A semifinal showdown between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal was not entirely unexpected when the World Tour Finals draw was revealed. But the script took a twist in making the matchup come to fruition, as Nadal won his group while Djokovic finished second in the other foursome.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will be squaring off for the 46th time in their careers when they collide in the World Tour Finals semis on Saturday afternoon.
Interestingly, Djokovic has a chance to level his head-to-head series against both Nadal and Federer this weekend–the latter in a potential title match. The world No. 1 is 22-23 lifetime in his rivalry with Nadal, but the margin has become increasingly closer on a consistent basis. Djokovic has won all three of their meetings in 2015 and seven of their last eight overall. He is 15-6 at Nadal’s expense on hard courts, including 3-2 indoors and 2-1 at the O2 Arena.
“We (have) played so many times,” Djokovic assured. “I’m going to get ready for that one and hopefully I’ll be able to play at my best.”
Djokovic’s best has been on display almost entirely throughout what will go down as a dominant and historic 2015 campaign, which features three Grand Slam titles. During round-robin action this week, however, the top seed did not showcase the same level. After crushing Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-1, Djokovic lost to Roger Federer 7-5, 6-2 and underwhelmed in a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Tomas Berdych on Thursday night.
Aside from his two most recent matches, however, there is little to dislike regarding Djokovic’s chances heading into championship weekend. He is 80-6 for the season and is the three-time defending champion of this event.
Nadal has never won the year-end championship, but he has already done something this week that he had only accomplished once previously in his career. For the first time since 2010, the fifth-ranked Spaniard compiled a perfect 3-0 record in group competition. He drubbed Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 6-2, rolled over Andy Murray 6-4, 6-1, and outlasted David Ferrer 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4 on Friday afternoon.
As well has Nadal has played, the relatively suddenly improvement in form is more likely to pay eventual dividends in 2016 than on Saturday against the toughest of opponents. Facing Djokovic on an indoor hard court–even a slow one–is simply not a good matchup for the 14-time major champion. Having spent two hours and 37 minutes on the court with Ferrer, while Djokovic had the day off, also will not help.
As Nadal said of his opponent, “All the positive things are for him.”
Pick: Djokovic in 2
[polldaddy poll=9189460]
I don’t see Djokovic wining in straight sets, looks like that on paper though.
I have Djokovic in 3 with at least 1 tie break, the only reason i don’t have Nadal wining is because I know he will break on important moments.
In my opinion Djokovic is droping his level and Nadal is coming back but still not enough to beat Djokovic on his mental game.
Well, my pick was a Fedal semi because Nole was supposed to win Smith Group.I’ll pass on this pick. (on cyber paper)
My heart won’t let my head pick this one.
VAMOS RAFA NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!
On this week’s form I’d say Rafa 60/40; on the law of averages because Nole is a lucky old so and so, I’d say Nole 60/40.
When nadline says Rafa 60/40, you know he’s in trouble.
I am more objective than you think. I’m a realist; I know Rafa will have to fight for a win. There is a lot in it for both of them.
No. You’re likely even less objective than I think.
hahahaha
Nadal in 3 sets. Djokovic would be having pressure to sustain the level he has been showing since the start of 2015. Just imagin if rafa had Federer’s serve, he might have won 18 grand slams up till now. Because that serve would have given him so many free points resulting less injury.
Funny you should say that. That’s a question Rafa was asked in Australia a few years ago – which of Federer’s shots would he like and he said his serve.
Federer’s serve is probably second or third only to Isner’s and Ivo (in that order).
@nadline really Rafa said so? Look I know what rafa really needs. 🙂
That’s like saying, if Roger had Nole’s BH, he probably would have amassed 25 grand slam titles till now!
Not true. A good serve is certainly more important than a good DHBH, winning you cheap points in only one shot.
How would Fed amass 25 slams? Novak with DHBH couldnt beat Rafa at the FO until this year, I doubt Fed with a DHBH would beat Rafa at the FO when Rafa was at his peak! Rafa beating Fed on grass and HC slams not because of Fed’s SHBH, the court surfaces dont favour Rafa’s style of play. Its more of Rafa’s movements, speed, power, spins, tactics and focus that beat Fed more often than Fed beat him. IOWs, its in Rafa that Fed had met his match – one who could match him in many aspects of his game except for his serve and his varieties at that time , and one who could exploit his weaknesses.
Also Rafa let us had a glimpse of what a big serve would do for him at the slams, ie USO2010. So, its not unreasonable to expect him to do better than what he’s doing now in his career had he gotten a big serve.
