Year Round The Tennis Thread

[goldb]

Re: The Tennis Thread

It might just be me, but I just can not see Djokovic winning the French title, for me it somehow always was the hardest, but maybe just because Nadal has been ruling there for a long, long time. He is coming back, I hope for a more interesting second slam.

Not only do I not see Djoko winning the French but neither do I see Nadal holding it. I dunno, I think it may go to Federer. Though bringing this back to Djokovic, it would be a huge personal victory for him to at the French; he knows he's got the game to win anywhere else and he's been very close to getting it at the French so that will be fun to see. And as things have it, it is the next Slam on the calender . The other slam I see him taking is either Wimbledon or US Open; I say either because I believe Murray will take one or the other, leaning more towards Wimbledon as he was ever so close last year.

 

[FrostyMouse]

Re: The Tennis Thread

I think that Nadal won't be in tip-top shape by the time that the French comes around, so I see Djokovic winning the French and either Wimbledon or the US Open, so I'm going for three Grand Slams for Djokovic this year.

 

[Atobe the king]

Re: The Tennis Thread

Idk man. Nadal has his muga no kyouchi ready
http://cdn-sports.ladmedia.fr/image...adal-retour/4681545-1-fre-FR/nadal-retour.jpg

 

[FrostyMouse]

Re: The Tennis Thread

Nadal beating low level players on a clay court doesn't prove too much to me. We'll see how he is when it comes time for Indian Wells and Miami.

 

[goldb]

Re: The Tennis Thread

I'm more happy that his knee seem to be holding and he's getting some good workout. Like you said, he won't be facing any real test until the Masters next month. It'll be interesting to see how he fairs not only against the top 3 but against those also in the top 10; they'll be sure to give him a good run for his money.

 

[Atobe the king]

Re: The Tennis Thread

He's skipping Miami, as is Federer iirc. It's not very fair to call them low level players...anyone in the top 200 is a high level player :/ there's like over a 1,000 in the ATP iirc? maybe more. They're not TOP players but they're not low level. It's about getting matches under his belt and building confidence. If he can come back and just win a title he'll build a good amount of confidence and that's the most important factor. He's in no shape to beat the other members of the Big 4 though.

 

[FrostyMouse]

Re: The Tennis Thread

Atobe, if you can wipe them away like 6-2 6-1 or something, they're not really much of a challenge. Yes, they're still top 200 players, but when the top players are so much better than them, it's not that much of a test.

Skipping Miami isn't the way to earn points.

 

[Atobe the king]

Re: The Tennis Thread

Lol, they don't really care about points. He's been number 1 before, it's about longevity. Federer lightened his schedule and Nadal has complained for YEARS that he thinks the tennis year is too long.

 

[FrostyMouse]

Re: The Tennis Thread

Ah, but the difference is that as No. 4, Rafa has to face Djokovic in the SFs of tournaments, instead of getting to take on Murray or Fed, two players who he has the advantage against. Rafa's won one match out of eight or nine against Djokovic; admittedly, that match was the French Open Final in 2012, but so what?

---------- Post added February 11, 2013 at 01:11 AM ---------- Previous post was February 09, 2013 at 09:20 PM ----------

So, Atobe, now that Nadal lost on RED CLAY to the world No. 73, a player who hadn't advanced past the second round of any Tour-level events in 2012, in the Vina del Mar Final, what are your thoughts?

 

[Atobe the king]

Re: The Tennis Thread

First off...I'm not a Nadal fan, I'm a Federer fan. I'm only rooting for Nadal to make a come back because a big 3 is really unbalanced....idk what's with the tone in your post but it doesn't seem very friendly as if you think Idk what I'm talking about I didn't just get into this sport. Nadal leads the H2H VS Djokovic like...19-14 :V, he beat him at Monte Carlo Masters and Rome Masters and THEN the french open that was 3 in a row so i have no idea what you're talking about. http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-To-Head.aspx?pId=N409&oId=D643

As for the match...*shrug* he got tight many times in the 3rd set. And Zeballos went for his shots and played out of his mind. The opponent he played in the Semis (Chardy) has a much more impressive resume than Zeballos and just made the quarters of the AO and Nadal pretty much dismantled him (as he did to Zeballos a few years ago).

