The Asian swing is ready to get underway, and we won’t have to wait until Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal take center stage at next week’s 500-point events to get some stellar fields. Top 10 players Tomas Berdych, Stanislas Wawrinka, David Ferrer, and Richard Gasquet are all on board in either Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur. Berdych and Wawrinka are the two favorites in the former, while Ferrer and Gasquet are the top two seeds at the latter.
Thailand Open
Where: Bangkok, Thailand
Surface: Indoor hard
Prize money: $567,530
Points: 250
Top seed: Tomas Berdych
Defending champion: Richard Gasquet
Draw analysis: Berdych initially appeared to have gotten a break by having Gilles Simon instead of Milos Raonic land in the top of the draw. But no so fast. Simon captured the Metz title on Sunday (also on an indoor hard court), upsetting fellow Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final. The good news for Berdych is that he has much friendlier path to the semis than does Simon. Berdych’s nearest seed is a slumping Rosol, while Simon will open against either Ivo Karlovic or Bernard Tomic before a possible date with seventh-seeded Jarkko Nieminen.
On the other side, Raonic and Richard Gasquet are on a collision course for the semifinals in what would be a rematch of a five-set thriller in the U.S. Open fourth round (won by Gasquet). Raonic likely awaits either Marinko Matosevic in his opener and the Canadian could meet Feliciano Lopez in the quarters (Raonic also played Lopez in New York, prevailing in four sets). Gasquet could go up against either Mikhail Youzhny or Denis Istomin in the Bangkok quarterfinals.
First-round upset alert: Lukasz Kubot over (8) Lukas Rosol. Kubot has the more interesting name (by one letter) and the more interesting game. His stellar all-court arsenal and net prowess took him all the way to the Wimbledon quarterfinals, but he has not won an ATP main-draw match since losing to Jerzy Janowicz at the All-England Club. Rosol was never on top of his game at any point this summer. He captured the first ATP title of his career on the clay courts of Bucharest back in April, but he is just 4-14 at the ATP level since that triumph.
Hot: Tomas Berdych, Richard Gasquet, Denis Istomin
Cold: Lukas Rosol, Igor Sijsling, Paolo Lorenzi
Semifinal predictions: Tomas Berdych over Jarkko Nieminen and Milos Raonic over Mikhail Youzhny
Final: Berdych over Raonic
[polldaddy poll=7414842]
Malaysian Open
Where: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Surface: Indoor hard
Prize money: $984,300
Points: 250
Top seed: David Ferrer
2012 champion: Juan Monaco (not playing)
Draw analysis: Is it time to put Julien Benneteau on title watch? The 31-year-old Frenchman has never won an ATP title and he is 0-8 lifetime in finals. Benneteau will open against Michal Przysiezny in Kuala Lumpur before a potential encounter with Pablo Andujar. He should cruise into the last eight and his nearest seed is an out-of-form Nicolas Almagro. Adrian Mannarino may be a more likely quarterfinal opponent for Benneteau. Of course, Wawrinka has to be the favorite in the bottom half of the bracket. The second-seeded Swiss is coming off a semifinal showing at the U.S. Open, where he fell to Djokovic in five sets. Wawrinka has a tough draw this week with Marcos Baghdatis possibly in the second round and Dmitry Tursunov in the quarters.
Ferrer should have an easier time of things at the top of the bracket. The Spaniard will kick off his campaign against a qualifier before looking ahead to either Nikolay Davydenko, Ryan Harrison, Joao Sousa, or Pablo Cuevas. In addition to Ferrer, Wawrinka, and Almagro, Jurgen Melzer is the fourth player with a first-round bye. Melzer finds himself in the weakest section, where Vasek Pospisil may be favored to reach the semifinals.
First-round upset alert: Victor Hanescu over (7) Vasek Pospisil. Pospisil is playing by far the better tennis of the two competitors, but he has endured more than his fair share of heartbreak of late. The Canadian lost in final-set tiebreakers in the Toronto semifinals, the Cincinnati second round, and the U.S. Open first round (he had multiple match points in the last two). Pospisil, who has not won a non-retirement match since the Toronto third round, suffered a tough Davis Cup loss to Janko Tipsarevic in the decisive rubber earlier this month. Of course, whether or not Hanescu can capitalize is very much in doubt. The Romanian has not won a hard-court match since Miami and he has not won a non-retirement match on the hard stuff since Rotterdam in February.
Hot: Stanislas Wawrinka, Dmitry Tursunov, Joao Sousa, Michal Przyseizny, Adrian Mannarino, Pablo Carreno Busta
Cold: Nicolas Almagro, Pablo Cuevas, Horacio Zeballos, Pablo Andujar
Semifinals: David Ferrer over Jurgen Melzer and Julien Benneteau over Stanislas Wawrinka
Final: Ferrer over Benneteau
[polldaddy poll=7414847]
Comments and your own predictions are appreciated!
If Tomas Berdych reaches the final, he will surpass Federer in the rankings and will be seeded 4th at the Shanghai Masters.
I doubt that Raonic will get past Matosevic, let alone reach the final. His game still needs to be refined.
Raonic will beat Matosevic.
correct
Seems I’ve been banned on Tennis-X. I don’t think Sean likes my hashtags.
#TooFunny
or perhaps they dont ‘get’ your eccentric brand of humour. May we take it their loss is our gain 😉
Thanks ed! Maybe. But there’s no one to razz on here yet. Wish twinge was around. He was sooo sure Nole had Rafa’s number and it was pretty much over for Rafa. Would have been fun to have some banter with him now but perhaps that’s why he’s no longer around?