Ive not seen Fed playing with a DHBH and I’m not sure even if he had one, he would hit it as good as Novak; IOW, its not proven. The DHBH had its limitations too, which I think its why Fed sticks to his SHBH. There are players switching from DH to SH BH, like Thiem; Tsonga seems to be keen in hitting some SHBH too having a weak DHBH himself.
im really contemplating putting $200 on nadal to win $1000. Nadal is a five to one underdog. I myself believe he has no chance based on him excerting himself today and may not have enough left for tomorrow. But maybe nole will have another bad day with many UE. But then again i think this is a suckers bet. The bookies think he has no chance and are confident enough to put out +450(average)
Beating Nole and Fed b2b indoors at those odds just goes to show how good Rafa is (when he’s still not back to his best).
Think about this from Stan’s point of view for just a second. Stan could get to the final without having to go through Nole o:
If he gets by Nole (who hasn’t been all that great this week), Rafa will beat fed on this slower than Basel court.
Beating nole would be HUGEEE.
Exactly. Fedal final. Advantage Rafa.
^This. I do think that if Rafa beats Novak. he will beat Fed. But it’s not an easy task. Taking on Novak is going to be tough. But Rafa has improved so much and I am hoping that he can take it to Novak.
Novak Djokovic on playing Rafa:
We have played so many times and even a couple of times on this very court.
He has played great in his first couple of matches and hopefully I will be able to play my best. That is what is needed to beat him.
********************************************************
Rafa on playing Novak:
I have to play my best if I want to have any chance, that’s what I’m gonna try.
Against Novak, I know what I have to do. But be very difficult to make it. Is a big challenge. But I am not worried about it. I am happy about the things, how are going.
I cannot go crazy. I cannot go on the court and thinking that I have to do something that I cannot do it. I going to try to play my game. I going to try to play aggressive. I going to try to be strong mentally.
Rafael Nadal fans
My comment @ 6:08 am was in response to Hawkeye’s post @ 8:22 pm.
My flipa-dime-on pick is complete!
Ended with a wrong pick.
Congrats to me!!!!!
Reblogged this on Tennis Abides.
I can’t ever vote against Rafa. I’m always rooting for him, regardless. I just think he has to keep on really “believing” in himself, and he can get back to the peak again. Vamos, Rafa.
I’m with you Bille.
From henceforth, Majesty decrees never to pick against Rafa ever again even though antijinxings make it difficult.
@ Billie,
I agree…that is why I never bet against Rafa…I can’t pick against Rafa…
I think the “belief” is crucial for Rafa’s game…if he has it in himself, he can beat anyone…
Obviously the belief can come only when he knows he can rely on his game. The hard practice he has been putting in is having results. His forehand and backhand are better but his serve is still vulnerable. But against Djoko, what is critical is to be aggressive like Fed and Stan. He must mix it up and keep Djoko off guard. I used to earlier get annoyed when Fed would say “the match is on my racket”. Now I understand what he meant. Rafa must have that approach when he faces Djokovic.
Come on , rafa, you have to take it to Novak tomorrow.
I will be really happy if he can just play some nice aggressive tennis. i want to see that forehand rocking novak’s stable game. Rafa will return from close to the baseline most of the times and if he can get his serving patterns right, it won’t be easy at all for Novak.I expect rafa to challenge Novak tomorrow. Rafa’s the clear underdog but he can benefit from that and play freely.
Hit your inside out forehand more aggressively, rafa, and DO NOT overdo the body serve coz Novak read most of them in Beijing. Just keep him confused.
Even taking a set off Novak would be big success. VAMOS!
Rafa hit some really good backhand slices against Ferrer. if he can hit some clever slices against Novak, he can construct points with both his forehand and the backhand. He has developed some patterns over the years. Only needs to hit decent-good quality slices. I hope he uses that smartly tomorrow.
I’ll be happy if he can manage not to sweat like a leaky tap.
vamosrafa,
That’s interesting, because you have been very critical of Rafa’s slices. I thought that they were effective against Ferrer, but Novak is a whole other beast.
But I do think that Rafa will know what he has to do. Nobody needs to tell him that he must serve well. He will know that he must try to win the battle of the baseline so that he can control and dictate points.
I will say that I am expecting this match to be competitive. I think Rafa is at a place where he can do it, even on this court. I don’t put much faith in this idea that Novak hasn’t looked great this week. He always goes up another gear when he gets to the business end of tournaments. I expect Novak to come out playing really well.
