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

180 Comments on Rafael Nadal

  2. The other day I talked to a devoted Nole fan and he told me that he read in Nole’s recent (autobiography)book about how Novak improved his mental state in the matches…he apparently hired a highly expensive psychologist/therapist who had helped him overcome his mental issues…

    I guess Rafa should do the same…for the beginning (which I do not see him doing just yet) he should play “to win”, not to “not lose”…

    To some extent I agree with Roig…nothing he said is knew to us or something we did not know already…and we are just fans, not experts… but there is something that bothers me about his statements…it looks to me as they consider Rafa the only one to blame for his recent failures as he has not yet mastered “the changes” and fails the implementation…I think it’s not only that…He obviously CAN implement it in the practice sessions…so if he does not believe in his game and strategy, and gets nervous during the matches, the Team Nadal should look for the answer in that regard, not for more practice…I think too much burden is put on Rafa’s shoulders and it seems that Team Nadal puts even more pressure on him…instead of analyzing why “mental level” is lacking in the competitive matches they opt to talk about symptoms and condition rather than looking into the cause behind it…

    Reply

    • natashao2013 FEBRUARY 19, 2016 AT 3:07 PM
      —psychologist/therapist who had helped him overcome his mental issues…
      I guess Rafa should do the same—
      ===
      .
      I repeat my comment I posted on JANUARY 20, 2016 AT 6:26 PM.
      If I may ask, how do YOU know whether Rafa has seen a psychologist or not?
      .
      Rafa’s post-match press conference, QF of the Shanghai Masters 2015:
      (An excerpt)
      ¤¤ Question: “You talked many times about how you control your emotions better on court now. What changed? Did you seek help from a mental coach, sports psychologist, or did you change your own attitude?”
      RAFAEL NADAL: “Well, first thing is I think that’s a personal thing. So normally I don’t like to talk about personal things. I talk about my public things, and that’s a personal thing…”¤¤
      http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=114037

      Reply

      • I build my OPINION (not knowing the facts!) only based on the Rafa’s results…I would expect him to be more mentally stable if that was the case…the therapy (if there is one) should have worked better by now…

        Reply

        • natashao2013 FEBRUARY 19, 2016 AT 3:41 PM
          —I build my OPINION (not knowing the facts!)—
          ===
          .
          You should say that you don’t know… 🙂

          Reply

        • I agree with nats. I have said that I believe rafa’s team puts too much pressure on him. Also, if something isn’t working then his team needs to maybe make changes.

          If Rafa is not confident or comfortable with the changes, then maybe that is not the way to go. Because Rafa seems less confident and more unsure at times as to what to do in matches.

          I think that the information that Novak used a psychologist is very interesting.

          I also think people should be able to give their opinions without being attacked for not using facts. Opinions can be formed through various sources of information including stats, specific results and comments from players and their teams.

          Reply

          • Nativenewyorker 5:06 PM
            —I also think people should be able to give their opinions without being attacked for not using facts.—
            ===
            .
            I thanked you for confirming that opinions are NOT facts AT 5:37 PM.

          • You are once again taking what I said out of context and that is not okay with me. You are distorting what I said and you know it.

            augusta.

            I consider it quite disrespectful to persist in doing this. I said that everyone is entitled to have opinions and that they are based on
            various factors, including facts like stats, match results and interviews. You left that part out, trying to change the meaning of what I said.

            I fully support nats and anyone else having
            their opinions, which may or may not be
            based on facts. Also stats and other facts can
            be cherry picked selectively to try to make a biased argument. That is something that has been done here by all too often.

          • Nativenewyorker (AT 6:16 PM),
            —I said that everyone is entitled to have opinions—
            ===
            .
            I’m entitled too.

          • Except you don’t have opinions on tennis.

            Just three types of posts:
            – OCD prematch prayers to your God
            – Regurgi-tweets
            – Insults to Rafans and tennis fans.

            No original thought or opinions on tennis.
            Not one on tenngrand.
            Ever.

            Nothing new.

        • nats,

          Let me be perfectly clear in my response here. Forming an opinion based on match results makes perfect sense and is reasonable. I have tried to make this point to someone who refuses to acknowledge what I have written in its entirety.

          Thinking is a means of forming opinions. It’s why humans were given a brain! Taking certain events, realities, data and stats into account and then forming an opinion or an idea is what we should be doing here. That is what facilitates good discussions.