Nieminen put out by the ‘slumping’ Sisling.
absolutely HORRENDOUS loss
Sean is by no means an objective moderator. He lets guys like funches abuse other posters but bans someone for hashtags? Ridiculous.
Maybe he will ban me too now that I have attacked Fed’s GOAT status and claimed he is totally disqualified from being the GOAT because of his h2h against another great player in his era.
Most of the Nole fans are missing but will come back when Nole next registers a win over Rafa.
As for Twinge, he gave an indication that he may not post again, at least not in our group. I don’t think it has anything to do with Nole .
But I do miss Twinge.
Conspirator, you haven’t been banned on tennis-x. Your comments are now going through moderation instead of direct post.
I guess they will delete the hashtags before allowing your posts!
It is true that they have a system on tennis-x whereby someone’s comments can be flagged for moderation. It means that whenever you post, your comments won’t be put up in real time. The mods will review it and then decide if it will be posted or deleted. However, in the case of Conspirator it does appear as though they are simply removing the hashtags.
I read the comment from Sean Randall directed at Conspirator’s posts. I have no idea why they would have a problem with it. There is hypocrisy in that they will allow some people to post personal attacks on other posters.
Conspirator, a few weeks or maybe days after I joined tennis-x, one of the moderators on tennis-x wanted to know whether I was also posting as hawkeye!. I told him to check the IP address. We are posting from two different countries.
Hahahaha!
I posted on T-X this morning without hashtags and the post was allowed. A later one with hashtags has not appeared (under moderation). I reposted it without hashtags and it was allowed. They are manually filtering each one of my posts now and only allowing those without hashtags!!!
Now, if I was a Fed fan and used hashtags, I’m thinking somehow it would be deemed acceptable.
Did anyone see this Gulbis clip over the weekend? Very funny….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7XNnHd3XXfU
#Censorship
#TooFunny
it’s on the Best of the Day page. So epic.
If Rafa wins Australian Open 2014 they will have to establish a suicide hotline for Fedbots on tennis-x blog. Love it………..
I stopped posting when it became clear they could not be bothered to feign impartiality any more. It’s one thing for regular posters to troll endlessly making unsubstantiated doping accusations against Rafa (which I find funny) but when you allow a blog contributor to do that (which I do not find funny) then sorry, you (the site) are beyond the pale. No wonder @sienna and @overestimationnadal are at home there……………
i miss the jousting with like minded people but not the odious attacks that eventually engulfed TT. Deucy might know where Twinge has got to. He is a staunch Muzza fan. Sometimes he went too far winding people up – particularly if he had been washing his painkillers down with whisky – but he was never malicious and didn’t bear grudges.
@ed
No idea about Twingey 🙁 only two general sites I post are here and tx. Enough, it takes me all my time to keep up 🙂 Alex doesn’t post much either 🙁 Had to lug the sofa over from TT all on my own….;)
That clip about Gulbis was hilarious. He completely owned his opponent(both with his mouth and his racket.)
I think there could be a lot of movement among the # 5 to 8 seeds. They are very close in rankings points, so it would not surprise me to see them exchanging places.
Regarding the tennis, I think that Raonic will definitely get past Matosevic. I do think Berdy will make the final. I am interested in a possible Raonic/Gasquet rematch. That could be interesting.
I think it will be either Ferrer or Stan to win Kuala Lumpur.
the good news for Matos is that it isn’t a slam!
but yes, he will still lose.
sorry off topic, just wanted to share http://www.tennisworldusa.org/Andre-Agassi-thinks-Nadal-has-an-argument-to-make-for-the-best-of-all-time-articolo13121.html
all the holders of ‘fed is the undisputed GOAT’ mantle are now slowly changing sides..lol
What amused me this year was how often the commies would be showering superlatives on Federer or Djokovic in the early part of the matches then when it dawned on them Nadal was closing in on a win the comments became more muted and they started to praise Rafa’s performance more enthusiastically.
Now there are quite a few pundits back-pedalling like mad on the subject of Federer’s credentials to be crowned the king of tennis.
I also noted that when Rafa was out the commies used to go on and on about how players couldn’t do this or that like the Djokovics and the Murrays or the Federers. They completely wrote Rafa off and thought the new kids on the block had taken over.
I never gave up on Rafa, I just knew that when fit he was the best. Rafa said in one of his pressers when they were going on about Djoker – “Give me 2 years without injury….”
I hope he stays injury free and shut them all up for good.
Even more annoying than those who begrudgingly change their minds are those who simply change the criteria for greatness and just continue to “move the goalpost.” As Rafa continues to topple records or approaches ones in existence, then suddenly those records don’t matter as much and the ones he has always held, of course, don’t matter at all, e.g. clay court victories, Masters 1000 wins, etc. Doug Perry, a columnist for the Oregonian which is my hometown paper, recently wrote an article which implies that Rafa will never be the GOAT because his games lacks the ethereal beauty of Roger’s. One sees this argument more and more….that Rafa could hold ever record there is and yet he will never be better because his game isn’t “beautiful.” (Beauty, as we all know, is in the eye of the beholder. For me personally, there is nothing in tennis more beautiful than watching Rafa on court. And I don’t say this as some young fan girl. I’ve been watching tennis since Laver’s heyday). Can you imagine a debate about quarterback greatness where someone would actually say one is better than the other because his throw is more aesthetically pleasing???
