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

68 Comments on Rafael Nadal

  2. I don’t see that there is a massive difference in the competence of the Big 4 in their ROS in it’s various forms that’s why I think it’s a little bit churlish to say that Murray or Djokovic are far ahead of Rafa. Rafa praises many players about different aspects of their game but that does not mean it should be taken at face value. When Rafa makes these statements, he is usually just paying compliments to a player not because he doesn’t think he is as good or better than them in those aspects of their game. Rafa praises Fed as being the greatest in history knowing that Fed has trouble beating him.

    I just don’t like sweeping statements which are more to do with people’s imagination and wishful thinking that reality.

    Reply

    • After AO 2012 Rafa says:

      “Is something unbelievable how he returns,” Nadal was quick to point out in his post-match interview. “His return probably is one of the best of the history. That’s my opinion, no?”
      “I never played against a player who’s able to return like this. Almost every time,” Nadal said.

      That is more than just paying compliments and I do take it at face value. If I’ve learned anything about Rafa is to take pretty much everything he says in his opinion at face value.

      #Subjective

      Reply

      • The federazzi don’t take what Rafa says at face value. This is a myth spread by the federazzi. Why support this myth created by the federazzi that what Rafa says about other players is not his sincere opinions.

        Seriously though, even stats on return points/games won have to be used carefully. For example, you need to consider the rank or quality of the average opponent each player has faced.

        Ferru’s impressive return pts. won pct. is skewed by the fact that his average opponent’s ranking. Over the last 52 weeks, Ferru’s opponents have a median ranking of 39 compared to 22 for Djokovic’s opponents and 29 for Rafa’s. This is because Ferru on average gets eliminated in earlier rounds and lower ranked opponents are easier to break, for sure, no?

        Reply

      • I never said Rafa was not being sincere I said it’s more of a compliment in the heat of the moment than a substantive reasoned statement based on evidence.

        Your point about taking into account the average ranking of their opponents goes for every other statistic.

        Reply

      • I know.

        However, Nadal’s message on Nole’s ROS is consistent and repeated (not just one moment) so it is his opinion that he’s never said about anyone else since playing Nole.

        Nole’s ROS is insanely good.

        #Gumby

        Reply

      • hawkeye, that is a very smart point ! and the statistical backing (median ranking) makes it a solid point.

        Murray was asked on a show earlier this year that who does he think has the best return in the game… The interviewer mentioned novak but andy responded with … David Ferrer’s name ! He says ferrer has the best return in his view…

        Rafa has a weaker ROS in comparison to ferrer,djokovic,murray. It’s quite visible. Comparing RETURN GAMES is ,however, a different ball game. Rafa’s return game is too damn tough

        Reply

      • yup…. I agree with hawkeye… murray and ferrer also have awesome returns but for rafa, djokovic is the toughest one. Rafa praised murray’s and ferrer’s return but never in a way he praises nole’s return.

        I remember how frustrated I got in USO 2011 final when nole started returning literally every serve on the baseline !

        Nole’s return had so much impact that rafa was forced to change his serving patterns completely. He has had to build new patterns over time to counter nole’s return. Rafa is an absolute genius. he just finds an answer to every single riddle. It’s just a matter of time before rafa conquers the demons

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      • Thanks hawkeye…this is exactly what he said. It is very obvious he rates Novaks ROs right up there, respects it a lot and ofcourse it is logical, when it is right up there..it is feared to do the damage..Is that not logical?

        It is very obvious to the naked eye that Nols ROs is far far better than Rafa..there is no doubt about that.

        Is Rafa a God or Almighty ? Can he not have fears, vulnerabilities like everyone else? What is the issue I just do not understand.

        Reply

      • “Is Rafa a God or Almighty ? Can he not have fears, vulnerabilities like everyone else? What is the issue I just do not understand.”

        No Sanju, how dare you mention the words fears and vulnerabilities next to rafa’s name??? are you out of your mind? Even though the guy himself says he is often full of self-doubts and that he feels it is quite normal to have doubts. But you just cannot mention it ,ok?

        What the issue is? the issue is that some people are hell-bent on creating an issue out of absolutely nothing. They cannot discuss tennis and HAVE to resort to the same old crap.