I can’t ever bring myself to pick against Rafa. I know that Novak is the favorite in this match. Rafa already said that he will have to play his best. I would like to see a 3 set match with some real drama and great tennis.
All I can say is – good luck, Rafa!
NNY, yup, he knows what to do and I hope he can put it all together today. novak deals with slices efficiently but he is not the best in dealing with them. Players can draw relatively attack-able or at least neutral balls by playing good slices against him. Rafa’s even done that by using slices with not much bit as long as they are deep in the court. I hope he can intelligently use those patterns. USO 2010, AO 2012 are some examples.
Djoko in 2 easy sets. Hope i am wrong 🙁
I have a good feeling about the match tomorrow. Whatever the result, I know Rafa will do us proud.
Keep your mind sharp and focused, stay confident, be strong and fight fiercely, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CUU0h1qUEAAEZHb.png:medium
Rafa is more relaxed when he is the underdog; he’s already surpassed the sceptics’ expectations; his objective for the year was to qualify for the WTF which he achieved and each win has been icing on the cake. Proof of this was the unbridled joy after his win last night in a match which had no bearing on the WTF title. I had a lump in my throat watching his reactions and realising just what it meant to him to have overcome the demons which were threatening to torpedo his career.
All of which is to say I share the view of those who believe the moment may have arrived when Rafa is put to the test and beats the most feared player of the year.
Rafa for the win in 3 sets.
ed, I agree. Rafa will be relaxed today, he knows he is on his way even if he doesn’t win this match. The pressure is on Novak because should Rafa, the underdog all year, beat him it would just take the shine off his stellar year.
Vamos Rafa!
The pressure is certainly more on Novak and rafa will, hopefully be relaxed. he has already set the tone for 2016 and all that he wins from now is just a bonus. I hope he can play his best tennis . His baseline game is more ‘ferocious’. If he can pull this off, it would be perhaps the best victory of 2015 !!
A victory over Novak will definitely be Rafa’s best victory this year, you can’t do better than beat the World #1. Rafa has already beaten the World #2.
Rafa wont relax, its his nature when in a big match. Its unlike Beijing when he had no expectation, this time he may have some after doing so well vs the no.4 and no.2 guys.
Its very important that Rafa doesn’t hit too many short balls; Novak had said before that he could just wait for Rafa’s short balls and they would come and so Novak could take advantage. They know each other’s pattern of play, but if Rafa plays with the mindset he had in 2013 at Montreal and never give an inch to Novak, ie hugging the baseline and not letting Novak to push him around, he’ll have better chances of winning.
@ lucky,
great post! Well said!
Yup, you are right.It is not in his nature to relax before big matches….
I think Rafa was a bit slow in his match against Ferrer…it may be that he was not mentally in, but also Ferry caught him by surprise: Rafa did not expect Ferry would fight back so hard in the dead rubber and ceratinly did not foresee Ferry going at every shot like it was his last..in the end Rafa had a lot of match practice and the match with Ferry was nothing but a good preparation for Nole…after all they have similar style of play: run at every ball until the opponent (in this case Rafa) drops a short ball or commits another error…
it’s sufficient to say that Rafa’s serve must be on a higher level in this match…however, sometimes Nole returns Rafa’s first serve better than the second, depending on how will Rafa mix it up…so you never no…
I just hope Rafa will play agressive tennis…I hope he does not revert to his defensive play as he did during the first and the second set with Ferry…I hope he implements similar strategy as he did against Wawa pushing Nole back and not allowing him to play his comfort game…it will be difficult cause this is Nole but if we put it this way: Wawa troubles Nole more than often, Rafa destroyed Wawa, why then not expect Rafa to beat Nole in the similar fashion.. 🙂 we can hope for the best!
Vamos Rafa!
“He DRUBBED Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 6-2”
love your terminology, Ricky! 🙂
Ricky, you will be there right?
Nole will step up when he sees Rafa on the other side of the net. Beast mode Nole in 2.
Djokovic on rafa:
“He’s starting to miss less, serve efficiently, use his forehand much better. I know that. I’ve been watching. I know what to expect.”
I hope he is suprised by rafa’s improved play.
no question about it…Nole will be up to the task…but I expect Rafa to do the same…and this Rafa is different than the Rafa who played Nole in 2015…so I expect a competitive match at least…and then who knows…
Rafa failed to reach GS semis in 2015…this is the first GRAND semifinal he is in…I expect him to fight till the end…
I am off to the O2! see you there rafa!!
Yes….Beast Mode in straight….but will be a great match to watch!
Rafa having a tough time with his serve.