          Reply

      • Sorry, in my comment @ 6:16 in my last sentence I meant to say that augusta has cherry picked information all too often and twisted and distorted what others have said for her own purposes.

        Reply

        • Nativenewyorker ( AT 6:19 PM),
          — augusta has cherry picked information all too often —
          ===
          .
          Really ?! I post links to the sources! If you are not able to read sources posted here, it’s YOUR problem.
          .
          BTW. There are posters who tend not to cite their sources and are only cherry picking phrases from somewhere. I wonder why.
          This week, hawk started to panic when I posted a link to the article after he had posted his cherry-picks… LOL

          Reply

          • augusta,

            No, you post what you wish to post, many times leaving out key sentences. You select and cherry pick and then when someone points it out, you are either non-responsive or you attempt to make fun of anyone who dares to call you out.

            You don’t give opinions or discuss anything tennis matches. You just post match stats or times when matches will start or where Rafa is and when and interviews with him and his team.

            That’s fine if you want to do that. But as far as being allowed to have opinions, you attack people and contradict and misquote then, taking their comments out of context.

            You choose not to enter into the discussion, only presuming to correct people or make fun of what they say. You don’t participate, so you can sit back and then try to pick apart what others say.

            People who post opinions and actually discuss the tennis are taking a risk by putting it out there. You don’t do that.

          • Nativenewyorker (AT 9:12 PM)
            1) — you post what you wish to post, many times leaving out key sentences. —
            2) — you attempt to make fun of anyone who dares to call you out—
            3) —But as far as being allowed to have opinions, you attack people.—
            4) —You choose not to enter into the discussion, only presuming to correct people —
            5) —you can sit back and then try to pick apart what others say.—
            ===
            .
            1) Yep, I comment what I want to comment – not every word in your posts.
            2) I would like to know WHO are these “anyone.” I have feeling that this is someone who is regularly making attempts to insult (formerly known as a saboteur and your shadow). What’s so bad about making fun of someone who is trying to insult?
            3) It’s YOUR imagination that I attack others.
            4) I correct people, if they spread WRONG information! Speaking of “making fun of what they say” – look in the mirror.
            5) Look in the mirror – YOU interfered with conversations, not me.
            .
            P.S.
            I come here to support Rafa, not to handle personal issues of other posters.

          • augusta,

            If you need sources to tell you what to think, that’s your problem. I can choose to read your source posts or not. But I am not required to read your source information.

            Questioning whether someone can read, is not a response. It’s a dig.

          • Nativenewyorker (AT 9:27 PM),
            —If you need sources to tell you what to think, that’s your problem. —
            —I can choose to read your source posts or not.—
            ===
            .
            What? What a strange logic! Sources are for YOU, not for myself.
            Now I know that instead of choosing to read them you choose to write that they haven’t been posted. 😆

          • I didn’t know that anyone else commented about this. At least we know that others see what we see.

            I am done with this, because no matter what I write, the response comes back as completely non-responsive and just not credible at all.

          • Nativenewyorker (AT 12:43 AM)
            —I didn’t know that anyone else commented about this.—
            ===
            .
            It’s amazing how NNY gets fooled by her shadow! This Benny (AT 7:39 PM) lives inside hawk’s head. LOL

  3. Rafa’s interview for ESPN Brazil after R2 at the Rio Open 2016 (in Spanish; see translation made by Genny below; the same questions & answers over and over again):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oijE-yOvYnA

    Translation.
    ¤ About the match against Almagro.
    Rafa says : Good first set, some nerves to close the match, but happy to reach QF and have another chance to do better.

    ¤ On how he’s prepared the season.
    Rafa says: Trained very hard and well. Started 2016 playing well but had tough loss in Australia. Now he’s here to try his best.

    ¤ On what’s main goal in 2016.
    Rafa says: No main goal. Goal’s to try to be competitive in all tournies, which gives him chance to be ready for big events.

    ¤ Rafa’s told there are talks on his confidence and physical condition and he’s asked how to face that when going on court, if he tries to forget it.
    Rafa says he doesn’t have to forget anything. He lives his reality, not journalist’s reality. He knows what he does and what he has to do. He ended 2015 playing well, played well in Abu Dhabi & Doha, not in Australia. Last week he lost match with MP, now he’s here in QF in an important event for him.