These kinds of ideas are why I dislike GOAT debates. Because there can be no agreement on what constitutes the GOAT, there likewise will never be agreement on who the GOAT is. I’m just happy that Rafa chose to make tennis his profession. I’ve followed many players over the half century that I’ve been watching tennis, and no other player has grabbed and hooked me into the game like Rafa.
Here’s the article by Doug Perry for anyone wishing to read it.
http://blog.oregonlive.com/tennis/2013/09/roger_federer_and_rafael_nadal_1.html
Jc, I can relate to everything you said.
You know the “Fed is GOAT” brigade is aware they are losing the argument when even they say, “if Fed is not the GOAT, then there is no GOAT”! Hello, that is what all rational tennis fans have been saying all along!
For me, this is just but a step towards accepting the inevitable: that Rafa has been and is the exceptional player of his generation, bar none.
As far as introducing artistic impression as a variable in GOAT determination, well then, enter Dimitrov and Gasquet as GOAT contenders………
Yeah, a couple days ago, a self-proclaimed Djoker fan wrote a long post on tennis-x that said Rafa would need 3-4 slams off the clay to be considered GOAT. So Rafa has to skip FO in the future and win the other slams. If he gets to 18 but it includes 9 or 10 FOs, it doesn’t count. Even if it means he’d win 8 or 9 off clay. Talk about moving the goal post!
Clay is one of the oldest tennis surfaces. Cement is the new kid on the block. But because Rafa dominates the clay, people want to discount clay tournaments. If we want to talk about prestige, AO has the least. Borg and those old-timers didn’t even play there. So if anyone’s resume should be discounted, it should be Djoker’s 4 AOs, not Rafa’s FOs.
for me it’s about winning multiple titles on multiple different surfaces.
Federer has only 1 French Open, and it came without beating Nadal.
if Nadal wins the AO, he will have at least 2 titles at all 4 majors. that’s when the discussion will get serious.
Totally agree with Ricky. If Rafa wins AO 2014, all bets are off! Not only will he be the only current player with multiple slams on multiple surfaces, at all the slams, he will the only current player with 2 career slams.
Jpacnw,
I am in complete agreement with you. This business of moving the goal posts can be seen in discussions on other tennis sites. Even if some Fed fans say that he has the most slams, case closed, the simple truth is that even if Rafa should get 17 slams, then the Fed fans will just say that he has all those WTF’s, the most weeks at number one, all those years ending at #1, the record for consecutive semifinal slam appearances, etc.
That’s why I choose to opt out of any discussion about the so-called GOAT. Because I believe that it is a fundamentally flawed premise. There can never be a GOAT. It’s an artificial thing. I grew up watching Rod Laver and there is no way that he can be ignored when it comes to the greatest to ever play this game. It’s extremely disrespectful to try to designate one player as the best of all time. There are great champions from every era of tennis. They each made their own unique contributions.
I have heard the comments about Fed’s game being supposedly more aesthetic. I remember writing a tribute to Rafa on TT about the beauty of his game. When you see him glide as if on wings across a clay court, moving effortlessly to get to any ball, when you see his little balletic footwork to prepare for his shots, when you see him hit that wicked cc backhand for winners, and that forehand, inside out, inside in, down the line, all of them things of spectacular beauty.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To me Rafa’s game is a thing of beauty in so many ways.
Spare a thought for Fedbots, guys. Can’t be easy accepting that Fed is not the undisputed GOAT after all, but also that “the spare”, Novak, does not quite measure up to the task of stopping Rafa!
#OneTwoPunch
#HashtagsAllowedOnTenngrand
Fed bored me to tears. I started watching tennis when the Swedes ruled the world. I drifted away and didn’t come back until Rafa. I tried to watch Fed a couple times and his games bored me. Plus, the lack of competition before Rafa emerged made Fed’s games even more boring.
I never quite understand people’s high praises for Fed. I’m into art. I think I would know art when I see it. I never saw “art” on a tennis court. I don’t care who plays it. When it comes to sports, I like cool under pressure (Joe Montana type), heart, passion, grit, skills etc. Rafa has these characters. Fed doesn’t.
Yes, it’s true that Fedbots are in real trouble now. Djoker was their go-to guy, the one who was going to stop Rafa. However, it doesn’t appear that Djoker is going to get the job done and protect their precious Fed’s legacy.
I expect the diehard Fed fans to be freaking out right about now. This is their worst nightmare – a reinvigorated Rafa who is now unstoppable even on hard courts!
#YayForHashtags
Yes, touch wood Rafa’s body holds up, there’s a whole lotta winning to be done!
During the long months when Rafa was out of action it was sometimes hard to keep faith that he would return and when he returned would be able to play at his old level. i’m still pinching myself at what has unfolded this year.
The discussion are rage as to whether Federer is in decline or Djokovic has plateaued out. The simple answer is Rafa has leap-frogged over both of them. As NNY pointed out Rafa has always been able to find the answers: not with brawn and brute strength but with his brains.
No doubt the teams of his main adversaries are burning the midnight oil to come up with strategies to stop the charging Spanish bull. They may yet find a way to halt him momentarily but it can only be a temporary reprieve. For as long as Rafa remains fit and healthy he will find the way to win and we can look forward to him continuing to confound his critics and detractors.
#RafaTheUltimateInChampions
Fedbots’ first anointed Delpo as their saviour and he failed; then they welcomed Nole with fanfare now even he is not up to it. Now they are back to proclaiming ‘elegance’ as the winner.
Frankly, the beauty and elegance in Fed’s game escapes me. Rafa is such joy to watch on court.
Was it you who once said ‘when I want to watch ballet I go to the ballet’ ?
Yes it was me.
