Rafael Nadal

A page and forum to discuss all things Rafael Nadal.

Nadal 5

Current ranking: 14

Last result: Australian Open second round (lost to Mackenzie McDonald)

Next tournament: Roland Garros

37 Comments on Rafael Nadal

  3. so Nishikori is a big treat for Rafa now?! and Murray? And Fed on Clay? hmmm…I sense these ignorant journos enjoying this time when Rafa dropped in the ATP rankings…poor souls will soon be proved wrong…

    Vamos Rafa & Vamos Mone Carlo!

    Reply

  4. It would be a great moral boost if he were to win in MC but Rafa this season is almost a wild card, we can’t really know what to expect.
    Jumping forward to RG… say he reaches the final; and it would have to be against Djokovic no doubt, and he loses it!…. in previous years this outcome would have left us gagging in a dark corner for a week, but this year… as bad as it would be… he would be handing his crown to the most in shape player of the moment; thatt doesn’t sound as bad as to, say, losing against someone else in QFs or SFs …
    Yet I hope Rafa rises from his ashes (yes, “ashes”) and writes yet another triumphant page in his glorious career. All he needs to do is get a bead of another challenge that motivates him and be lucky with his ailing body.

    Reply

  5. Rafa was not that successful last year either…except for the Miami final he was almost doing as bad as this year…I think MC will be the turning point…but even if Rafa does not end up wining MC it means nothing for the RG prospective..

    Watching Rafa train so hard I simply KNOW he is determined to prove the doubters wrong once again! I am so amazed and proud of Rafa’s dedication, commitment and hard work! That’s the right way to go!

    Vamos Rafa!

    Reply

  6. natashao2013 says:
    April 8, 2015 at 12:54 pm

    I respectfully disagree with you. I think Rafa needs all the confidence he can get now.
    If he were to lose badly against Novak, or maybe not even make the final in MC it’s certainly not going to help him…. I’m using MC as an example but it can be Rome or Barcelona or wherever; he needs trophies clanking in the bag for mental leverage in RG.
    That’s my opinion anyway but what do I know? 🙂

    Reply

    • With respect, @Shireling1, what you are saying goes without saying: wins for Rafa will translate into a confidence boost, of course. The “if” scenarios have been played out before as @nats says, last year for example. Ferru beat Rafa on clay. As Uncle Toni said, Nishikori should have beaten Rafa in Madrid. He lost to a practical nobody in Barcelona, he was pushed around by Simon (of all people) in Rome and was run ragged before prevailing against Muzza, eventually losing to Novak.

      In spite of the above litany of misery, Rafa won RG 2014. This year, he has the added disadvantage of coming off an injury-laden hiatus.

      The point I am making is this: it will not be a surprise, for me at least, if Rafa, like last year, does not sweep the clay season as is his wont, but goes on to dominate at RG.

      I am quietly confident.

      Vamos Rafa!

      Reply

  8. rafaisthebest says:
    April 8, 2015 at 2:38 pm

    I hope your confidence is rewarded :). I also don’t think Rafa has said his last word just yet but this year he seems to be more fragile than any other I can recall… let’s wait and see. 🙂
    Nice pics, idyllic place to practice for Rafa 🙂

    Reply

  9. Rafa needs challenges…Rafa needs his fighting spirit back…Rafa needs more tests…he is the best when he is made work hard…what’s different this year is that Rafa’s opponents believe more they could beat him which makes it double hard for Rafa…but it also makes him twice as motivated to win…

    I am confident Rafa will make his way to the top this year…just wait and see…

    Vamos Rafa!

    Reply

    • Same thing I was thinking this morning: that Rafa is at his most dangerous when his back is against the wall, and boy, is his back against the wall right now! Let us not forget that a lot of the young guns who have been on the radar as being major prospects (Nishikori, Raonic, Dolgo etc) are beginning to make good their promise. The leap these guys have made is bigger than the leap top flight players such as Rafa can make. Of course, Rafa’s game has also regressed due to the long injury hiatus.

      The major difference: Rafa can and will improve.

      Reply

  10. It’s interesting how someone can talk down Rafa’s chances during the clay season and yet not be labeled as a person who would not be a “real” Rafa fan.

    Some are targeted and others are not. One can have a reasonable discussion only if you have been deemed a “real” Rafa fan. As if anyone can say who is a supposed “real” Rafa fan!

    If I thought that I could express my thoughts honestly in a reasonable manner without being trashed or insulted or accused of not being a “real” Rafa fan, then I would feel more comfortable doing so. I do have concerns about Rafa regarding the clay court season. He didn’t dominate last year and it just may be that this will be in the past. He still was able to win RG. What I hope is that Rafa can get his ranking up to at least #4. I don’t want his draw at RG to be even more nightmarish.