Gosh, I would be happy if its not a bagel at this rate 🙁
The problem with Rafa, he couldnt take the ball early like Kei, he waits for the ball to come to him, by which time Novak is ready to hit his next shot. Too much playing on clay has led to his problem on the HCs.
His serve can’t bail him out of troubles, a very difficult match up for Rafa. Not looking good for him, got to think of ways to move up into the court.
I can see Nadal Winning in 3 sets despite of slow start. Djokovic will not continue to sustain level. Djokovic peaked too early in the match.
Okay, Rafa is on the board.
yay!! One game 🙂
Its amazing how far ahead of Rafa Novak is at the moment. Toying with him. Rafa cannot anticipate Novak’s shots on either the BH wing or the FH wing. Novak has a better serve, much much better return and better movement on this HC. How on earth can Rafa win unless Novak’s level goes down drastically 🙁
The problem is with Rafa’s serve. Djoko could just serve aces at will while Rafa struggles with getting in a first serve. Djoko has a better serve so more difficult to return that, Rafa’s not so hence Djoko can return Rafa’s more easily.
Rafa could learn to return on his BH by going DTL, going CC and Djoko would’ve anticipated that.
True that might as well lose the point on his terms y trying to go DTL than to lose the point on Djokos terms by having to move around the court. Worst part is looking at Djoko, it seems he is functioning at 80% and still getting the job done comfortably .
Vamos Rafa! An easy service game. Need more of those though Novak made three UFEs in that game
Aaargh. Cannot watch this
This set is going by fast. I hope that Rafa can find a way to turn things around.
But then you’ll argue that it was Novak’s level that dropped.
No, what I have said is that Novak goes up another gear in that latter stages of tournaments. But it doesn’t appear that he is even doing that.
beatdown city!
No NNY, Novak did up his level, his serve and BH speed had gone up. Rafa being pushed around the court now. He has to move forward and he just wins a point coming forward in his service game. He HAS to come forward!
I doubt so, if he continues to be tentative. He cant serve well so that’s the main problem. With a better serve he could’ve dictated play during his own service game. Rafa and his team look clueless how to deal with Djoko.
^This. Yes, I agree.
I agree Luckystar. Rafa’s serve is a handicap atm he needs to work on it. ND has just served a DF.
Vamos Rafa!
Not even a deuce game on the Djokovic serve. Rafa getting a taste of what he has done to opponents on clay in his haydays
All good workshop exercise for Rafa.
Vamos!
The 1st set:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CUV-fMLWUAEgtFD.png
🙁
The 1st set stats, Part 2:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CUV-_doWEAATf2F.png
No, it’s business at usual. Rafa needs to make adjustments. Vamosrafa said he needed to vary his serving. He’s making it too easy for Novak.
Stats show not enough winners and also serving not good enough.
More than the loss, it is the manner of loss that would cede mental real estate to the Djoker. If Rafa takes the fight to Djoko like he did in USO 2011, AO 2012 or MC 2013, at least Djoko will win with some doubts in his minds that the dynamic may change at the next match. However now it seems each time , the Djok gets more and more comfortable beating Rafa. At the moment even Murray seems to put up more of a fight v Djoko
Rafa’s serve was much better in those years.
This match may be over under an hour 🙁 No way I am watching a Rafa djoko match until Rafa manages to get a win again
vmk1,
I agree with you. This is why I hoped that this match would at least be competitive. That would be an encouraging sign. If it’s just another lopsided easy win for Novak, that’s not a good thing. I do think that Novak is not only comfortable with Rafa, but extremely confident.
yes it,s going betough for,however he has come a long way.he is improving tremendously and rapid at that.
well, not rapid…..
There was only one break in the first set though. Rafa has been losing his first service game in nearly every match but doing that against Novak is terminal.
Vamos Rafa!
Rafa is not playing as well as he can. He’s got Novak in his head again.
The expectations are so low now that I would just like to see Rafa break serve once
And the commentators are not helping by harping on and one about how Rafa has lost a streak of sets and none of the sets have been closer than 6 3
Yes, it’s quite annoying.
At least Rafa held serve in his first game in the second set.
Another hold for Rafa. At this point, I would just hope that the second set will be tighter.
Yes! 🙂 🙂 Closer than 6 3 at least
Wow Novak is doing a good job at exposing Rafas weaknesses his serve and his court positiing I’m general this is so hard to watch but he is at least playing better in the second
I wish Novak would go away. Retire or something 🙂
Vamos Rafa!
