime”. I think 2,3 or 4 more is likely going to happen. Again, if he is healthy is the main problem

September 27th, 2012 at 12:45 pm

And right on cue, skeeze…..please see above post.

September 27th, 2012 at 1:21 pm

Steve 27 as a Rafa fan i would love to think your right,but as many people are saying the injuries these days seem to be going on for longer,and seem more difficult to come back from,so im wondering how realistic that would be,i see a couple more at best,his physical style of play has brought him alot of sucess,but has also caused him alot of injuries,i hope he comes back with a bang,and wins more slams and Rafa been the fighter he is will certainly give it his best shot,but i get the nagging feeling its crunch time,a make or break situation,but one things for sure only a fool would write him off,my two cents.

September 27th, 2012 at 1:28 pm

if nadal wins at least one slam next year, i think he may end up with between 12-14(n this i’ve been sayin since long, many times, datin as back as 2009). nadal with som luck may reach upto 14, but he’ll not surpass the 14 mark. nadal may win like (either 2 more FOs + one AO OR only 3 more FOs… at max). however, nadal i don’t think will win wimbledon ever again, he’s goin to retire with his 2 wimbys(not bad at all thou).
let’s c what happens…

.

September 27th, 2012 at 2:20 pm

margot

touché

Although if you strip out the nonsense, I agree with his prediction ;)

September 27th, 2012 at 2:21 pm

Huh hope your right,and you never know,hes nothing left to prove at RG,but it does seem like his safest bet,personally i would love him to win more slams somewhere other than RG,so either/or both AO or USO would be fantastic(imagine that 2 career GS),although im not greedy,so im more than happy with what he already has,ATM just would like to see him back playing,cant really think much furthur than that,and TBH my expectations are not that high anyway,however we will see.

September 27th, 2012 at 2:33 pm

alison

i definitely think next year is vital for rafa in ABSOLUTE TERMS(like a do or die situation),that’ why i said ”if nadal wins at least one slam next year” at the beginin of my prior post! coz i really think if rafa’s not able to win any slam next year, IT WILL BE SERIOUS CRISIS for rafa fans, coz knowin nadal, i don’t think he’s th type of guy who enjoys livin in shadow! if he doesn’t win any slam in 2013, then he may really start thinkin as to whether he should continue or shut it down forever!!!

i believ next year’ll really decide whether rafa’ll continue or actually stops! i hope he continues for a long time coz he is a TRULY LEGENDARY playr!

September 27th, 2012 at 3:02 pm

alison

to be honest you shouldn’t be apologetic about it even if u r greedy for your guy grabbin as many slams as he can! nobody’s not greedy in this world!

September 27th, 2012 at 3:04 pm

Huh yeah completely agree.

September 27th, 2012 at 3:05 pm

i won’t stop askin for more even if fed wins 20+ slams thou that may be in contravention to interests of others’ faves, but then again m not obliged towards any other fan n would like my guy fed to win as many slam n other things as he can! there should be no remorse about wishin more n more for your fave, who doesn’t!

September 27th, 2012 at 3:07 pm

Thanks Huh but im not that sort of person,im always greatfull for what i already have,anything else in life is a bonus.

September 27th, 2012 at 3:13 pm

@ skeezer

I think I know which blog site you are talking about. It seems 99% of the posters there hate Roger more than they love their own favorite player. It really is a Roger-hater club. Of course, the Rafa love-fest is unreal. The lovely and adorable Rafa loved by his lovely, lovely darling fanatics! LOL, LOL and LOL again! The blind devotion to Rafa is beyond belief. There is a big gang of fanatical regulars who hound out anyone who dares to even remotely disagree with them. This forces even the slightly less fanatical posters to join them and suck up to them. This results in a lot of hypocrisy and some extremely comical moments. Some of them post here as well and their hypocrisy, factoring in the likely approval or disapproval from the target audience, is quite insane. This is a pity though. That site has a lot to offer( news, score updates etc) if you can ignore its psycho posters who live in a make-believe world entirely of their own. This site has very few regulars, if any, who indulge in that kind of pathetic behavior.

September 27th, 2012 at 3:22 pm

@ alison

It is true that there are more injuries these days due to the greater physical demands. However, modern sports medicine has also come with some miraculous solutions. More tennis players seem to be playing well into their thirties. Rafa is an exceptionally motivated and ambitious player with unbelievable will power. He is a legend even if he were to stop playing right now. He has had a brilliant career so far and, I am very optimistic that that he is far from being finished. I know his absence is tough for Rafa fans but it is for his own good. Once he is back to 100%, I am sure he will win many more titles.

