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

75 Comments on Rafael Nadal

  2. A recent article from just last year by Steve Tignor (an obvious Rafan) who I believe is the best journalist in tennis…

    “This morning, walking around my apartment, I could hear that familiar Chatrier roar from my television set before I turned to look at it. One point would be followed by sounds of joy and hope, the next by a disappointed hush—the French sound sad when things aren’t going their way. This time the crowd was obviously rooting hard for someone; I assumed it was one of their own. When I started watching, I was surprised to see that their flavor du jour was Dominic Thiem, a 20-year-old Austrian. How many people in the audience had seen or heard of Thiem before today? No matter, they were firmly on his bandwagon. It’s understandable. The kid, as his opponent would say later, “has everything.”

    But while they may have liked Thiem’s one-handed backhand, that wasn’t the biggest reason they were rooting for him. They were rooting for him because of who he was playing: Rafael Nadal. The world No. 1 may be an eight-time champion at Roland Garros, but his earliest nickname in Paris was “The Ogre,” and the image among tennis fans in France has stuck. Even more amazing than Nadal’s 61-1 record in Paris is the fact that virtually every match he has played there has been the equivalent of an away game in team sports.”

    http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2014/05/winning-road/51597/#.VTZxjyFVhBc

    This is a great article. It speaks for me and I believe for how most real Rafans feel about the French crowd.

    Stuff that “article” in your “database”. 🙂

    Vamos!!!!

    Reply

  5. Read below if you are interested in something more than endless fan selfies, Instagram and who has more facebook likes… 🙂

    A red hot Novak Djokovic is being tipped to end Rafa Nadal’s stranglehold at Roland Garros in June but the Spaniard dismissed the threat as being no different to those he has faced before.
    The Serbian world number one has been an unstoppable force in recent weeks, winning 17 matches on the bounce and becoming the first man to win the season’s first three Masters title. He comfortably beat Nadal on his beloved red clay in last week’s Monte Carlo Masters semi-finals, and the nature of Djokovic’s 6-3 6-3 mauling means plenty are backing him to complete his collection of grand slam titles this year by winning his first French Open.
    Djokovic and Nadal shake hands
    Djokovic and Nadal shake hands – AFP
    But as far as Nadal is concerned, 2015 is no different to 2013, 2012 or even 2011. “Djokovic was good in 2011, in 2012, 2013 as well as in 2015. Sometimes you win more and some you win less,” Nadal, who has triumphed at the French Open in nine of the last 10 years, told reporters at the Barcelona Open. “It is difficult to win everything all the time. Djokovic was as good then in 2011 as he is now. He had an impeccable year in 2011 as well as he is having in 2015. “I have to congratulate him. [RAFAEL NADAL NO LONGER SEEN AS THE FAVOURITE AT ROLAND GARROS] “The rest of the players have to accept that at the moment he is the world number one with all he has achieved this year,” added Nadal, who has had a patchy year after making his comeback in January following another lengthy injury and illness break. “This year I have to do things right, get back to a very high level to face him on the court,” Nadal said. “Tennis-wise, I feel a lot better than a few weeks ago. I am going to try to get as far as I can and to play as well as I can, topping the level I showed in Monte Carlo.”

    http://www.eurosport.com/tennis/rafael-nadal-i-am-used-to-threat-posed-by-novak-djokovic_sto4685768/story.shtml

    Reply

    • The competition for Novak in 2011 was tougher than it has been so far in 2015.

      Roger was 4 years younger. Nadal was in better shape and younger, just hampered a bit by a tough start of the season… that cold and then the hamstring injury at AO. In the spring clay season Nadal’s confidence playing against Novak was eroding. By the start of RG he was at the lowest level of motivation for competing we had perhaps ever seen him. Somehow he got himself increasing his motivation some and his playing enough to make it through the first week of RG and ending up with his 6th RG crown.

      This year Roger and Andy for the most part are not much competition to Novak. Nor has anyone else been. Except that Rafa has been coming back from a long time away from competition and from competing against top 10 players.

      The change in play from Rafa last week and the change in his public self assessment speak loudly: he doesn’t do mind-games nor exaggerating anything positive about himself.

      In other words, the next part of Novak’s 2015 will be different in having his toughest adversary (Rafa) coming back to his more usual levels of confidence, fitness and match fitness. It will be harder to win titles now.

      Reply

      • Murray is not going to trouble Novak at RG, nor will Ferru. However, Nishikori, Fed, hell even Seppi can take Novak out on a good day at RG.

        Only one person who can take Rafa out at RG: Novak. But even he ain’t got a cat’s chance in hell in 2015.

        Reply

      • Ricky really said that?

        Okay, an argument in favor of fed being the biggest threat can be made but rafa is potentially the biggest threat. well, he’ll be much more than a ‘threat’..mind you. I tip rafa to win two slams this year. That is what I feel, I know there should not be an asterik mark on predictions but I have one for this: rafa MUST win RG.