Even my hashtag free posts are being moderated on TX now and very slow to appear.
#TheyCantHandleTheTruth
#Hilarious
#VamosRafa
#GOAT
#Humb1e
Phew, that feels better.
Aw c’mon @Conspirator, please don’t tell me you are surprised. Its a pogrom! Very soon they will be moderating all and any post with the words, “Rafael Nadal”!
It’s called a siege mentality, circling the wagons. Look at the vile filth @Ben Pronin and @skeezer post, are they ever censored? Go figure. The only Rafans “allowed” at that site are the meek ones like @alison and come to think of it, Rafa was thus tolerated until he became uppity.
I am kinda enjoying it, meself. I don’t post there anymore but I read the posts now and then. It’s just another perspective…………………
Who ever said the truth shall set you free had never met a Fedbot………………
It’s a Fedfan site, they wanna keep it that way.
I have always suspected Rafans were deliberately bullied off that site, with @skeezer and @Ben Pronin in the fore-front. I always thought it was Fedfan posters doing the bullying. I never, ever imagined bullying Rafans off the site was official site policy, which is what they are doing by your explanation/experience.
Wow! PLEASE RAFA, WIN OZ 2014!
It is a Fedfan site, always has been and always will be. Some of the long time regulars like skeezer, are unhappy about all the Rafa fans coming on the site since TT closed down. They have made their feelings known.
In the past, they could say anything to Rafa fans to get them off the site. There was virtually no moderation. They could use profanity and obscenity and nothing was done. It worked, too. But then there were so many complaints that they started implementing some decent moderation. But it was still an extremely anti-Rafa site.
Any site that would allow one of their own bloggers to publicly accuse Rafa of doping repeatedly, has shown its true colors. We know that on TT when there was moderation, those kinds of posts were deleted. This is done without a single shred of facts or proof or validation.
It appears as that Conspirator’s posts are now in moderation. So his posts will not show up in real time. They will be reviewed and either ultimately posted or deleted. It’s a way of letting a Rafa know that he is not welcome.
That site will never change. In fact, I think it’s going to get worse now that Rafa has been winning so much.
Novak Djokovic and Jelena Ristic are now engaged:
RT @Noleksa: “Serbian “BLIC”- Dijana Djoković, Novak’s mother, confirms that Novak Djoković and Jelena Ristić got engaged http://tinyurl.com/o5qzxxf
Hearty congratulations to the happy couple!
Very nice. I like her a lot. Great news for them.
#AjdeNole
Translation: ” Jelena is the love of my life. Honesty is what I was impressed with her and what I still seem happy and loved. It is capable, ambitious and strong girl. Roger Federer’s improved play and psychological stability when married Miroslav Vavrinec, so I’m taking it.”
#Djoking?
^^^Seriously? Hahaha, I hope Jelena sends Rafa a thank you note………….for beating him “mental” so much he is seeking solace in marriage!
^^^^^what a load of codswallop
^^^c’mon ed251137! Be happy for the couple, hopefully Jelena is useless at gluten-free cooking and………….ah, well, hope springs eternal……
I’d be surprised if she has time to cook at all – too busy clothes shopping and having beauty treatments.
But I respect Nole for his good sense in choosing a nice normal girl. I was sure he would go for a high maintenance, high profile ‘trophy’ wife. Jelena deserves to be rewarded for her loyalty and for enduring all those endless hours on hard seats in the players stand in support of her man.
#TheWAG’sLifeIsHard
Rafa is enjoying his time at home, under the clear blue sky of Mallorca:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/578002_632669513420868_1045985895_n.jpg
Rafa: ” Enjoying the last hours at home before going to Asia!”
Rafa enjoyed blue skies too long!
Last minute to Rafa in Palma (the capital of Mallorca) airport:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BVBUcbdCYAA3tTP.jpg:large
Haha, looks like clayqueen/nadline’s (aka queen) posts are being “moderated” on T-x also as they magically show up all of a sudden.
#BadgeOfHonour
#MustBeDoingSomethingRight
#Hilarious
Conspirator,
If you are talking about the poster with the user name “queen”, that is someone who has been on the site for quite some time. She doesn’t post that often, though. Someone who is not shy about saying what she thinks.
I have a suspicion @queen is………………………@Monalysa!
Hehehe! Now there’s a character calling himself @Rafaisthebest on tennis-x blog and he is no Rafan I can tell you! Busy touting Fed’s creds and dissing Rafans.
Too funny.
Vamos Rafa! Keep winning and drive these people crazy…………
@OUR RITB
I saw that, what a dirty trick! Still can’t understand why people BOTHER to go to such lengths, or have the time 🙁
Here’s a YouTube video that was just posted showing Rafa rushing to catch his plane. He’s so kind to everyone, stopping to take individual pictures, signing books, etc. It’s a wonder he made it in time. http://youtu.be/Nj-XgR-qibs
Jpacnw,
You know it occurred to me watching Rafa trying to catch his flight while people wanted his picture and autograph, that one of these days he may well miss it!
He is incredibly polite and patient. But it has to be a bit nerve wracking when you know that your plane is waiting. 🙂
Novak confirms his engagement:
RT@DjokerNole: “Meet my fiancé and future wife 🙂 So happy! Thank you for wonderful wishes #NoleFam and friends! http://say.ly/fWF6P6R“
Congratulations are in order!
Best wishes to the happy couple!
Any discussions about Rafa’s playing at Abu Dhabi? Should he prepare for AO? Why is he playing so much? I hope he stays healthy to pursue immortality, rather than for some appearance fees. He doesn’t need more money.
i don’t think there is any discussion. it’s obvious he shouldn’t.