September 27th, 2012 at 3:34 pm

alison

believ me even i’m th kinda guy who’s thankful for what he has, but there’s nothin wrong in havin somthin more for yourself in a fair manner! so you shouldn’t sound apologetic here about wantin mor for rafa coz it’s your right as a rafa fan to do so, certainly not when ther r narcissistic arrogant tards like noogie n sienna here!

September 27th, 2012 at 3:39 pm

The intellectual dwarf HUH at his very best.I am not anti Rafa , just pro Fed.

September 27th, 2012 at 3:53 pm

Thanks Huh and Rogerafa very kind and positive comments from you both.

September 27th, 2012 at 4:09 pm

@rogerafa

Totally agree ;). For variety, I do like the writers ( Cheryl and Ricky ), they keep a distance from it all for the most part, and rightly so. Otherwise…….

September 27th, 2012 at 4:17 pm

noogie

i see that u hav startd hallucinatin that i called you anti-rafa! n we all already knew that you were a natural idiot! your miseries seem to be compounding! please seek help from nearby! callin an ambulanc would b good idea!

September 27th, 2012 at 5:38 pm

Looks like history is repeating again.

Connors had Lendl’s number. There were Borg and McEnroe. Connors got old, Borg retired, and Lendl only had McEnroe to deal with (from the original big 3).

Federer has had Murray’s number at the slams. There was the Nadal and Nole rivalry. Federer is getting old, 32 is ancient for a pro nowadays, that will be his age in 2013. Nadal seems to have retired, and Murray will only have Nole to deal with (from the original big 3) in 2013.

Wow. So many similarities.

September 27th, 2012 at 5:58 pm

alison: I wasn’t referring to you when I was talking about the Nadal fans who thought that he would easily continue winning RG. But there are people out there who believe he will win 12 RG titles handily.

He has nothing to prove to me in terms of winning, because he’s won more RGs than anyone in history.

If he were to lose an RG final, to me that would be interesting. Because he hasn’t really dealt with loss there without blaming it on injury and it would be interesting to see how he responds. Sure, right now doesn’t look like anyone is going to beat him in a final, but who knows.

September 27th, 2012 at 8:08 pm

@skeezer, the writers are excellent, and they put out a lot of articles. Too bad that not many Fed fans blog there.

September 27th, 2012 at 8:23 pm

Djokovic came very close, but I think the rain upset his momentum,to an extent, part of it could be nerves, and a lapse in concentration, perhaps some fantasizing of holding four slams at the same time.

September 27th, 2012 at 8:53 pm

@ skeeze,hope you caught which post I was referring to, it was noogie’s and “right on cue” lol, it was removed. Not yours Steve 27. Apologies for any misunderstanding.

September 28th, 2012 at 2:03 am

http://www.tennisworldusa.org/?section=pre&id=6162. Some Murray praise for Rafa!

September 28th, 2012 at 3:45 am

I had my second look at the site under discussion, and the most recent blog has been completely dominated by a couple of Fed fans. I wonder why more moderate Fed fans don’t post there?

@Alok 8.53. I don’t think Djokovic came close, although he might have done. Conditions were in his favour when a halt was called. If they’d carried on, certainly Djokovic might have won. The match was effectively over, though, when they came off. Djokovic wasn’t quite in the form he had been in the previous year, when Federer got in the way of his mounting a very dangerous challenge to Nadal.

Oddly enough, something similar, though more low key, occured at the US. Supposing Ferrer and Djokovic hadn’t been called off because of the threat, empty as it turned out, of a tornado? Ferrer might have won!

September 28th, 2012 at 4:12 am

So Jamie, which little bird told you that Nadal has retired?

September 28th, 2012 at 5:00 am

Jamie, if your predictions for Nadal’s future come to pass, then tennis will be the loser. Rafa is the main reason why a lot of people watch tennis these days, if he were not there, interest will slowly dwindle and we will see more and more enpty seats.

Nadal is unique. He is a one off and there won’t be another captivating player like him in our lifetime. Just watch this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLQ92DTWEbc

September 28th, 2012 at 5:11 am

Steve o my misunderstanding sorry no problem.

September 28th, 2012 at 5:34 am

Good morning HUH

September 28th, 2012 at 6:13 am

EIETMO. Good video. I guess the Rafa haters need to be reminded of how great Rafa is . Hopefully he will continue that trend on his return.

September 28th, 2012 at 7:13 am

@EIETMO video – what this shows is a number of tennis pros agreeing Nadal is special. But of course. Why even bother saying it? And you could get the same people making similar comments about Federer and Djokovic. Frankly, so what?

