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

103 Comments on Rafael Nadal

  1. Thx Nadline for answering my question further up (can’t be bothered with pasting the time and all) – I agree with JMac’s suggestion of a shot-clock but what sanctions to put when time is exceeded and when to start the countdown…?

  2. Mary says:
    July 7, 2015 at 2:10 pm
    Does native make sense to anyone? She seems to be spouting gibberish. Must be trollese.
    —————————————————————————
    πŸ˜€

  3. Thx Augusta for your screen-shot of the rule book.. there’s a big difference between starting the call when the player is asked to play and when the ball goes out. If it’s the latter then we’re talking about robot-like tennis which, in my opinion, would put me off a bit but it’s left to the Umpire’s discretion to judge when the countdown should start, that makes more sense. For instance, if there’s been a 20-shot rally under blazing sun or the crowd is being too vocal, these are good examples in which the Umpire could be a more lenient.

    • But it all boils to this, no? If it is according to the rules then it is always 25 seconds no matter what and crazy… which is why it was not enforced for the longest time until one rf leaned in… And if it still is to be enforced exactly, then should the rule be changed to more seconds given how incredibly more physical the game is today than when the rule was written?

      Better left to discretion… most of the time the umpires are not favoring one player be it intentionally or with less less self-awareness. But then… this just shows up the rule for being not very well thought out given that it cannot be reasonably applied all the time… or that the rule is past it’s best-by date.

    • The umpire askes the players to play at the start of a set and end of a change over.

      Not by calling the score.

      I agree with your view but there is no discretion permitted by the rules.

      If they are going to apply a separate set of rules for Rafa, then I say put in a shot clock that starts when the point ends or when the umpire tells the players to start – like the rule says.

      It will be a farce.

  4. D-Joker and Fed parading in the Ugly contest of the ATP. That depends on whether they go for the Fed ugly nose or D-Joker pointy chin as the deciding factor.

  5. posts are being put helter skelter today …
    Chloro,
    July 7, 2015 at 2:37 pm

    In principle I agree with you, that it should be left to discretion – it feels much more tennis-like, sort to speak but, at the same time I think a shot-clock would not hurt either as it would stop the whining.
    I think a combination of both would not be detrimental to the show, the Umpire choosing when to start the countdown.

    • I disagree because then the umpires can continue to selectively target Rafa.

      Call it like they did before Roger complained about Rafa in 2012 or add the shot clock to the current rule as is.

      It would make a farce of the game and people would be forced to see what a dumb rule it is to begin with.

  6. ary says:
    July 7, 2015 at 2:10 pm
    Does native make sense to anyone? She seems to be spouting gibberish. Must be trollese.
    ————————————————————
    Mary, what have you done? The parrot is now repeating ‘trollese’ all over the place.

  7. hawkeye63 says:
    July 7, 2015 at 3:10 pm

    You and Chloro are probably right, I’m just brainstorming …

    How about having the clock start when the ball goes out and then letting the Umpire decide to extend the deadline when strictly necessary?

    • Ideally I think the old system worked best prior to the crackdown.

      Given that this is unlikely, I’d like to see it as strict and remove all discretion from the umpires to expose this farce which to date has achieved its goal as it has exacerbated Rafa’s problems.

      Since primarily targeting Rafa repeatedly, he has lost his form completely.

    • when strictly necessary means what then, after a long rally, more so on very hot days, etc, etc, we are back to giving the umpire some discretion to apply the rule reasonably and fairly…

      No matter how you turn it, it goes back to the same thing: if the rule is applied without any discretion, strictly by the rule book, then it will quickly show how ridiculous that rule is…. unless perhaps if applied with proper discretion.

      So then we are back to discretion. And that can mean different things to different umpires. There are various reasons to be lenient.

      And either way, alas, it _is_ true that rafa has been given time warnings (for the first time in a match, and sometimes again later) just when he was facing a breakpoint or opportunity point. This has now happened several times at different tournaments. And this is on top of mass discussion all over the place of rafa breaking rules, involved with gamemanship. Rf’s strategy worked about as well as could have been hoped for.

      • hawkeye,

        Well it’s better than doing nothing. At least they know that people are aware of what is going on. Maybe if there are more petitions sent over time then they will have to take notice.

  8. Chloro,
    July 7, 2015 at 3:41 pm

    Well put, you convinced me. No clocks then πŸ™‚
    But maybe RF will have something to say about that too, after all he comes from Switzerland

    • what was wrong with the old way?

      other than two things:

      ten past eleven at night, I mean 23:10 πŸ˜‰ (or twenty-three past ten in the morning)

      mythologizes sunking

  9. nadline10 says:
    July 7, 2015 at 6:52 pm
    Novak Djokovic appeared to be feeling the pressure of defending his Wimbledon championship this afternoon before his triumph was sealed.
    In the final stint of his match today the Serb seemed to have lost his cool momentarily, shouting and gesticulating towards a baby-faced ball girl.
    Apparently requesting his towel amid the afternoon mugginess, the 28-year-old screamed in her direction and held his hands out in anger.

    After wiping his face he discarded it back in the youngster’s direction before resuming play. The girl was left visibly shaken and stifling tears, according to sources on the court.
    She was seen nervously drinking from a water bottle moments after the eruption, her cheeks redder than before. After beating his South African opponent, Djokovic allegedly walked off Court No. 1 without glancing in her direction.

    He later described the match that was drawn out over two days, as β€˜frustrating’. β€˜I was two sets down, to come back and win in five definitely gives me great satisfaction and confidence for the next challenge,’ he said of his victory.
    β€˜It was frustrating at times, especially today, but I managed to go through and that’s what matters.’

    Photographers capturing the match said the World Number One had left the girl on the verge of tears after shouting β€˜aggressively’ towards her.

    You mean this guy?

    http://gototennis.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Novak_Djokovic_celebrates_Davis_cup.jpg

    … or this guy.

    http://www.thenextpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Djokovic-2010-1.jpg

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