        Reply

  7. Since when is Ferrer a threat to Novak? In what universe? As for Murray, he has shown that he’s not ready yet to step up mentally and maybe even physically. As well as he’s played this year, he can’t seem to make a dent coming up against Novak. As for Fed, his best days are behind him. He’s done well to get back to #2, all credit to him. But he is still 33 and there will be more early exits such as happened in MC and in AO. He may get a win here and there like he did in Dubai, but he’s not beating Novak in slams where it’s best three out of five sets.

    As for Nishi, when he’s on his game he is capable of taking out almost anyone. If he stays healthy and continues to play quality tennis then he has the potential to beat Novak. However having said that, I do not expect to see a similar result to last year’s victory by Nishi over Novak at the USO in the semifinals.

    Rafa is the only real threat to Novak. We saw what he did in the MC semis and that was Rafa who was not at his best yet. He can take the measure of Novak in a way that no one else can. I am really encouraged by Rafa’s words. He knows what it takes to beat Novak and believes that he can get there. He sounds more confident and overall positive about his game and prospects.

    Reply

  8. Yes, I am posting this under Rafa’s thread because it is talking about Rafa’s charisma even though it is more about Novak’s lack thereof:

    http://www.tennis-prose.com/bios/its-called-charisma-dah-ling/

    It’s Called Charisma, Dah-ling!
    Posted by Dan Markowitz in Bios, Dan M
    .
    “I loved the Djoko-Nadal match up on Saturday because even though Djoko won and he’s the dominant player in the world, Nadal has that charisma that most of the players on the ATP Tour do not have today. Watching the Djoko-Berdych finals on Sunday, I found myself not as captivated even though the match was a finals and went three sets. As good as Djoko and Berdych are, they don’t have that X factor, charisma, dah-ling. Their matches are like museum art, beautiful, inspiring, but lacking real animus and gravitas. They’re both such pretty boys, but the camera doesn’t lie. Maybe that’s why there are so many slides off the players and onto their model-thin wife/fiancee looking tortured in the stands or onto Boris Becker, a player who had real presence and still does. It almost feels sometimes like Boris wants to just jump out of the stands and his tired and racked forty-something and grab a racquet to show Djoko and Berdych what real impassioned tennis playing looks like.

    Djoko for all his prowess and insane talent, just isn’t a totally absorbing presence on the court the way Nadal is. The bronzed Spaniard has the tics, he has the face of a warrior; he has “Vamos.” Djoko, on the other hand, has his gumby-stretches, his drop shots and his precision shot-making, but his face, his presence isn’t as dramatic as Nadal. So when Djoko plays Berdych, who’s an awesome figure with thigh muscles like a body-builder and ultra-powerful strokes, but he also lacks the drama of intensity, I find myself not as intrigued in their match up.

    There used to be a time, when I was a kid, where Johnny Mac would face Jimmy Connors or Guillermo Vilas or the enigmatic one, Bjorn Borg, and those were fascinating times. Mac like Nadal, was always ultra-aware of his surroundings. If anyone upset him, opponent, linesperson, umpire or fan, he’d lash out. Nadal reminded me of this the other day when some fan yelled out something he didn’t like and he stopped his service routine and gave the fan a stern look. Connors had that rock n roll stature, even with the Beatles’ cut hair, he was all kinetic energy even with the way he walked and tapped the toes of his sneakers on the court as he did so. Borg had the Nordic stare, the hair, the headband, the sleek body and the godly strokes. Vilas was this Argentinian manly-man with the windmill groundies and looks of a poet.

    Djoko is like his nearest peer, Andy Murray, they might be slam winners and two of the greatest players of all time (of course, Djoko far exceeds Murray), but they lack gravitas. It’s like the difference between what separates a true movie star (Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford) and a not-quite-ready-for-movie-star-status actor, more of a character actor. Murray is appealing, but his game is too robotic and his visage is too Beavis and Butthead and his constant berating of his box is immature. Djoko has come a long way, but there’s still something lacking in his ability to captivate and completely draw in an audience. There’s the screwy way he looks when getting ready to return serve. There’s the too-perfect stature and the aristocratic way he struts around the court. He’s just not a player who excites avid emotion or die-hard fan devotion except for his inner circle. That’s why Djoko needs a Nadal or a Federer or even a Tsonga or Monfils, two players who will never win a slam but both have that X-factor in spades, to make his matches classics and fully watchable.”

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  9. I have to confess, I didn’t watch the final not even the recording that I had set before Rafa lost; (a) because I was too upset that Rafa lost to Djoko and (b) for the reasons expressed above. I just find Djoko and others too boring. Djoker looks silly when he tries to do the Rafa fist pump, because it’s not him.