“Nadal is unique. He is a one off and there won’t be another captivating player like him in our lifetime”.

Now we use the word “unique” rather loosely, as a way of lauding those we admire. And there is a sense in which this is allowable since every individual is unique.

And of course every great player is “unique” in the sense of possessing particular qualities and aptitudes which are not possessed by his peers in those specific proportions. Of course, there are a number of players who are one-offs, not necessarily the among the greatest, either – Karlovic, Santoro to name just two.

As for “there won’t be another captivating player like him in our lifetime”, that is true in the sense that there will be no one quite like Nadal again. But that is merely repeating the “unique” business, addressed above. Of course there are players just as captivating as Nadal however,or more so, and more will continue to emerge.

The latter point is a largely a matter of taste, de gustibus non est disputandum.

September 28th, 2012 at 7:45 am

Grendel great post,and great analysis.
E.I.E.T.M.O great video though thanks very much.

September 28th, 2012 at 8:14 am

grendel, name me another player who is as captivating as Nadal. Karlovic is not unique, in the sense that his charisma doesn’t sell tickets. He is a big server and that’s not that unique; they are not exactly 2 a penny but not that rare either. Sorry, but how unique is Santoro, who noticed when he wasn’t in a tournament and what impact did his retirement have on the popularity of tennis?

Rafa is special. Don’t take my word for it, take it from Larry Stefanki.

Rafa is not even on tour and not a day goes by without a new article about him. EVERYONE is missing him even his haters. More is writen on tennis blogs about Nadal than any other player.

Wait for the fanfare on his return. After 2 months out in 2009, the excitement when he returned was palpable, Roger even commented that the hype should be toned down a bit.

September 28th, 2012 at 8:19 am

EIETMO – Santoro was most certainly unique, an absolute one-off by any possible standards. I’m not suggesting Santoro was a great champion, though, of course he wasn’t – you do need to take a bit more care when reading peoples’ posts. Karlovic is more questionable, I agree. “Odd” perhaps might describe him better.

Stefanki says Nadal is special. Come on mate, this was a compilation on Nadal. If there were compilations on Federer, Djokovic and others, do you imagine Stefanki will say:no, not special these ones. Only Nadal is special. ?

Who is as captivating as Nadal? EIETMO, I did opine that this is entirely a matter of taste. I stand by this and without a doubt many will agree with me. You don’t need me to list the names. The usual suspects, but I daresay there are others.

Nadal is a huge name in tennis. Naturally, an enormous amount of speculation is flowing through the ether regarding his future. There is, however, an even bigger name than Nadal’s in tennis – you know what it is – and where he to find himself in Nadal’s unfortunate position, the furore would be even bigger.

That’s just how it is. No need to make a song and dance about it. In the end, fame is fickle…..

September 28th, 2012 at 9:06 am

Of course I never said only Nadal is special but he is unique in what he brings to the sport and others are unique in what they bring but Nadal’s unique qualities is almost a brand.

September 28th, 2012 at 9:22 am

Grendel,

Great post at 9:06am. You just saved me from posting a dozen youtube videos on another player who is speciall/unique and THE brand.

September 28th, 2012 at 9:51 am

http://www.supersport.com/tennis/atp/news/120928/First_love_Nadal_to_seek_refuge_in_clay. I sincerely hope Rafa skips all the hard court tourneys in 2013. Watch the ticket sales plummet!!!

September 28th, 2012 at 10:27 am

Nadal is special the way everybody is special.

September 28th, 2012 at 10:37 am

^ Only difference is Rafa fans believe he is MORE special than others! Lol

September 28th, 2012 at 10:52 am

posts of grendel like @September 28th, 2012 at 9:06 am is why i think that grendel’s THE GREATEST EVER POSTER with most mindbogglin analysis, way of writin n style, n not to mention, fair as well…

September 28th, 2012 at 11:25 am

sanotoro wasn’t called ”the magician” for nothin! thus he was without doubt special n unique, nadal’s extra unique n xtra special while a certain swiss(which we all know) is THE SPECIALEST EVER n THE UNIQUEST EVER! B-)

September 28th, 2012 at 11:28 am

http://www.ad.nl/ad/nl/1019/Tennis/article/detail/3323185/2012/09/27/Nadal-leert-bluffen-als-receptionist.dhtml

For Alison.