@JCKNY, let’s wait and see how it all unfolds. Rafa has entered to play the tournaments, it does not mean he will actually show up at all of them, especially if he goes deep in some or a lot of them.
yep
But isn’t it bad form to withdraw from exhibitions once you commit (and probably take money for it)?
Ricky, can’t respond to you above. I completely agree with you. If Rafa wins one more AO, he’ll be the only player who has a double career GS on 3 difference surfaces (Laver did it on 2 surfaces). All talks about his high FO titles will cease once and for all. He doesn’t even need to get to 18 slams. Here are all things Rafa has and Fed doesn’t:
1. The highest winning % of all time (I can’t believe how seldom this was brought up. Hello? This should be given as much weight as the slam count.)
2. The Olympic gold (this should offset all the YEC titles Fed has)
3. The only man who won at least a slam for 9 consecutive years (This should offset the # of weeks as #1 since we know slam count is important right? Both are a longevity measure.)
4. The highest # of Master 1000 titles
5. Head to head record
6. 4 Davis Cups (They were team victories, but Rafa’s commitment to DC to takes away time for his practice. Fed could devote all his time for personal glory. That does mean something.)
.
Just imagine to add a double career GSs to that list! Fed fans keep framing the debate on Fed’s records (Rafa hasn’t done this and that). Fed hasn’t done a lot of things Rafa has done. Round about is fair play.
all very good points. of course all except No. 1 and no. 3 are well-documented. Everyone takes those into account.
some people (mainly Fedfans) will simply insist that Grand Slam title count is the end-all be-all.
I don’t understand why #1 and #3 are so seldom brought up. Rafa needs to hire me as his PR. He doesn’t want to boast about his achievement. No problem. He can hire me to do it. 😀
This guy is making a good argument for Rafa’s case (1st of 3 parts):
http://afanobsessed.sportsblog.com/post/244984/why_rafael_nadal_is_almost.html
I forgot Rafa has a Clay Slam (3 Master 1000s and FO) in 2010. Now he has a Hard Court Slam in 2013! That’s something to have both!
I just looked up Rafa’s and Roger’s winning %:
Rafa – 0.837 (overall); 0.881 in GS matches
Roger – 0.813 (overall); 0.864 in GS matches
Wasn’t there a year when Rafa won both Queen’s and Wimbledon? If so, a grass slam too.
I don’t think Abu Dhabi is the problem for Rafa, for me it is the mandatory events he has committed to playing after going deep in all the tournaments so far. He cannot announce before hand that he is not playing a mandatory event, that, is bad form. However, if he goes deep in say the China Open and the Beijing Masters, he can plead exhaustion at the Paris Masters and lose in the 1st or 2nd round or not turn up altogether. I have a feeling he will play Basel. I also have a feeling he will play Abu Dhabi because it is an exho and he does not need to bust his guts.
I agree that if Rafa wins another AO and achieves the double career slam, then he will have assured his place in history. Some seem to feel that Rafa needs to win a few more non-clay slams to ensure his claim to greatness. I don’t care how Rafa gets his slam wins, as long as he gets them.
Rafa is also the only male tennis player in the Open era to win eight titles at one slam. The scary thing is that he has the opportunity to win even more RG titles. He will end up setting a record there that can never be matched.
Regarding his schedule and tournaments he is supposed to play, I am sure that Rafa will see how it all goes and make decisions as necessary.
In addition, if Rafa wins AO 2014 he will be the only one to have won a Slam in 10 consecutive years. This to me will counter the 5 years Fed ended as #1. After all, Fedfans bring in the years spent as #1 as a sign of consistency at the top. Well, they also say Slams are the only ones that matter, so with their logic, Rafa’s unique achievement is right up there, and Fed will NEVER equal that.
@NNY ‘ I don’t care how Rafa gets his slam wins, as long as he gets them.’
^^^^^Exactly my thoughts.
I guess I’m being naive but I’ve never understood why Rafa winning a higher percentage of his Slam titles on clay has always been deemed less impressive.
We all know had Rafa not been clobbered by his knees Federer would still be waiting to achieve his career slam. Has Fed ever admitted he got lucky in 2009 ?
Funny thing is they discount Rafa’s clay Slams but say nothing about Fed’s lone clay Slam! By their logic, Fed’s Slam haul should be 16, not 17………….
JCKNY says:
September 26, 2013 at 5:11 am
“I don’t understand why #1 and #3 are so seldom brought up. Rafa needs to hire me as his PR. He doesn’t want to boast about his achievement. No problem. He can hire me to do it.”
You and me, too.
I think Rafa knows that in the end the numbers will speak for themselves. He is so clever at going along with what people like to think whilst quietly slaying the dragons. At the beginning of the USO, when asked who was the favourite, he said it was between Andy, Roger and Djokovic because Andy was the defending champion, Djokovic was #1 in the world and Federer was the best in history…..knowing full well that none of them was playing better than him going into the USO. Then he won it hands down!
What’s happened with the GOAT issue is that Federer was declared the GOAT before anyone thought of the criteria, so now they are trying to cut the GOAT coat according to Federer’s cloth.
They were only pitting Federer against Sampras’ 14 slams which seemed humongous at the time and only brought Laver in as an after thought. They NEVER expected anyone like Rafa to come along. Sampras has a dismal clay record – no clay slams and Roger only has one, but that doesn’t seem to matter at all. They are just interested in highlighting Rafa’s h/c tally against those 2.