    In the flesh, there is absolutely no contest in the charisma stakes. Rafa just stands out. If you saw him and didn’t know who he was, you’d take another look. The others just blend in with the crowd. Murray has more presence than Djoko. I’ve seen them all up close in A. Dhabi a few times. In Doha, all the other players could walk across the grounds but Rafa had to be taken around in a golf car because of the throngs of people wanting to see and touch him.

    I’m looking forward to the real Nadal showing up to make me enjoy tennis again.

    It’s not about being #1. No matter what rank Rafa is, he is the man everyone wants to see.

    Reply

    • I confess I only watch Novak when he is playing Rafa, Murray or Fed. Can’t be bothered otherwise. Which means I am actually tuning in to watch Rafa, Murray or Fed. Nothing draws me to Novak, nothing. I made an effort to watch the MC final but come the rain delay, I bailed out!

      Reply

  12. Too much optimism on this thread regarding Rafa, some like VR even tipping him for 2 slams.

    I sincerely wish all of this comes true and I will be ultra happy with RG & Wimby. Please me Rafa 🙂

    Reply

  14. as I said before Fed can be a real threat for Novak…Andy and Ferrer pose no threat to Novak in any tournament let alone RG…IMO Isner can be more trouble to Novak and these two…Nishikori could make it difficult for Novak as he possesses the style of play which does not suit Novak…However we all know no matter which fan brigade we belong to Rafa is the biggest threat to all of them and this RG as well as all the previous ones will be on Rafa’s racquet…

    Rafa will peak when the RG comes along…he will just be ready…I bet he will continue to have the tough draws…although it makes Rafa’s life difficult and for us his fans it means constant pressure to watch him play these opponents who live for the opportunity to beat Rafa, I will take it…Rafa needs challenge and tough matches to grow stronger and to prepare for the RG…

    I consider RG 2015 more important to Novak than ever…this year he will do his all to win it…if he fails it will be a slap in the face that he will have trouble recovering from…so I see this RG as more pressure on Novak than on Rafa…

    Vamos Rafa!

    Vamos Rafa!

    Reply

  15. funny, I only type one Vamos Rafa and it shows twice in the post…something strange happening with my comp…probably it itself cheers for Rafa .. 🙂

    Reply

  16. Reading some of the threads…I’m amazed that some people are talking at this stage about Nadal winning Wimby… I guess typing is free….

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    • I think Rafa’s gunning for another channel Slam @Shireling1, he’s playing 2 grass tournies before Wimby, 2. Some tuning up for Wimby!

      Reply

      • Why not try to get as ready as possible now that there is an extra week and he might arrive at Wimbledon in a better post-clay shape than in the last few years. If he is (still) very fit then and the knees are not bothering him too much, it will be down to confidence. If that all lines up he is one of the few possible winners.

        Reply

  17. Rafa needs to earn 440 more points than Nishikori does from now until RG to maintain his Top 4 seeding at RG (and just 90 more than Raonic, which shouldn’t pose a problem).

    Also Rafa needs to earn 910 points more than Berdych (who is probably the dark horse threat to the No. 4 spot). Berdych had a great clay tournament last week and is currently 2nd only to Nole in the Race to London. Quietly impressive.

    Ferrer could also surpass Rafa unless Rafa earns 210 points more than him.

    Reply

    • Tomas has been quietly consistent this year so far making three finals and three semis. His worst performance being a QF loss to The Maestro.

      Will be interesting to see how he does in Rome and Madrid. Yep, Nishi and Big Bird are the ones to watch for Rafa in terms of that No. 4 spot, which no matter what anyone says, is a strategic advantage in the draw.

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      • Agree, a high seeding is important for Rafa at RG since he traditionally plays better the deeper he goes in to a tournament. Would be disastrous for him to meet Novak in the quarters!

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      • Not necessarily disastrous. Hopefully Rafa will be match hardened enough by the middle of the second week of RG if he makes the final (why shouldn’t he?) and Novak has been drawn into his quarter (randomly :-). If so, he would be less tired then than at the end of the week, no?

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      • Nothing I would like to see better than Rafa dispatching Novak in the quarters or earlier at RG @chloro! But remember, unlike Masters 1000, Slams have a day’s rest in between matches so I do not expect fatigue to be a factor for Rafa come RG.

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      • At the same time, should Rafa meet Novak in the quarters and win (and thus be in fine enough mental and physical shape) … then the semi and final should not cause huge problems, no?

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    • Correction: 1055 more than Raonic so even Milos is no clay specialist but even a semi and a QF performance from Raonic would require Rafa to earn at least 1600 points (i.e., win this week plus two finals).

      It is tighter than it looks ATM.

      Reply

  18. In his comeback in 2013 he played very well prior to RG so he must have been at least ranked 4th. This year… he missed almost all tournaments since last RG until recently.

    910 more than Berdych will require winning more than one of the remaining clay tournaments, or making all finals, no? and Berdych not making ‘many’ finals… I’m guessing without looking up points etc. Winning 500 points this week should help.

    Reply

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