    ¤ He’s finally asked how he faces the fact that he’s repeatedly told he has to change coach.
    Rafa says he doesn’t face it in any kind of form. Once again he tells them he lives his reality, while media live theirs. He’s happy with his lifelong team and with whom he’s been very successful. For him the most important thing in life is to be happy and he’s happy this way & with the team he has. So, he hasn’t thought of anything new. What’s more, he’s convinced he’ll have a good year with the same team and is gonna be fighting for important things again and in the next few years.

    Reply

    • no worries ed…
      being slow is something i am often afflicted with…
      i sleep in a loft room with beautiful sky lights….but at night when it rains the noise is deafening…! bit of a problem in a country where it rains incessantly….

      Reply

  5. Once the rankings are updated, Halfa-Rafa will move up to about No. 14 in the Race to London.

    (He’s currently in a two way tie for 28th.)

    Reply

  6. For Amy…

    “amy, here is one Tiggy article…

    http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/08/grand-stories-summer-rafa/48800/#.VstzOZwrKUk

    “Rafa will also have to deal with the return of another sometime nemesis of his, Toni Nadal. All three of Nadal’s hard-court titles this year have come with his self-described “B-team,” led by his back-up coach Francisco Roig, and without the A-list Uncle Toni. I’ve wondered over the last two weeks whether Rafa hasn’t profited from that change. In Montreal and Cincy, he was more willing to experiment with his return position, and to be more aggressive in general. It seems likely that he feels freer and looser, more upbeat, when he doesn’t have to deal with Toni the taskmaster all the time. I know Rafa is more animated and talkative with Roig on the practice court; the two of them will argue over technique for hours. Maybe that’s helped.”

    But don’t worry, Tiggy was just “joking”!!!

    “I’m only being half-serious, of course; uncle and nephew are obviously a winning team.”

    Well, “half” joking anyways LOL. 🙂

    Reply

    • F.Roig has regularly accompanied Rafa at IW, in Canada & Cincinnati. In 2013, F.Roig was also in Shanghai and Beijing. U.Toni was at the 2013USO – Rafa won the title. Rafa skipped the 2013AO.

      Reply

    • that was the article i was thinking of hawks!!
      but tiggy has also made the same quasi digs elsewhere…it’s pretty obvious he is ambivalent about toni.

      Reply

  7. In December Rafa said:
    “For the first time in my career I’ve encountered feelings of fear of failure, not the fear of losing, but the fear of not be able to play.”

    This is the definition of an anxiety disorder.

    #MardyFish

    Reply

    • I repeat my comment posted on FEBRUARY 22, 2016 AT 4:15 PM in another thread.
      ¤¤ natashao (AT 10:57 PM)
      —Saying that Rafa has any type of disorder is pure speculation and if that does not reflect the reality we are only doing more harm to our Rafa by spreading those words around…—
      ===
      .
      natashao gets it! One poster on the Grandstand is constantly delivering a diagnosis to Rafa, i.e. trying to harm him. ¤¤

      This poster (here AT 3:06 PM) is yet again trying to fool others into believing (I have no idea who could believe!) that Rafa is sick. Mardy Fish he mentions was diagnosed with anxiety disorder by REAL doctors, not by armchair doctors! 👿

      Reply

  8. Rafa has now lost four clay court semifinals in the last year after going undefeated in such circumstances for twelve straight years.

    Reply

  9. Alex Corretja gets it…

    ‘Rafa had started well the season, but the loss against Fernando Verdasco at the Australian Open upset him. In Buenos Aires and Rio he played differently than usually, trying shots that normally we do not see him trying. This is synonymous with anxiety.”

    Reply

    • @Hawkeye
      You’re pushing hot treacle upstairs. Rafa’s fears and phobias are well documented but no amount of evidence will change the minds of those who reject the evidence. One asks why so many people are afraid to face facts. If anybody knows what he is talking about it’s Mardy.

      Reply

      • also ed, if you look on any tennis site, it is usually the most fanatical rafa fans (often people with little or no interest in tennis) who try and deny that there is anything wrong with him mentally. but their view is dependent on seeing him at a completely unreal level, not as a real living human being with flaws and faults, but as a kind of god or reification.
        interestingly, it is this group which loves toni and idealises him in the same way they idealise rafa. as if the nadal family itself were a kind of holy family.