 

[FrostyMouse]

Re: The Tennis Thread

First off...I'm not a Nadal fan, I'm a Federer fan. I'm only rooting for Nadal to make a come back because a big 3 is really unbalanced....idk what's with the tone in your post but it doesn't seem very friendly as if you think Idk what I'm talking about I didn't just get into this sport. Nadal leads the H2H VS Djokovic like...19-14 :V, he beat him at Monte Carlo Masters and Rome Masters and THEN the french open that was 3 in a row so i have no idea what you're talking about. http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-To-Head.aspx?pId=N409&oId=D643

As for the match...*shrug* he got tight many times in the 3rd set. And Zeballos went for his shots and played out of his mind. The opponent he played in the Semis (Chardy) has a much more impressive resume than Zeballos and just made the quarters of the AO and Nadal pretty much dismantled him (as he did to Zeballos a few years ago).

I didn't say that you were a Nadal fan. I was just pointing out that Nadal losing on clay, even with injuries, just doesn't happen to players not named Djokovic, Soderling, or Federer. I never once implied that you only just got into the sport either...I'm not really sure how you came to that conclusion. I want Nadal back because it'll make Majors more competitive because Djokovic crushing Ferrer into a pulp wasn't really a good SF.

There was nothing unfriendly in my post, I was joking around the whole time as evidenced by the smilie. Yeah, I know Nadal leads Djokovic 19-14 all time, but recently, Djokovic has had the better of the matches, winning seven in a row at one point, although Djokovic lost three matches in a row in the early part of 2012 when he seemed a bit down. I thought Djokovic had won one of those three clay matches in 2012, so it was like 8 wins in 10 matches, but instead it's 7-3 lately.

The thing is that, injuries or not, Nadal does not get tight on clay against lesser opponents. I know that Nadal beat Chardy, but the fact that he couldn't beat Zeballos is the issue here. If you want to compete for a title, even if you're not in full match fitness, you can't be losing on your best surface to an unfavored opponent.

I'm arguing that the massive amount of stress that Nadal's put on his knees over the years has really started to impact him and I'm not sure if he'll really be able to make it back into Major-winning form. He can easily be a top 10 player even if he's not at the very top of his game, but I somehow feel that this many knee injuries is going to be extremely difficult to return from. If Nadal can't push himself to the limit, he can't win a Major.

 

[Atobe the king]

Re: The Tennis Thread

I didn't say that you were a Nadal fan. I was just pointing out that Nadal losing on clay, even with injuries, just doesn't happen to players not named Djokovic, Soderling, or Federer. I never once implied that you only just got into the sport either...I'm not really sure how you came to that conclusion. I want Nadal back because it'll make Majors more competitive because Djokovic crushing Ferrer into a pulp wasn't really a good SF.

He lost to past his prime Juan carlos ferrero in 08 due to blisters . I wouldn't put Soderling up there either, I don't think he would have consistently been able to challenge him.

There was nothing unfriendly in my post, I was joking around the whole time as evidenced by the smilie. Yeah, I know Nadal leads Djokovic 19-14 all time, but recently, Djokovic has had the better of the matches, winning seven in a row at one point, although Djokovic lost three matches in a row in the early part of 2012 when he seemed a bit down. I thought Djokovic had won one of those three clay matches in 2012, so it was like 8 wins in 10 matches, but instead it's 7-3 lately.

That smiley looks like a trollface so i misconstrued what you're intentions were, sorry for the misunderstanding. 2011 Djokovic wasn't even real, rafa never did the things to Federer that Djoker did to him...it was unreal.

The thing is that, injuries or not, Nadal does not get tight on clay against lesser opponents. I know that Nadal beat Chardy, but the fact that he couldn't beat Zeballos is the issue here. If you want to compete for a title, even if you're not in full match fitness, you can't be losing on your best surface to an unfavored opponent.

Ehh..i think you're looking into it a bit too much, it was his first tournament back. If he loses Sao Paulo as well then the road to recovery is looking like it'll be longer and longer. Pressure got to him...if he wins it signifies that he is back and ready to play..he loses and it looks really bad (as it does now). Zeballos had nothing to lose so he played like a madman. That break nadal gave right back was downright baffling.