Laver had a very different career path. Hardcourt wasn’t so widespread in his day. He played mainly on grass and against a very Small circle of people, mainly Australians and Americans, because travelling took ages in those days and tennis wasn’t played right across the world. Laver also had 2 careers – amateur and professional.
It’s a shame that Rafa has had injury issues without those he would have buried Roger’s records a long time ago.
Rafa plays billiards left-handed:
https://twitter.com/NeilHarmanTimes/status/382954855687401472/photo/1
Did Uncle Toni tell him to use his left hand when playing billiards? 🙂
There is a widespread myth that Toni Nadal told Rafa to play tennis left-handed for an advantage on the tennis court! T.Nadal has said numerous times it’s not true.
Well said Naddy. it’s impossible to compare like with like.
I get particularly riled when people start postulating on how past legends would match up with the current generation. And found them wanting. 99% of the time they are utterly ignorant of the history of tennis and simply rely on massaging the numbers.
The old adage……….’There are lies, damn lies, and there are statistics’ comes to mind.
Love your opening para above. You nailed it in one.
ed,
I get positively infuriated when ignorant people who don’t know what they are talking about, start blathering about the past legends and how they would do today. There was a discussion on tennis warehouse about Rod Laver playing on hard courts today relative to Pete Sampras playing on grass courts back in his time.
They were trying to demean his calendar grand slam by saying that at that time, there were three grass slams and one clay. I pointed out that it was an outstanding achievement, given that none of his peers was ever able to do it. There can be no question that Laver played in a Golden Age of tennis. There wasn’t a weak player in the bunch.
Also my understanding is that all they had in that era was indoor wood courts. I don’t think they had any outdoor hard courts. Then there was the structure of tennis before the Open Era in 1968. There was amateur and professional tennis. Laver was banned from playing at Wimbledon for a few years because he played in a professional tournament.
I read that Laver won an additional 9 pro titles that were never counted with his 11 slams. It shows again the foolishness of trying to compare across the generations. But it really bothers me that he gets ignored by those who are younger.
Rafa’s coach Francisco Roig is with him in Asia (first on left in the photo):
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/563980_10151751431001026_639420988_n.jpg
Rafa added to the picture: “Boarding with Ricardo and my team to Seul to see my KIA friends”
@deucy 3:35 am, m’dear, straight from the dirty tricks top drawer! But this is not the first time this has happened, had my moniker “stolen” on TT before! As @holdserve pointed out, the idea is to appear like a “reasonable” Rafan but they overdo the charade of course. Not very difficult to see through them.
It’s obvious, just as we “listen” in on their conversation over there, they “listen” in on our conversations here!
Fedal fun ‘n games………………………
Vamos!!
Ah, got it. That @Rafaisthebest on the other site, it’s our friend @DannyMorris. Watch the real persona come out with each Rafa win going forward, especially if Rafa snags AO.
Re pinning hopes on Delpo and then Djoko…
There is one tougher contestant for Rafa that the desperate bots (not the regular sensible fans) should pin their hopes on. The toughest one, without whom Rafa’s slam count would be higher (probably about 3 higher at the moment, and counting) and Roger’s lower, and same with other records of Rafa which would be higher also than they are. It is the same competitor who will in good part decide how successful and long the rest of Rafa’s career will be, including how many more slams and master 1000’s trophies.
It is of course the born-with foot problems (with which most of talented tennis players would not even have made it into the top 100) and as a consequence the later knee problems. No other competitor has given Rafa as much of a challenge for so long. Some bots like to frame this challenger as entirely self-induced: the physicality of Rafa’s game (and claim that is pretty much all there is to the 13 slam holder).
How is Rafa’s H2H against this toughest competitor? I would say it is challenging but so far Rafa leads this H2H by quite a margin so far.
As to H2H against ALL top players? Unheard of.
chloro,
You asked a question about whether Rafa won Queens and Wimbledon. In 2008, Rafa won RG, Queens and Wimbledon. He is the only player to have won all three consecutively in the same year. Another one for the history books!
chloro, that’s exactly it. Without the impediment of injuries no one would have been able to touch Rafa. In 2011, Rafa was Tennis-weary, he just needed a rest from it which luckily he was able to have because of his knee injury in 2012.
He was constantly homesick because he’s been on the road since he was a teenager. I read in his book that he always had a sinking feeling when he boarded the plane at the start of the season every January. The 7 months off has got rid of the homesickness.
Another game for MILOS!!!
🙂
#ForClayQueen
Well Done, Milos. You’ve exceeded my expectations.
Well, queen, that really didn’t take much now did it. 🙂
Milos was 1 for 17 on BPs. The one BP converted was match point. Sooo many UEs dumped into the net. Needs some serious “head” work.
#SetTheBarLow
haha the BP he converted was MP? epic.
Conspirator,
Nice to see you go back to your TT name here. or perhaps you could switch to a new one: HashTag :-).
And as you know, even before 2011 Rafa quite often missed tournaments or had to retire due to injuries. The first major time was back in early 2004 (or was it 2005) when he had a break in his foot bone and was told he might not be able to compete again. Some other players were sidelined a number of times (Haas, Murray, etc.) but none of them have done anything even remotely close to Rafa’s achievements in their healthy stretches (sorry Deucy). If Roger or Novak had had some congenital foot problems and ensuing knee problems, how would their resumes to date look like? I know, I know, not suppose to bring up hard objective facts :-).
Well….Andy does have a congenital knee problem.
Andy’s knee doesn’t actually affect his game, does it? Not many people even know about it.
How can you possibly know that? Just because Andy doesn’t complain about it and put match losses down to it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t effect him.