        Reply

        • Before I came to roost at TennisTalk I briefly joined Vamos Brigade but found the groupie fangirl culture far too sickly. All those presents and endless poems were not my cup of tea. In the early days of TT it was dominated by a lot of Djokovic posters intent on starting fights but fortunately Ricky and Cheryl brought it under control. Quite a few of the old timers from 2008/2009 have found their way here.

          Reply

          • Agreed, specific fan sites are OTT. Too… religious.

            TG was getting close for a while but lately, it’s starting to rival T-X for balance.

          • Some posters who have called themselves Rafa fans have made huge efforts to sabotage whatever positive things about Rafa on the GS. The situation improved after releasing the site rules.

          • You were placed under moderation after those rules were put in place so I’d have to agree that the situation improved. 🙂

          • YOU have been placed under moderation countless times. Your “co-workers” have noticed & mentioned it. LOL

        • amy (AT 3:55 PM),
          Great to know that Rafa has loyal fans “on any tennis site.” 🙂
          .
          If my memory serves me correctly, some posters who have called themselves Rafa fans, have tried to drive him away even from his page on the Grandstand. 🙄

          Reply

      • ed251137 (AT 3:36 PM),

        If I may ask, since WHEN when are diagnosis hawkeye is giving & delivering here, on the Grandstand, FACTS???

        Reply

  10. It’s not the heat, and it may not be the humidity…

    “The stress from anxiety can cause feelings of very genuine sickness. These feelings often mimic the way illnesses make you feel. Your stomach can feel like it’s rumbling and you may even feel nauseated. Feeling sick may be a sign that you’ve fallen ill, but it can also be a clear sign of anxiety.”

    http://www.calmclinic.com/anxiety/signs/feeling-ill

    Reply

  11. Tiggy says:

    “Maybe Kyrgios wasn’t a full-blown “star,” the way we thought. Maybe he was a young player, like all young players these days, who needed to learn the tour ropes and slowly work his way up the ladder. On Sunday he reached the first rung.

    There’s only so much room on that ladder, of course, and for every player who scales it, another must make the long climb downward. Even as the 20-year-old Kyrgios was rising, it felt as if Rafael Nadal, soon to be 30, spent the last two weeks continuing a gradual but painful descent on the clay courts of South America.

    In the past, Nadal’s opponents knew that hanging in against him wasn’t going to do any good. Now they know that if they hang around long enough, they have a chance. That’s the “dynamic” that Rafa rightly says has to be flipped back in his favor. It will be more difficult than simply fixing a serve or a forehand.

    With Kyrgios and Thiem winning events, Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz making their marks, and Nadal proving to be mortal on clay, there was talk of generational change on the men’s side over the last two weekends.”

    http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2016/02/rise-and-fall/57690/#.Vsy895wrKUl

    Reply

  12. Hm, Tiggy’s good.

    Rafa should employ the let them swing away first set, if necessary plan, take the 2nd set based on information gathered and surprise them in the decider… like on hc last fall. That’s my 2 cents about it.

    Reply

  13. I’ve been thinking, if it was anyone else, Andy Murray for instance, coming back after long layoff and early loss in AO, NOBODY would talk about his descent if he ended up losing in two semis of the HC tourneys…Rafa on clay, when not playing well, is beatable just like any other top player. Nothing sensational there! So why endlessly refer to Rafa and his drop in form whenever any other player is being discussed? These tennis experts (or whatever they are!)just can’t leave Rafa alone…”Kyrgios won, Rafa lost…” Why are these youngsters only threat for Rafa? I think these so called experts are being so unfair to Rafa…and they make me sick! Rafa owns 14 GSs and is already a living legend! Tiggy is just another nobody…

    Reply

    • natashao2013 (AT 9:51 PM),
      —So why endlessly refer to Rafa and his drop in form whenever any other player is being discussed? These tennis experts (or whatever they are!)just can’t leave Rafa alone…Tiggy is just another nobody…—
      ===
      .
      Well said! ?

      Reply

    • 1. Comparing Andy Murray to Rafa is apples and oranges.
      2. Substitute Federer or Djokovic into that comparison and add poor slam results in almost two years and EVERYBODY certainly would.
      3. That long layoff was over a year ago.
      4. When Andy struggled long after his return from back surgery, many DID talk about his decent.
      5. It’s not just those three tournaments results but those results added to the last two years.