Courier is talking about how Novak is winning more points on his first serve than Rafa.
Rafa has Nole in his head…it’s main problem…
That is the problem. How can the supposedly the most mentally strong player on tour have his main rival in his head. Its like the supposed GOAT having the lopsided H2h against his main rival
how about Rafa vs. Fed? You think Fed as GOAT material doesn’t have Rafa in his head…please…
Nats, of course. of course, Roger has him in his head, I am saying how ppl make a case for his GOAT hood though the h2h is so lopsided
Rafa is just making far too many errors when he does have a chance to attack. I think Rafa will be very disappointed with his performance.
Rafa retum on serve is just so so can’t find thewords
Hey, how about just not good enough? Unfortunately. 🙁
Rafa is unable to get into Novak’s service games and put any pressure on him. Novak holding too easily. That ends up putting even more pressure on Rafa to hold serve.’
Rafa always needs at least a set to warm up. I think the second set should be more competitive. Djoko’s serve is so good making it hard for Rafa to read and return. I hope Rafa can break Novak’s serve asap before getting to the 7th or 8th game of the second set. If not it will be game over for Rafa in straight sets.
It’s not looling good for our Rafa.
Rafa not in Novak’s league. Period
Give him time. He will fathom it out. Not today but he’ll get there. Djokovic has done his homework and Rafa is being too tentataive. When he does try to be more aggressive the execution is letting him down.
GSM
its over. No more momentum going into the offseason.
That last point really sums it all up. He just kept hitting to both corners and then finally Rafa blinked. So now Novak has the break in the second set.
Gosh!! That was insane. Novak, how does one beat you
Federer will show you how again tomorrow.
Seriously what happens to Rafa’s serve? Why is he serving so badly the whole tournament? Without the serve, how is Rafa going to compete with Novak the best returner of serves??
Rafa also hasnt a clue on how to return Novak’s serves.
The sreve is just a symptom not the problem.
Rafa just doesn’t seem to able to hang with Novak. That last point really showed that.
You don’t think Rafa can hang with Stan either.
Listen up people, do you hear there?
Rafans focus on Rafa and pretenders focus on Rafans.
And it makes me wonder.
Its so strange, almost gratifying to see all the Rafa fans so bewildered. Almost resigned to the sealed fate of their champion. It’s just a full circle life has brought you all to be a part of a period when Nadal is no longer a contender at tennis biggest events. This happening rather quickly too. He surely is no more a contender for the GOAT title either. All this why, only because as I can see from all the Rafans comments above, due to his perceived inability of being able to beat Djokovic. Isn’t it ironical and poetically justified that the legend, Nadal nearly destroyed and took almost all the glories away from is the only man who stood and is still standing in the path of Nadal’s tormentor( Djokovic). So now you would probably understand that just a bad matchup does not necessarily take away or should I say be allowed to take away the achievements and greatness of the man, in that situation. I suppose by now we all know I am talking about the genius, that is Roger Federer. The man who has single handedly upset Djokovic’s dream of having one of if not the greatest seasons of all time. Let’s hope you can lay to rest all your anger and anguish and disillusionment aside and learn to live with the realities of your Champions limitations.
Listen up people, do you hear there?
Rafans focus on Rafa and pretenders focus on Rafans.
And it makes me wonder.
Also please be more concise and learn about paragraphs.
I didn’t get past the third sentence.
Huh? Isnt Stan the man who singlehandedly upset Djoko’s dream of one of if not the greatest season of all time, ie 2015? What has that got to do with Fed?
Also, wasnt Rafa the man who single handedly upset Fed’s dream of one of if not the greatest season of all time, ie 2006?
Rafa needs to know this he needs a new coach ASAP THIS IS NOT WORKING ANYMORE
What a pathetic dispay from here I cant see Rafa ever winning a GS bcos his game is not up to par, I never dreamed I would ever see Rafa so lost on a tennis court
have been saying this all year mona….ie about the new coach…
All I wanted was for Rafa to at least make this match competitive. Seeing Novak doing it so easily one more time is hard to watch.
Wont be surprised if Rafa breaks his first racquet when he plays against Djoko. If not today, some time in the future
he will never do that…not with Novak or anyone else…it is the way Rafa is brought up…high respect for Rafa!