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
Deucy,
And Andy has been sidelined a number of times of the years with injuries. Roger on the other hand not, and Novak neither. It was about the two of them that I ask how they would have fared …
i think it is a distraction rather more than a hindrance. You will notice he often puts his hand to his knee and is frequently seen flexing the leg.
The article below gives an explanation of the condition and why clay is the worst surface for him – interestingly it was not diagnosed until after he had moved to train in Spain.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/oj5abxj
It has often struck me as an anomaly that Djokovic, who used to retire from matches at the drop of a hat, should prove to be the least prone to injury amongst all the top players.
There was a running joke at one point that he was on his way to achieving the Career Retirement Slam: the only Major he had not retired from was the USO.
After Andy Roddick ridiculed* him about his retirements they suddenly ceased.
* it was cruel but my golly it was funny
Yes, Andy does have a knee problem. Both my faves have flawed bodies , extraordinary skill and dedication and are humble. Andy generally looks like he is secretly mourning something and doesn’t think it proper to express any joy. Rafa is sunny off court and fierce on court.
But when Andy does smile, wow, it is great! And I love his understated humor.
Rafa seems philosophical. Don’t know about his sense of humor as humor depends on language and culture. Who knows how humorous Rafa is when he is with his spanish friends and family? But whatever he says in English is honest and wise. and that is basically what he is.
@ Holdserve
I know what you mean about humour not necessarily being translatable between different nationalities. But I reckon Rafa has got a dry sense of humour and even with his broken English his replies to questions can be quite droll. A favourite of mine was after the 2009 WTF, asked how his year had been, he replied: ‘…….well it’s been very up and down……” then after a slight pause he shrugged his shoulders, lifted the eyebrow and with a smile added “……but mostly down.”
But this is my absolute favourite: I’ve posted this link before I know but it bears watching again. it’s also a reminder of the progress he has made in English since this interview.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SdfhhYJsJ8
Rafa speak volumes with those shoulder shrugs.
Footnote: As we now know, Nole did eventually find a way to beat Rafa on clay but never at Roland Garros!
NNY,ed,holdserve and all fellow posters, I have previewed the Quarter finals for Kuala Lumpur …do give a read 😉 even though the matches are by no means interesting haha…hope everyone is doing well
https://tenngrand.com/2013/09/27/kuala-lumpur-qf-previews-and-picks-wawrinka-vs-tursunov-ferrer-vs-sousa/
vamosrafa,
That was a really good read! I just can’t get used to seeing your real name! I am so used to vamosrafa, that I forget it’s not your real name!
It’s nice that you are pitching in to help Ricky with match previews. I haven’t been able to watch anything, because the tennis channel doesn’t cover these tournaments until the quarterfinals. So from now on, I will be able to watch. Needless to say, I agree with your predictions.
It’s something to occupy us until Beijing.
haha yeah maybe i should have called him “vamosrafa” in the article’s introduction!
Good stuff vamosrafa. I agree with your picks but not the score lines.
I’ve voted for both matches to go to three sets.
I’ve watched quite a few good Bangkok matches via the ATP channel catch up service. but their coverage of Kuala Lumpur doesn’t start until today.
ha ha , ed, that was a really funny link!!! Thanks!!!
This is one of my recent favorites that shows Rafa’s spontaneous wit. It’s from Montreal this year where he’s being interviewed by Jene Rene Dufort. Rafa’s reply when Dufort says that people on the street tell him he looks like Rafa is quick and funny. It even cracked up Dufort. Rafa is also known to be quite the prankster (like his phone text to Andy a few years back where he pretended to be a love interest, knowing that Andy was at dinner with his girlfriend). Anyway, here’s the Dufort bit.
http://youtu.be/3VB3RRwVwvA
vamosrafa, very professionally written. But I expected no less from you. I am looking forward to your previews for China Open!!!
Jpa: I’m not sure I get the Dufort brand of humour but agree Rafa entered into the spirit of it and handled the exchanges with great aplomb.
As always happens I got drawn into watching other clips that came up and I absolutely adored one which I’ve never seen before – beautifully edited footage set to the song Your Very Own Lullaby.
Do watch everybody if you dont know this one. It’s very moving.
Ed, I’m glad you brought my attention to the Lullaby video. I, too, had never seen that one. Great footage and so well edited. Rafa is a sight to behold….absolutely unfathomable that some do not find his game, or him, beautiful.
Glad you found it and enjoyed it. Could watch this one over and over again.
Stupidly I didn’t include the link for people:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sph-XbfVyiA
This one is a more recent one…it has a nice footage too and I absolutely love the song (counting stars by onerepublic) and all the momentum change in the begining.
I’m just in love with this video…can’t stop watching 😉
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMzj08Fo0Do
I wish these Fedfans would shut up about Rafa already, Now Bodo says Rafa MUST win WTF because Novak and Fed have won it. Must, really? It’s always Rafa win this, win that to earn their recognition. Talk about over-estimating one’s own importance, imbeciles. They need to concentrate on what their favs MUST win and leave Rafa alone.
Oh, that was beautiful! Nothing more to say.
Yes, that is another beauty.
What strikes me anew each time I watch these compilations for 2013 is the look of utter joy and sheer wonderment on Rafa’s face. So different from the satisfied (sometimes smug) expression of Roger – not too many of those this year – or the blatant triumphalism of Djokovicr – also in shorter supply recently.