    I am not reading anything written by pundits or so-called experts or bloggers. I know that there will be some who will say things that I don’t want to hear and that I don’t believe regarding Rafa. But when a player is struggling, then there will always be those who deride his chances and go after him. That’s nothing new.

    I don’t know that being on clay will be a magic fix to what is bothering Rafa. I don’t know what to expect from MC. I just want to see him playing well and enjoying the battle on the court. I hope that he can find that special something that always helped him to rise to a challenge. He brought his best when the match was on the line. That is the Rafa that I hope to see once more.

    Reply

    • Clay could actually make matters worse as expectations and consequently pressure become greater.

      Nny don’t validate the comments of a few infatuated fan girls by letting them influence what you say. Instead, use them to your advantage.

      Vamos!

      Reply

  11. Like I said, Rafa over history prefers to be the hunter not the hunted.

    The only one who can beat Rafa on clay is Rafa’s demons.

    Nothing new (except that it is becoming more commonplace).

    Between the ears.

    Reply

    • hawkeye,

      I agree with you about Rafa on clay. It’s always been on his racket when it’s clay. As you said, the only one who can beat Rafa on clay is Rafa’s demons. Unfortunately, that has been the case so far this year. Rafa is beating himself.

      Yes, between the ears.

      Reply

  19. TENNIS
    Nadal: “I come to clay with more questions than usual”

    “I’m going with the hope of starting a clay season that in the past has always given me good feelings,” said the Spaniard before starting the European tour of clay.

    PEDRO FULLANA
    April 9, 2015 21: 30h
    To Broaden| MIQUEL BORRAS

    http://as01.epimg.net/tenis/imagenes/2015/04/09/mas_tenis/1428607826_279494_1428607925_noticia_normal.jpg

    Rafael Nadal begins clay European tour with the uncertainties after his early elimination in Miami but guarantees that accredit ten years of absolute dominance on clay. This is the moment of truth for the Spaniard with the tournaments greatest joys and successes have contributed to his lengthy resume. Not a year. Nadal needs to reconnect with itself to maintain his status as the greatest emperor of the clay. He needs 3more clay titles to equal Guillermo Vilas with 49 titles.

    Nadal traveled yesterday to Barcelona , where he spent the night, and early travel to Monaco because of the air traffic controllers strike in Spain. He did it with his friend and tennis player Juan Monaco, who has trained with him these days in Manacor , also with his team. . “I’m going with the hope of starting a clay season than in the past has always given me good feelings. It is true that this the year I have played less games and have been less successful with more doubts than usual before the clay season comes but you have to accept the situation and accept that anything can happen.

    I’m doing things the best I can to make things best, “said the Spaniard, who notes that the important thing is to recover his best:” It’s important to play well and take the necessary level to compete well. If I have the necessary level, if I can get to the level that I had years ago, I do not see why things are not going to work out. Another thing is if I play like Miami because things go wrong. If you play well, you have options to succeed; if one plays bad, the options are virtually nil. In tennis it’s all down to you, there is no one one else on court to help, “he warns.

    Rafael Nadal acknowledges the important thing at this point are the victories because “the game is good when you win, when you go to the track and you can do whatever you have in your head. Both the level of your game and your mentality should go together. The last test went well but you have to go to compete well, try to win games; if one wins games, things are clearer. If one trains well have more options that things go well. I put up my hand and when you give everything you have, does not have to anymore. I do everything I can to make things right. ” It’s no longer valid to blame the 7 months’ out without competition. “I have been back on the tour for many weeks now. When you come back after a long stop and things go from the start, it is normal to have more questions, more distrust and lack self-confidence. This has to recover and regain consciousness “sentence.

    Nadal is the fifth in the ATP and, therefore, no longer a major seeded Monte Carlo, which hinders the way to winning the title: “Now I have a lower ranking and therefore, I can have more complicated rounds rivals did not have before and these are all factors that must be taken into account. I have to play well, be quiet, do well and I know that I do well and need to go. I am assured that I do what I can and, from here, be positive and hoping that things go slowly because they spend from zero to sixty, not pass losing in Miami to play a spectacular level in Montecarlo , this will not happen, no one thinks that will happen because things have to get progressively “indicates.

    Reply

  20. Regarding the stronger ‘opinions’ and such posted here at times, have a look at this post from a blog on an entirely different subject:

    Laws of the intertubes:

    1. Everything is a contest.
    2. Informed opinion is the same as uninformed opinion.
    3. Opinion stated sufficiently rudely and/or vociferously is the same as fact.
    4. Facts stated sufficiently rudely and/or vociferously are necessarily true.
    5. Hence, rude and vociferous always wins.

    Reply

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