      Reply

      • yeah, Rafa has been struggling for two years now…so what? Does he deserve to be put down every time Kyrgios, Thiem or Zverev win the match? Why even bring him into the picture? Why not say instead: “Kyrgios won his first title at the age of 20…compare it with the living legend Rafael Nadal who did it at the age of 18…At the age of 20 Rafa already had 15 titles and 2 GSs”….why not say that instead of disparaging and mean remarks about Rafa…it seems to me Tiggy enjoys Rafa’s bad days…

        I simply choose not to read the pathetic gloating of the people who really mean nothing in tennis world…

        Reply

        • It would be bad enough if it were ‘nobodies’ gloating at his demise but recently some of the voices joining in the chorus carry a good deal of authority. It took years for Rafa to earn even grudging respect from the tennis establishment and it is distressing to witness how quickly it has dissipated.

          #VRNMW

          Reply

          • Nah they were even harder on Sampras in his last two years on tour with results just as dismal as Rafa’s.

            And Tiggy on Fed in 2013…

            ” Just as important, by saying that he wants to make it to Rio he can keep the press from bringing up the R-word—as in retirement—after every defeat. But three years also feels like a long time right now. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hangs up his sticks before that.”

            and Tiggy again after his 2013 USO exit…

            ” This was no longer a No. 1 player trying to explain an unexplainable defeat; it was a No. 7 player was has been in a slump admitting that he needs to train and practice if he’s going to avoid more results like this in the future.”

            And NY Times…

            “To watch Federer this summer is to listen to an opera singer who can no longer hit the high notes. Flashes of the usual brilliance remain but occur less frequently, less consistently, until a player who once seemed anything but beatable is now eminently so.”

            “So continued this summer’s pattern, a period that will mark the beginning of the end for a player many consider the best in tennis history or will simply constitute a stretch among the roughest of Federer’s career. The latter will happen only if he rebounds, if he dominates again, if he wins another Grand Slam event. All that seemed so far away Monday.

            “So continued the pattern: the second-round defeat at Wimbledon, the semifinal loss in Hamburg and the second-round fall at Gstaad (in his first match, no less), three stumbles that came again.”

            “So it goes in 2013, when Federer looks less and less like Roger Federer and more and more like the next great athlete to near the end. Maybe that is premature. Or maybe this, for Federer, is the twilight.”

            And Chris Chase wrote…

            “It was the inevitability of aging and decline.
            Federer’s forehands sailed long. His footwork looked like that of someone wearing cinder blocks in the bottom of the Hudson. Every volley seemed to hit the middle of the net. He looked tense on every break point — he’d finish 2 for 16 and blew three games in which he held a 0-40 lead. This wasn’t the Roger Federer of old, nor the Roger Federer of the recent past. This was a one-time great struggling with the most basic of fundamentals and losing to a fellow tennis old-timer (Robredo is 31) that he’d owned throughout his career.”

            No legend has ever gone out gracefully. The decline was inevitable. Unless Federer went out on top, he was never going to keep making Slam quarterfinals with ease.

            “This is the natural aging process that happens to all athletes, it’s just more pronounced in a brutal one-on-one sport like tennis.”

          • And after losing at 2013 Wimbledon, ESPN wrote…

            “The Federer game, and his feverishly loyal following, must simply accept less than perfection, the inclusion of more shanks of both wings, the wobbly moments that tell us, dreadfully, that time gets us all. “

          • yeah, proves Tiggy and the rest of the so called experts know nothing about tennis…that’s why I couldn’t care less what they say…as far as I am concerned Tiggy saying/predicting something in tennis equals Paris Hilton judgements on the same subject… 🙂

          • If you didn’t care what they wrote, I don’t know why you’d be so upset about it.

            Tignor knows plenty about tennis as an observer and as a recreational club player. He’s written very insightful articles on both.

          • natashao2013 (AT 1:55 PM),
            —proves Tiggy and the rest of the so called experts know nothing about tennis…—
            ===
            .
            natashao gets it!

          • Hawkeye,

            Thanks for posting those factual quotes so that we can all see that the pundits are not just picking on Rafa. I was going to bring up all of the talk about Fed’s decline in 2013. But you have saved me the trouble.