Pressed ‘send’ before I finished. Was going to add that Andy shows a lot more emotion during a match after making an unforced error than he does immediately after his big wins e.g. After the USO win when he stayed crouched in disbelief for 15 secs or more after the final point. Even at Wimbledon, and when he won the Gold medal, he was pretty low key about it all.
ed, I think Andy is always so conscious of how the loser must feel, after all he’s has had enough experience….that’s why his winning celebrations are always so muted.
In fact the most joyful on court I’ve ever seen, was when he whacked Ivan with the ball at that exhibition match at queens.:)
Would HATE him to be any other way.
I remember having the same thought during the Marsden exho. Gleeful wasn’t in it.
Great videos…thanks guys for share them 🙂
Another one that I like is this one below, he’s speaking spanish, so he is very relaxed…and it’s an interview for a Brazilian comedy show, so it’s funny!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBkJPno4ruM
Rafa has arrived in Korea. He signed autographs at the airport (in Seoul), as he usually does:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1239947_435283696592479_296544547_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/1374781_435283723259143_738952242_n.jpg
(I forgot that a comment containing more than one link doesn’t go through. It goes into a moderation queue. I repeat my comment, splitting it into two parts – one link per comment)
Rafa has arrived in Korea. He signed autographs at the airport (in Seoul), as he usually does. 🙂
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1239947_435283696592479_296544547_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/1374781_435283723259143_738952242_n.jpg
The Australian Open trophy goes on tour! The tour is meant to promote the AO and it’s supported by its major sponsor KIA and long time partner Lacoste. KIA is also Rafa’s sponsor.
Rafa will take part in the Trophy Tour kick-off event in Seoul on Friday. Another Rafa-Trophy reunion in January would be joyful! 🙂
Australian Open International Trophy Tour itinerary:
Seoul, Korea: 27 Sept
Singapore: 29 Sept – 2 Oct
Beijing, China: 4-7 Oct
Shanghai, China: 8-10 Oct
Guangzhou, China: 12-15 Oct
Shenzhen, China: 17-18 Oct
Hong Kong: 20-22 Oct
http://rafaelnadalfans.com/2013/09/27/rafael-nadal-to-be-reunited-with-australian-open-trophy-norm-in-seoul/
@ NNY, hahaha… cannot blame you for not getting used to seeing my real name , I would get the same feeling if you start posting with your real name, so used to Nativenewyorker ! Thank you soo much for the good words, highly appreciated 🙂 🙂
@ed, thanks ! and yeah the matches could go to 3 sets, esp the wawa-tursonoc…good chance that tursunov takes a set off wawa
@holdserve, lol, you are always full of praise and I will try hard to meet your expectations ,now that I know you have high expectations from me lol
@Ricky, hahha..thanks for giving me the chance to preview and yeah, I can see its not easy for everyone to get used to my real name haha
I am sure everyone will get more used to Hasan Murad, but dont worry vamosrafa will always be there in the comments with you guys 😀
@augusta, clayqueen, rafaisthebest, jpacnw,duecy and All other fellow posters , would like all of you to give a read 🙂 I feel the urge to get my previews read ,hahah.. esp from my long-known pals friends from TT 😀
p.s, all sorts of constructive criticism most welcome !!
I think it is very brave of you to take on the task. Particularly after all the ribbing poor Ricky gets.
PS: We’ll be bit more gentle with you ?
vamosrafa@September 27, 2013 at 10:13 am
I’m sorry, I have little interest in the current tournaments.
I am only interested in how many points T.Berdych will earn in Bangkok. Rafa’s possible opponenent in the QF and SF of the Shanghai Masters is dependent on Berdych’s ranking after the current tournament.
I look forward to your first episode. You know me, I will take to my keyboard the minute Rafa is not given due regard. Lol
Good Luck!
CapouPascap , Ed, Jpacnw thank you for all the videos ,good fun 😀
cannot wait for beijing ! Rafa and nole will be there… Rafa will come out and play pretty aggressive tennis I am sure…
How many of you think rafa will recalim the no.1 ranking in beijing? he just needs to reach the final and it will be his…I am keen to see the draws when they come out
If it were anything but indoor hard court I would say 90%. As it is I’m only cautiously optimistic. However, I’m mindful of the guys fighting for a place at WTF who will be pulling out all the stops. Hopefully they will take out a few people in Rafa’s path.
ed251137@27, 2013 at 11:42 am
The Beijing Open is an outdoor tournament:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/tournaments/beijing.aspx
I’m with ed here. Even if it’s an outdoor tournament as you say augusta, it’s a pretty fast hard court as well. It makes me a little worried..but I’ve never been such an optimistic anyway, I think it’s a part of my routine as a fan 😉
Best of luck Rafa! Vamoos again!!!
and somebody described augusta8 as the reuters of the tennis fan community and I agree 100% ! and its a much quicker version of reuters lol… love all your updates on rafa, keep this up
More news on Rafa. 🙂
Rafa was surrounded by kids in Seoul on Friday:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.633502380004248.1073742105.148883365132821&type=1
It was KIA’s event ‘Kids Day’.
@12.05pm
Thanks for the info Gussy.
I was thinking all the Asian Swing was on indoor courts. In that case it could come to pass. I just don’t want to see him overdoing things though. I’m not that hung up on the World No.1 scenario and all the extra pressures that brings.
ed251137@September 27, 2013 at 12:58 pm
The Shanghai Masters also is played on outdoor hard courts.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Tournaments/Shanghai.aspx
yup,both beijing and shanghai are outdoor…so I am confident of rafa doing well…shanghai’s court is also a medium paced hard court
Rafa is in Beijing.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1378456_633681263319693_13452040_n.jpg