Yup 🙂
this is pretty embarrassing tbh…
i’ve said over and over that his serve doesn’t cut it…
his forehand has been very poor today as well…
not constructing the points well..
nole has been good but he hasn’t been challenged at all…
amy,
Yes, this is what is so frustrating. Rafa didn’t push Novak. He made it too easy for him.
nny, yes. nole was in a completely different league today. am inclined to agree with mona that rafa should bring in new people…have been saying that all year and i don’t think toni is the answer..certainly not to rafa’s problems with serve…vr has said that and i agree
Why cant Rafa always serves like in this game? Why must he wait till hes down and almost out then he starts serving well to hold serve? Why dont serve well all the time?
Rafa is not used to play inside the court and has problem timing his FH. He seems losing some power on his FH.
Because the serve is just a symptom.
I want this to be over quickly. I can’t stand listening to Koenig drooling over Djokovic any longer.
the forehand is the barometer of his game: when it goes off as it has done today everything implodes…
so much pat-a-cake tennis from him today
& the forehand going off is a sure sign this year that he is nervous…not handling his emotions on court..
Rafa wasn’t able to hit his DTL forehand in this match. He also was defending on almost every point. Novak got the good court positioning and controlled the points.
was worse than that nny, he was hitting routine forehands into the net and shanking wildly
And he is not trying anything new move to the f*&%ing net cease camping on the baseline I mean my god even berdych did a better job than Rafa
^This is true. Rafa wasn’t able to make adjustments and change his tactics. Novak was able to hit to both corners, running Rafa back and forth.
Oh man. I think its going to be a break here to win the match
Has anyone noticed that he is not going for the towels after the points ?
since when did nole learn to lob??
Come one Djoko. THis is not done. Please do not embarass our Rafa 🙁
I record all Rafa’s matches on DVD and only keep the ones that he wins. This one is going straight into the bin.
Vamos Rafa!
Rafa seemed helpless to do anything, while Novak had all the answers. This was not pleasant to watch.
You don’t think it’s because Rafa was not interested in the match?
no break points for rafa and nole had a couple of dodgy service games….unable to make anything happen
Masterclass from Djoko. Rooting for him to win the trophy. Rafa it has not been your day or year. Next year if Djoko is taken out by someone, Rafa has a chance
congrats to Nole’s fans!
Nole played brilliant tennis today…Rafa outplayed in every corner…Novak is in Rafa’s head…otherwise it would have been closer…Rafa is getting there…it’s certainly better than 6:2 6:2…
Vamos Rafa!
Rafa will be disappointed with his game today. Novak hardly put a foot wrong and when Rafa had half a chance he flunked it. I’m sure he’ll work hard befor the next season starts.
Vamos Rafa!
Rafa can never beat Novak again not even on clay thank u uncle tony
Rafa won all his matches but yet failed to make it to the final what is the point what a disappointing end to the year hope he does one serious thinking in the off season bcosnext year won’t get any easier!!
I do feel with regret, that Toni has wasted a piece of fine material in his hands by not maximising its full potential. Its a pity, for I feel Rafa could do better than what he is doing now and what he has already achieved.
Of course that’s not to say Rafa is doing poorly in his career; what he has achieved is already phenomenal by any standard esp on clay and Toni should take some credit for that. We as fans are feeling that Rafa should and could do better than what he’s doing and achieving now; however, Rafa may not think the same way and he most probably would be thankful to Toni for helping in making him the successful player that he is now.
Hopefully they really can come out with a good strategy to deal with Novak despite the limitations that they have , ie Rafa’s almost non existence BHDTL, not so great serve and returns, and now not so quick movements.
The O2 has never been, and i doubt ever will be, where Rafa has been comfortable.
But if was disappointing to see him hand the match to Djokovic in that manner. I just hope and pray this doesn’t sap his fragile confidence.
TBH Ed I don’t think that it will. Still a good week overall. He lost this match between the ears and he’s still two steps forward with just one step back.
Rafa doesn’t need to change his game drastically. He needs his 2014 AO level back before he hurt his back.
His problem continues to be mental but it’s slowly improving.
A guy like Cahill would have him improved at a faster rate.
Thanks Hawks for those encouraging words. It was disappointing at the time but with perspective not surprising. There was never going to be a quick-fix solution to the problems he has been facing for the best part of two years. Most people think the answer is to change the coaching set up but i’ve never believed that is the answer. It would be against his nature and could just as easily be counter productive. Too many cooks spoil the broth and all that.
i know I’m swimming against the current here but in my view Rafa has to be allowed to do it his way with the help of the people he trusts. You, Chloro and myself are told we are armchair psychologists and thus not qualified to pass an opinion on what might have been the cause of the slump in his performance. But lack of coaching qualifications does not prevent a large number of people from holding very firm views and passing judgement on what Rafa needs to do and who he should appoint to help him do it. Just saying.
l
I agree that it’s against his nature and could be counter productive but his nature is partially responsible for where he is now and he has to be willing to try new things to fix his main problem. Progress is too slow. His funk started two years ago.