            The problem is that some just do not want anyone to say anything about Rafa that is not glowing, unconditional fan hero worship.

            We have eyes and we can that Rafa has declined and is nowhere near who he used to be. That in no way detracts from his brilliant and historic achievements in this sport. No one can ever take that away from him. His place among the greatest to ever play this game is secure.

            But it’s to be expected that there will be talk about rafa’s current state. It’s the way it is when any great player is not doing well. Nobody is singling out Rafa.

          • AT 6:09 PM,
            —The problem is that some just do not want anyone to say anything about Rafa that is not glowing, unconditional fan hero worship.—
            ===
            .
            To each her own problem.

        • Because the article was about both players equally, not just kyrgios.

          Rafa’s continued struggles is the bigger story.

          Similarly, the press was pretty down on federer in 2013.

          Reply

          • @ hawkeye, 12:14 PM,

            even more than…If the article is about Rafa & Kyrgios why only speak about Rafa’s struggles…and it has nothing to do with Nick anyway except that Tiggy wants the readers to accept his opinion that these youngsters are only threat to Rafa and not to the rest of the top players which is pretty lame argument…

            Rafa’s struggles do not make news any more! It’s been two years now…and nobody except for his devoted fans expects him to do miracles out there, especially Tiggy…the intention of the article was bashing Rafa and nothing more…

          • You’re kidding yourself. It makes news every time it happens.

            The article is simply covering what Tignor saw were the two biggest stories in men’s tennis last week.

            There is also no suggestion that Tignor believes that young players are only a threat to Rafa. He talks about generational change and the tennis world turning.

            Every player of every age is a threat to halfa-Rafa as Rafa is a threat to himself.

            The Rafa bashing (as you’ve coined it) is no different from how the media treated Federer in 2013 and Sampras after 2000 when he went 6 of 8 slams bowing out before the quarter finals (until he won the USO).

          • natashao2013 (AT 1:50 PM),
            —Tiggy…the intention of the article was bashing Rafa and nothing more…—
            ===
            .
            It has always been.

          • i don’t see it as rafa bashing! tiggy is one of the best tennis writers out there who has repeatedly written beautifully about rafa, and has been pretty open that it is rafa’s style of tennis which is his favourite.
            journalists are slaves to news cycles and the need to produce copy which people will both read and react to. that’s in the nature of the beast.
            it’s always going to be news when the goat on a given surface loses in small tournaments to people he should be beating.
            i think the AO loss was frankly disastrous for rafa. i have been waiting for that tournament because i see it as a benchmark to compare rafa with murray and fed both of whom had terrible years and got it together at the AO in the subsequent year after which their careers were back on track.
            some of the criticism of rafa from various media sources seems to me to be very obviously borne of frustration because they want him back competing at the top of the game.

          • thankx hawks…..!!
            please don’t let augusta drag you into too many arguments with her..i don’t want you to get moderated having read ricky’s admonition further up the thread…

          • Thanks amy, while I understand why Ricky has moderated both of us in the past, as long as we are respectful to one another and abide by the site rules, I don’t see why Ricky would moderate either of us going forward.

            He has been more than fair.

            Keep up the good work Ricky!

        • natashao2013 (AT 10:42 AM),
          —Does he [Rafa] deserve to be put down…it seems to me Tiggy enjoys Rafa’s bad days…—
          ===
          .
          ST has always find a way to put Rafa down. He has even constructed (or at least spread) a fake story to put Fed on a pedestal at Roland Garros and Rafa down.
          Steve T., May 29, 2014: ¤¤…Rafa’s record in Paris is the best of any player at any Grand Slam in the Open era. Ironically, it was Federer, distracted by their oohs and aahs in Lenglen, who screamed at the crowd to “Shut up!” two years ago. ¤¤
          The TRUTH is that Fed screamed “Shut up!” after he hit the ball into the net and the spectators were cheering for his opponent (Delpo) – not worshiping Fed! (Videos are available on demand.) 👿

          Reply

          • Amy,

            I just wanted to thank you for pointing out that Tiggy has been a huge supporter of Rafa for years. He has written some beautiful blogs about Rafa, filled with admiration for his game and fighting spirit.