September 28th, 2012 at 11:42 am

EIETMO

The hpe surrounding Nadla is bigget this time, because he is older and now there really is a possibility of a career ending, as much as some doesn’t won’t to consider it. He never faced staying away for 6 months after the success he had. I think he will return, and when clay comes will be blasting everyone again. He may be “in decline”, But he was playing excelten tennis, 5 Slam finals in a rwo prior to Wimby. Not a retire performance for me, but the trea with his knees and time away is there, specially the doubts, because no one know for sure, untill next press conference.
Evertybody is excited waiting for the next press conference. Drama, drama, drama…

September 28th, 2012 at 3:16 pm

Everyone believes that their favourite player is the special one so we’ll agree to disagree.

Daniel, I think Rafa has never had the courage to stop and take the time that he needed for his knees to fully recover. He says he’s been playing in pain throughout his career and he wants to be able to go on court from now on and not worry about his knees. So I don’t think that this injury is that much more serious than others he’s just taking the time he really needs.

September 28th, 2012 at 3:26 pm

And the good news is

Toni Nadal: “within 10 or 15 days we will begin to train”
Written by Sebastian Friday, 28 September 2012 14: 58

Rafel Nadal’s coach and uncle confirmed that the recovery is on track and hope to be able to start training within 10 to 15 days. Toni Nadal looks a little fair participation of his nephew in the final of the Davis.

This is a bing translation so not too sure what the last sentence means.

September 28th, 2012 at 3:49 pm

^ Last sentence “Toni Nadal sees his nephew’s preparation to participate in the DC a bit short”. I think it means he won’t be ready in time to participate.

September 28th, 2012 at 4:14 pm

Sienna sorry too late already seen it, Dari sent in a post with exactly the same video a couple of days ago,but thanks anyway.

September 28th, 2012 at 6:00 pm

margot,

Lol I saw it got removed. Insanity is sometimes here, thus the label “Dysfunctional”. But you’ll notice in the end Sanity prevails, and the great posters here make it so. I like it as they don’t try to put the site “in a box” and let posts go here and there and everywhere. You and I have been around long enough however here. If the “rant action” and personal shots to get too out of line they get a visit from the Death Reaper Moderator. Oops. told too much, now I will silently walk away……shhhhhh.

#WhosBad

September 28th, 2012 at 7:50 pm

Ooh no, skeeze…does that mean you yourself have been visited…..sshh I won’t tell anyone…;)
I’ve noticed mods sometimes clamp down on allegations of drug usage, and so they should. Talk is cheap.

September 29th, 2012 at 1:31 am

RAFA FANS WILL KILL ME FOR THIS, but im worried…
1. rafa fans think it just another injury and nadal will come stronger than ever, well… either he is not bad injuried and just taking rest or is truly injuried and taking rest, the fact is that he never had such a large time out of competition, if players are rusty after just weeks out of competition, what happends after months off.
2. 6 months, yes it will be half year off time, even if he is not injuried, just taking rest, training to improve things in top secret facility like, tennis is such a precise sport, timing, etc even muscle memory, cordination, etc is lost after some time when the brain, says “ok, we dont need that anymore” (thats why hardly any human remember all he learn at school, you just remember what you keep using) he may relearn all his strokes again, and surely will not be as reliable as they were.
3. why now? theres really no surprise to me that happened, in 2009 he play a hard (i think the most hard match until then) match in the semis and then he play 5 sets in the final againts federer, and he keep pushing things harder and harder until the semi in madrid (at that time the most grueling match between djokovic and him) then the body give up, it had to past a full year until he won another title… now, the australian open truly defined 2012, everyone think why djokovic2012 is not like djokovic2011, thats easy… just rewatch the australian semi againts murray and then nadal, and you can tell thats when his body give up, like nadal in 2009 he is a shadow, sure winning againts lower ranked players but failing in big tournaments and againts top players… and nadal had a hard australian too, and like 2009 he keep pushing harder and harder, and his body scream nomore after another battle againts djokovic in clay
4. battling a lost battle, yeah that was the aura every player had every match they played rafa, but the whole world watch rosol beaten nadal, injured or not, the harm is done, now every top 100 will think they had a real chance againts nadal, they want their day to shine, and nadal early rounds from now on will be harder, means he will play the finals more tired and wasted, he is not getting younger, all that sums up, and the result is not good for nadal.
5. let hope, yep, lets hope that rafa just is getting rest, taking time to everybody forget the vulnerable rafa from wimbledon, and make his push in 2013, he knows he can push his body to limit for half year until it gives up, but thats all what he need, 6 months, starting in january, battling, gruelling, showing the world he is back and better and take the austrlian open, then he just need to ride his clay aura to the french, and convert that momentum in to another wimbledon, finally giving the rest in the fuel tank for the us open, yep he only need 6 months, repeat each year for the next 4 years, and he will had what he want, surpras federer gs total, maybe a true grand slam year, and imortality.

October 11th, 2012 at 8:14 pm