I'm arguing that the massive amount of stress that Nadal's put on his knees over the years has really started to impact him and I'm not sure if he'll really be able to make it back into Major-winning form. He can easily be a top 10 player even if he's not at the very top of his game, but I somehow feel that this many knee injuries is going to be extremely difficult to return from. If Nadal can't push himself to the limit, he can't win a Major.

I think he'll be fine. Don't picture him competing for anything but the french though.

 

[FrostyMouse]

Re: The Tennis Thread

He lost to past his prime Juan carlos ferrero in 08 due to blisters . I wouldn't put Soderling up there either, I don't think he would have consistently been able to challenge him.

Blisters are always hard to deal with, but I questioned that loss to JCF, honestly. Soderling beat Nadal when Nadal was injured, but was crushed by Federer in the Final due to nerves. The next year, Soderling beat down Federer, but a healthy Nadal crushed Soderling. If Soderling had been able to remain healthy, I think that he could've proved to be a thorn in Nadal's side if his game had developed more.

That smiley looks like a trollface so i misconstrued what you're intentions were, sorry for the misunderstanding. 2011 Djokovic wasn't even real, rafa never did the things to Federer that Djoker did to him...it was unreal.

Ah, okay.

Well, there's no denying that 2011 Djokovic was an all time great season.

Ehh..i think you're looking into it a bit too much, it was his first tournament back. If he loses Sao Paulo as well then the road to recovery is looking like it'll be longer and longer. Pressure got to him...if he wins it signifies that he is back and ready to play..he loses and it looks really bad (as it does now). Zeballos had nothing to lose so he played like a madman. That break nadal gave right back was downright baffling.

Perhaps I am reading too much into the loss. I think that the reason that I'm weighting the loss more heavily is that it was on clay. If the loss was on a hard court, I wouldn't have a problem accepting it. Somehow, I expect Nadal to not win Sao Paulo after this result.

I know that Zeballos played well, but Nadal doesn't give breaks back like that.

I think he'll be fine. Don't picture him competing for anything but the french though.

Well, Sao Paulo will give us an indication of whether or not Nadal has it at all right now.

I don't see Nadal realistically competing for the French this year. Perhaps next year, but not this year. I picked Djokovic to win the French, completing the career Grand Slam, and one of the other two Majors, for a total of three this year.

 

[Atobe the king]

Re: The Tennis Thread

Nole has a great chance at the french. Clay is easily rogers worst surface these days imo. I think he doesn't really "care" about RG anymore. Its still early! Nadal has some time but Nole is probably feeling fearless after handily (aside from Wawrinka he had pretty much no trouble...it was like feds 2010 AO except we knew he'd pull through against Davydenko) winning another AO. Things will be interesting!

 

[FrostyMouse]

Re: The Tennis Thread

The problem for Nadal is that he just lost on clay.

Unless Nadal's 100% healthy, he's not beating Djokovic.

 

[Hakuteiken]

Re: The Tennis Thread

The problem for Nadal is that he just lost on clay.

Unless Nadal's 100% healthy, he's not beating Djokovic.

It was actually a bit odd to see him losing on clay to such an opponent. If his opponent has been a newcomer, I could understand, but that person is nearly a veteran by tennis career standards, so, alarming for Nadal's condition, I'd say.

 

[Atobe the king]

Re: The Tennis Thread

Zeballos went to Sao Paulo and lost 7-6,0-6,0-3 (retired). Nadal/Nalbandian scheduled to play Zeballos and another player in doubles but given that Zeballos retired from singles I don't see that happening lol.

 

[FrostyMouse]

Re: The Tennis Thread

Given that he appears to have injured himself, I didn't check, but it appears to be the case, who knows then. We'll see how Nadal does in the singles.

 

[Atobe the king]

Re: The Tennis Thread

I'm focusing on Rotterdam this week tbh haha, but yeah

 

[FrostyMouse]

Re: The Tennis Thread

Nadal withdrew from the doubles to, as the BBC put it, "rest his sore left knee ahead of his opening singles match today."