            Bloggers and tennis writers cannot just turn a blind eye to what is happening with Rafa. I heard a great deal of criticism on the tennis channel of how Rafa was playing in both buenos Aires and rio. But there was also respect for his greatness. It is news when a great player loses to someone who he should not lose to in a smaller tournament on his favorite surface.

            I do agree that a lot of it is pure frustration at seeing Rafa struggle. Tiggy wants Rafa back and so do many other long time admirers.

  15. “Rafa will also have to deal with the return of another sometime nemesis of his, Toni Nadal. All three of Nadal’s hard-court titles this year have come with his self-described “B-team,” led by his back-up coach Francisco Roig, and without the A-list Uncle Toni. I’ve wondered over the last two weeks whether Rafa hasn’t profited from that change. In Montreal and Cincy, he was more willing to experiment with his return position, and to be more aggressive in general. It seems likely that he feels freer and looser, more upbeat, when he doesn’t have to deal with Toni the taskmaster all the time. I know Rafa is more animated and talkative with Roig on the practice court; the two of them will argue over technique for hours. Maybe that’s helped.”

    http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/08/grand-stories-summer-rafa/48800/#.Vs25KZwrKUk

    Reply

  16. In 2013 Tiggy said…

    “Should Rafael Nadal’s “B-team” of coaches get a promotion? As he usually does at the U.S. Masters events, Nadal is traveling without his uncle Toni in Montreal this week, and is instead listening to the advice of his back-up coach, Francisco Roig. Whatever the details of their discussions have been—and Rafa and Roig tend to do a lot of discussing during practice sessions—the results this week have been something of a tactical breakthrough. Nadal has stood in farther to return serve, gone after his backhand more aggressively, and mixed more shots into his opponents’ forehands. Tonight all of those things helped earn him his first win over Novak Djokovic on a hard court since 2010.”

    http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/08/montreal-nadal-d-djokovic/48709/#.Vs25K5wrKUk

    #StayHomeToni

    Reply

    • you are not comparing 2013 Rafa with 2015 Rafa? are you?!

      if I were writing the article about Rafa in 2013 I would have been able to say that and even more about Rafa’s game…2015 Rafa is a whole different case…sorry but Tiggy knows sh.. about it…I hope you are not promoting Tiggy into a knowledgeable tennis expert here…we know better than that… 🙂

      Reply

      • Yes I think he is a very knowledgeable tennis writer (above all other tennis writers).

        I am comparing 2013 and 2015 in the sense that the writers simply relect the state of a player’s game at any point in time, good or bad.

        In 2013, tennis writers wrote good things about Rafa and bad things about Fed.

        Reply

  17. @ hawkeye, 2:04 PM,

    nope…Kyrgios did not even play Rafa for Tiggy to bring Rafa into the picture…he could have talked about generations change when Nick beat Berdy, or when Thiem beat Ferrer, or when Nick first beat Fed…but he didn’t…anyway, I’m not going to argue about Tiggy…too much space already wasted on this tennis so called expert whereas he definitely is not…

    Reply

    • Let’s agree to disagree then, on all counts on his article.

      I see his article completely different than you and, IMO, Tignor is by far the best tennis writer I’ve ever read.

      Reply

      • he’s one of my 3 favourites. the piece he wrote at the end of 2013 about the rafole semifinal at rg which he named as his match of the year was beautifully written…makes me very sad to think of it now though…ie in terms of what tiggy wrote about rafa and nole being each other’s greatest rivals in perpetuity..out there on the grand slam high wire..was the phrase he used as i remember…

        Reply

        • Yup, most people generally believe he’s a Rafan as Peter Bozo is an obvious Fedfan.

          Ricky was hard to peg for the longest time but he’s let his guard down a little and he’s an obvious Rafan.

          Like the majority of us here on The GrandStand.

          Reply

          • tiggy is a self-confessed rafa fan!! can remember him explicitly saying that effortless elegance wasn’t his thing (in a clear reference to fed) and that he loved passion on court….
            if you get a moment would be nice to find that beautiful piece he wrote about the rg semifinal…

          • wonder who ricky’s favourite tennis writers are..??
            pity that brian phillips has left grantland..some of his stuff was utterly brilliant..