        By now, Sanju, I hope you have realized that you are a Federrazi. How long will it take for you to understand that? 🙂

        Yes , it is very obvious to the naked eye how good Nole’s ROS is.But that’s not what a rafa fan does ok? You must work to hard to find some facts and use some totally illogical logic to prove every aspect of rafa’s game is matchless. otherwise, never all yourself a rafa fan !

        Ok, enough of this. Sanju, speak what you want to because this is recurring. You are not the only one saying it. ignore and discuss tennis because that’s what you do very well 🙂 🙂

        Reply

      • vamosrafa@July 10, 2014 at 4:09 am
        — the issue is that some people are hell-bent on creating an issue out of absolutely nothing.. They cannot discuss tennis and HAVE to resort to the same old crap./…/
        Sanju, I hope you have realized that you are a Federrazi—

        vamosrafa, I wish I understood whom you are writing about. I never understand your indirect accusations. Why are you writing about people commenting here, not about tennis?

        hawkeye63 has created the word ‘Federrazi’, he knows it’s definition.

        Reply

      • oh please, I am not leveling any indirect accusations. Ironically, The one who ‘wishes’ she understood is the one who reacts the most so there is nothing indirect here.

        Federrazior rafa detractors or fake fans bla bla bla.

        I do not talk about tennis? sorry? As always, I WAS discussing tennis until that same old crap was brought in again. So tennis discussion is my thing and it is quite visible.

        Reply

      • brought up *

        honestly, if the ‘loyal’ or ‘undiluted’ club here is done with rating every rafa fan here as either federrazi or a rafa detractor or a fake fan or part of a ‘lynch mob’ (MY GOD), I hope this is not talked about again.

        I will be VERY GLAD not to ever talk about it if the loyal club stops targeting.

        I will be much happier to discuss tennis, tennis , tennis (esp related to rafa) and tennis.

        #HopeThisHelps
        #EndIt
        #WasteOfTimeForAll

        Reply

      • vamosrafa@July 10, 2014 at 5:44 am
        —The one who ‘wishes’ she understood is the one who reacts the most so there is nothing indirect here—
        —Federrazior rafa detractors or fake fans bla bla bla—

        😯

        Reply

    • rafaisthebest (at 10:37 pm),

      The most important thing for the writer of this article is Rafa’s loss – it’s mentioned 11- 12 times! Was she/he venting frustration caused by A.Murray’s loss? :developer:

      Reply

    • @augusta08 don’t worry, I am adept at “throwing shade”! I “looked” at the article for the hot Rafa pics only! The drivel, I just pressed my favourite keyboard button, SCROLL DOWN! Comes in very handy too when it comes to posts on here not worth reading……………..

      #ScrollDownButtonIsYourFriend

      Reply

  9. @hawkeye,

    Thanks so much for your post @ 1:51 pm! That was the point I was trying to make when I said that stats can be deceptive. You indicated in a more precise way exactly how that can happen.

    Reply

  12. Spain couldn’t make the final, Argentina do. Rafa will be happy because Pico will be happy. I am happy because Rafa and Pico are happy.

    What a wonderful world it is!

    Reply

  13. Argentina or Germany?? Easy-peasy: Argentina, mai oui!

    Can’t wait to see BB go beetroot red when Germany loses……………

    Vamos!!

    Reply

  14. RT @picomonaco: “Alemania : con estos 23 guerreros no te tenemos miedo !!!! Vamos argentina !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Corazón huevos humildad y coraje !!!”

    Reply

  15. Tommy Haas just followed Delpo on Twitter and his first tweet is:

    RT @TommyHaas13: “You are on @delpotrojuan , sorry, but I do believe we got this one 🙂 Good luck to you and hope recovery is coming along.”

    #TennisTrashTalkIsSoMild

    Reply

    • I was rooting for Holland last night 🙁

      I couldn’t help cracking up with laughter every time the commies mentioned
      ‘Messy’ and ‘Classy’. It took some minutes before it dawned on me they were talking about Messi and Clasie not describing the play 🙂

      Reply

      • I was conflicted actually. I wanted Holland to win for Van Gaal, the future Manchester United Manager (my team) and I also wanted Argentina to win for Pico. My choice was made easier when Argentina started winning! 🙂

        Reply

  17. It is interesting to note that in 2014, rafa’s return game, as usual, has been phenomenal. he has won 35.6% of return games and is only behind Ferru who has won 35.7%. Andy is 3rd at 32.5% and novak is 4th at 31.0% . Rafa’s return game has been very much on.