It’s time for a change or perish.
ed251137 says:
November 21, 2015 at 6:23 pm
—You, Chloro and myself are told we are armchair psychologists and thus not qualified to pass an opinion…—
===
.
Opinion? I don’t know who you are writing about, but as for me, I have written: “Armchair doctors have NO right to deliver a DIAGNOSIS to other people!”
If my memory serves me correctly. other posters have written the same. (Evidences are available in the Grandstand archives if you wish to see them.) Hawk has given Rafa a DIAGNOSIS!
I have given a personal opinion which someone thinks is a diagnosis.
Listen up people, do you hear there?
Rafans focus on Rafa and pretenders focus on Rafans with nothing to add about Rafa’s game or tennis.
And it makes me wonder.
The match stats, Part 1:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CUWJ7HZVEAAQ5a1.png
🙁 🙁
The match stats, Part 2:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CUWJ-5uUkAIcQI0.png
ed,
Yes, I am one who believes that we cannot diagnose Rafa’s problem from our armchairs. However, that is not the same as saying that no one has a right to say what they think. I may disagree, but people are entitled to say what they think. That is always the case.
We all have different ideas and thoughts about what Rafa should do. Some think he needs a new coach. You think that could actually create problems. Some thing he needs a sports psychologist or someone trained to deal with anxiety or loss of confidence in competitive match play.
I don’t know that anyone is right or wrong. When it’s all said and done, I know that for myself I want Rafa to be able to compete with Novak and take it to him and win. I pretty much knew that this match might be a bridge too far at this time, but I was truly hoping that Rafa would at least make a match of it. That did not happen and it was painful to see Rafa being bossed around the court with Novak virtually toying with him.
One more thought. I am inclined to agree with hawkeye that Rafa must make certain changes or perish. We can disagree on what changes should be made, but clearly he needs to do something. We’ve seen other players do exactly that. Fed got the bigger racket and let Annacone go and brought in Stefan Edberg. He’s also got this SABR, but I don’t know that it’s been all that effective. He has become even more aggressive with his game.
Novak brought in BB and initially was the subject of ridicule. But it seems to have paid off. He also used a sports psychologist and the gluten diet to help him improve. After Novak lost to Rafa at the 2010 USO, he realized that something had to be done if he wanted to challenge him. He made adjustments and changes. So has Murray in bringing in someone new after adding Mauresmo. I believe that Murray has a psychiatrist or some other professional on his team.
Changes are necessary as a player ages in order to remain competitive. Rafa seems resistant to any change, but I think hawkeye put his finger on it. There is no other choice.
That is unusual. Rafa actually won more second serve points than Novak in this match. But all one has to do is look at the percentage of first serve points won – 54%! Compared to Novak winning 89% of first serves.
Not enough winners from Rafa. But look at Novak’s winners to UE’s. He had 20 UE’s in this match.
Yes, time for the sad face. 🙁
rafa had 4 forehand winners and nole 10 – that has been the story of the whole year…
rafa has developed an amazingly complex relationship with his forehand..if it starts to go off he loses confidence in his whole game and seems to lose the ability to think on court
amy,
Sorry, I just posted the same thing about those stats without seeing your post!
hey dont worry!! those stats do stand out
in any case, congrats to nole fans…especially to ratcliff who isn’t here right now…
nole has had a great year and is doing special things on court
I think the second set of stats is also revealing. Novak had 10 forehand winners and 9 backhand winners to Rafa’s 4 forehand winners and 1 backhand winner. Also, Novak was winning the longer rallies.
That was clinical, nearly close to perfection game from Djokovic. Nadal didn’t play badly, but he needed to pull out something extra special to win today and he didn’t have the guns for it today. Remember this is indoor, the worst surface from Nadal. As Djokovic just said in the post-match interview, they adjust their games to the surface. It might be a bit more competitive next year on clay etc.. Something Nadal could have done better today is start better on his serve. He should be able to serve first serves from word GO on that crucial first service game.
Also, Nadal should deal better with the drop shots given by Djokovic. Djokovic is probably one of the best drop shot player of the game, but Nadal did reach the ball every time but played the wrong shot straight on Djokovic who then lobs him. This is not the first time I see Djokovic lobbing Nadal after drop shotting Nadal. He does it again and again and again in every match.