          • thankx hawks but it was the end of the year version of that i was thinking of…i found it..it’s called
            love and suffering…i can’t link it on my new computer! here is the ending..
            in this way nadal and djokovic are true rivals as well as partners in their achievements, and they likely will be for the rest of their careers. a pair of parisian artists from another age braque and picasso described themselves as ‘ two mountain climbers, roped together’, scaling the heights of painting. nadal and djokovic are their tennis equivalent. at roland garros this year they led each other to a summit.

      • yeah, let’s agree to disagree. Tiggy may be good tennis writer but he is not an expert…I really do not experience him as a benevolent Rafan…quite the reverse I would say based on some pieces I read in the past…but that’s just my humble opinion…

        Reply

          • Hawkeye,

            Sorry, but I did not read your comment about Bodo before I brought him up myself.

            Tiggy is someone who I have admired for some time. I do not always agree with everything he says, but I respect him.

            I don’t need someone to just tell me what I want to hear. I respect opinions that I may no like. Tiggy would love to see the real Rafa back. I think so many people miss that Rafa.

        • Amy,

          Thanks for quoting that last part of Tiggy’s piece on the 2013 RG semifinal. I may still have it in my DVR from when the tennis channel replayed it at one point. But I don’t know if I can beat to watch it now.

          This is so very sad to see Rafa in this state.

          Reply

      • Hawkeye,

        I agree with you about Tiggy. He is one of only a few who “get” Rafa. Not like Pete Bodo who has really written terrible things about Rafa over the year. Tiggy’s latest criticism pales in comparison to the insults from someone like Bodo.

        We should be able to separate the haters from those who really know this sport and understand what Rafa has meant to it.

        Reply

      • as i am ill and can’t do much i have been browsing articles on the internet and as a matter of interest looked at the comments on the rafaelnadalfans page (i’ve never read them before)
        just about no-one thinks that the coaching situation should remain the same. some think they should add to the team, some think toni should go.(many think he needs a psychologist to help him). they were even suggesting starting an online petition asking for toni to step down….this is on the rafaelnadalfans page!!
        just about says it all.

        Reply

    • Well it sounds like more of the same old, same old. Nothing changes. This is why I have come to the conclusion that Uncle Toni doesn’t have the answers to rafa’s current problems.

      I give all due credit to Toni for helping Rafa achieve what he has in this sport. I don’t take that away from him. But this is a time when Rafa needs some new ideas and changes and methods if adapting. A fresh perspective could only help. I know that Rafa won’t get rid of his uncle because he’s family. But someone needs to come on the team and shake things up.

      There is nothing wrong with adding new people to a player’s team. Change is a good and necessary thing. All the emphasis on practice has not produced results.

      Rafa should not have to end his career on such a low note.

      Reply

      • Good to see you saying this!Exactly what I have been saying all the way. Glad to hear you being appreciative and full of respect for Uncle T. He deserves that for all what he is achieved with Rafa.

        I too belong to the group favoring adding more experts on the team, with new ideas and strategies as I said many times before…and I also support leaving Toni in the team as he is family and knows Rafa better than anyone else. I feel Rafa would be insecure dealing with a brand new coach without Toni around.

        Let’s wait and see…I am watching Cuevas play and he looks on fire there. He may win one more title. The same with Thiem. As Toni said Rafa came close to beating both. It could have gone other way if only Rafa was “with calm”. That’s missing but I sense the Team Nadal is aware of it and is working towards finding a solution which isn’t just practice…I wish to think that’s true…

        Reply

          • Yes, it’s nice that we can reach some common ground here. We all want what is best for Rafa. That is the most important thing.

            I hope that Toni is hiding some things and keeping them private. As long as there is an awareness of rafa’s problems and hopefully an attempt to find some answers.

            I have come to the conclusion that even though uncle Toni may not be able to help Rafa with his current situation, that it would not be good to just get rid of him. He is family and Rafa trusts him and feels comforts he with him. It might be more stressful for Rafa to let him go, which I know he would never do.

            Rafa seems to need people around him that he knows well and trusts implicitly. That is why I have come to realize that Toni stays.

            I truly hope that Rafa can find a way out of this. Nothing would make me happier.

  20. Wonder what Toni meant by saying we will talk but I cant tell about it

    I am sure not about coach change but wonder what he is hinting at.

    Matches against all 3 – Verdasco, Pablo, Thiem..Rafa was very close to winning and lost..All he needs is the calm and the tightness to disappear. The CC FH drive is not working and I guess that will come back too if he has calm .

    Reply

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