    However, it is interesting to note that his service game win rate as NOT been upto the usual rafa standards ! Last year he 3rd ( behind Isner and Raonic) ,having won 88.1% of service games. This year he is at 15th !! He has won ‘only’ 85% of service games ! It is federer who has picked up his service games won % and is 3rd at 91% (last year it was 87% for him) behind Isner and karlovic only. Novak has also won a very impressive 88%.

    Rafa’s 85% is much inferior to his 88%, 90%,88% in 2008,2010 and 2013 respectively. He HAS to get this number higher and reach at least 88% because his peak years have seen him do that. He got unlucky in the beginning of the year when his back acted up and THAT affected his serve a lot. Hence there is this deficit. Even then, I would say that rafa has not looked so assured on serve and he has often gotten broken out of nowhere. His serve has been getting better ,though, as the season has progressed.

    Keep improving, champ ! vamos !

    Reply

    • @vamosrafa,

      Thanks for the facts and stats to back up your observation about Rafa’s service game win rate. I do agree that his back problem likely contributed to his stats going down this year. But I also believe that he has to address this issue as we head into the North American hard court season.

      Oh and the comment from nadline was an insult. Just like the “lynch mob” comment, which is particularly offensive to those of us in America. That’s a phrase that we just don’t throw around because of our history.

      You should feel flattered, because when someone has nothing of merit to say to refute your comment, then they resort to cheap shots.

      Reply

  18. I am confident rafa will work on his areas of development and emerge as an even better player. He is the master of winning 2nd serve points but I would like to see his 2nd serve delivery being more effective and rafa and Toni know that too….they have working on it…

    When rafa was threatened against Rosol, he came up with 95-97 MPH 2nd serves at times and his average 2nd serve speed for that match was 91 MPH. usually, it is around 88 MPH. In the USO 2013 final it was 89 MPH. The differences are marginal but with further incremental improvements, Rafa can create the winning edge.

    His ROS is also a work in process. I am hopeful of seeing improvements in that area too.

    Reply

    • vamosrafa- I will tell what I feel irrespective of whether I am called any names. It does not affect me. I dont pay attention to that at all 🙂

      As long as someone is not getting personal, I am fine if people bracket me in any category, it does not change my love and wishes towards Rafa.

      All I am trying to say is Rafa is not perfect neither is Fed or Novak. Rafa has few areas of his game superior to Fed and Novak just like NOvak/Fed have few areas of their game better than Rafa(Novak – ROs, BH and Fed – serve)

      Reply

      • @Sanju,

        Well said! However, I do believe that it has gotten personal. As I indicated above, the use of the phrase “lynch mob” has very negative and inflammatory meaning in America. There is no question about that.

        I am happy to know that you will continue to speak your mind. I also agree about your thoughts regarding Rafa not being perfect. Neither are his rivals. If we can’t discuss the aspects of his game that may need improvement, then there’s no point in having a tennis forum.

        Reply

      • There are always two sides to an argument and some people are always on the wrong side.

        #undiluted Rafa koolaid drinker

        Reply

    • @vamosrafa,

      I think you make some good points. I tried to check out the speed of Rafa’s second serves in his first few matches at Wimbledon. As you said, he did increase the speed against Rosol. I think that was a big key for him in that match.

      I have said for a while now that I wish Rafa could strengthen his second serve. I just think it puts less pressure on him to make first serves. Novak has a really strong second serve. I was trying to check out the speed of his second serves in the final and noticed that he served 104 and even 108 mph at times. Even the ESPN commentators mentioned it. He usually serves in the 90’s % with his second serves.

      It may well be the back injury that compromised Rafa’s serve. Maybe that was why his second serve seemed more attackable. But you mentioned his delivery and that’s an interesting observation. I remember when the tennis channel replayed the 2013 RG semifinal with Rafa and Novak. I thought that Rafa served exceptionally well in that match. I also think that both his serve and ROS were outstanding in last year’s North American summer slam. I think that helped him run the table and win everything up to the USO.

      Reply

      • Sorry, I meant to say in my previous comment that Novak usually serves in the 90’s mph with his second serves!

        Reply

    • ^^Hehehe, I have a love-hate relationship with the Daily Mail! The snob in me says it’s trash, don’t read but the Rafa-ogling, trashy me cannot resist the pics! And yes, I also ignore the write-up and go straight to the comments section……….

      Reply

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