Also, Nadal completely stopped playing down the line forehands in the second set. And he should try to be more patient with the rallies, with his forehand: he had played some amazing forehands that Djokovic’s amazing defence has put back, causing Nadal to miss the next shot. Nadal should be used to this resilience and expect to hit 5, 10 , 15 amazing shots in a row against Djokovic.
Finally Nadal could have returned better. He didn’t put enough pressure on Djokovic’s serve who held comfortably a lot of the time.
All this said, this was one of the best performances of Djokovic against Nadal. He got the tactics right.
But I wouldn’t be worried for Nadal. I can see him improving further more in the off-season. He will probably work on serves and consistency in serving, and I really hope he learns how to deal with these drop shots thrown at him.
1) Rafa couldnt return better because of the way Novak serves. He simply couldnt get a good read on it.
2) Rafa’s serve is his own main problem this tournament. I cant imagine what happened to Rafa’s serve. Its no point practising it well but couldnt serve well in a match and when under pressure. Where has Rafa’s good enough (though not great) serve gone?
3) Rafa seems to lose some power on his FH. He has to flatten his FH and adds in some power in order to succeed on HC. Novak hits a flatter FH and has more pace and depth on it, Rafa doesnt have the pace due to more spin put in.
4) Novak has read Rafa’s game like a book, knows exactly how Rafa returns the drop shots, how he serves, how he rallies etc.
5) Rafa is not going to beat Novak playing the same old way. Its not that Rafa doesnt want to come forward, he’s not allowed to by Novak; without a good enough serve, he couldnt move forward at will too.
6) Rafa is always camping at his BH corner, things never change so Novak, even Ferrer, has/have successes against him by attacking Rafa’s FH corner. Its strange that despite all these, Rafa is still doing the same thing, ie still camping at his BH corner and allowing his opponents to attack his FH. He’s now no longer that quick to cover his FH corner, something he has to come to terms with and not refusing to accept as truth.
7) Novak tries as much as possible to step inside the court to dictate play and he’s usually at the centre of the baseline dictating play and direction of the ball. Rafa couldnt do that.
8) Rafa just couldnt take the ball early the way that Kei could. He waits for the ball to come to him, that gives his opponent time to come forward and as a result Rafa feels rushed. Novak, Kei and Ferrer can just do that to Rafa on the HCs.
Rafa’s game is made for clay. He has to move out of his comfort zone if he wants to compete and beat the other top players on the HCs. I think he should concentrate on clay and plays less on the HCs if he’s not going to change the way he plays on the HCs. He’s not getting any younger, time to pick and choose what he should play to get the best results.
Luckystar, agree with you on Novak reading Nadal’s game like a book. Also, you’re so right about Nadal being late on covering his FH corner and on him giving so much time to Djokovic to adjust and hit the shot he wants.
Im very disappointed with the way Rafa played this match and the Ferrer match. From these two matches i can see that Rafa just couldnt deal with aggressive play on the HCs. In the past he could by being quicker, more powerful and more confident and at the top of his game, not so now. He even allowed Ferrer to dictate play on the HCs!
He didnt serve well, even though first serve % was 70, he’s not winning many of those. Without a good serve he’s not going to win the big prizes on the HCs. Im now resigned to the fact that Rafa will never win the WTF.
He’s now owned by Novak yet again! After fighting so hard to turn things over, Novak has now surge ahead again. The H2H levels now, and Novak owns Rafa on the HCs, 16-7, more than Rafa owns him on clay at 14-6! Rafa better concentrates on clay and tries to gain some grounds there. Its really a terrible feeling for Rafa and his fans, to see Novak toying with him and finishing him off so easily without even breaking sweat.
never winning the WTF is inconsequential. He needs to worry about adding to his slam count.
^This! That’s the issue. If Rafa cannot find a way to challenge Novak and be competitive, then he cannot win another slam. That’s what I was thinking as I watched the match. He must find the answers when it comes to Novak.
+1 to that. However it is Rafa’s worst year and Novak’s best. Anyway things cannot get any worse
Could be much worse for Rafa.
lucky,
In your last sentence you said what I was feeling while watching the match. Even the tennis channel commentators were saying something similar about Novak toying with Rafa. Novak didn’t even have to play great because Rafa did not push him or challenge him.
I felt that Novak would win today, but really hoped that Rafa could at least make it competitive. Again, it’s the way Rafa lost.
Such a shame Rafans were not allowed his victory over Stan but were being told that it was due to Stan not trying. I feel sad about that.
Vamos Rafa!
Listen up people, do you hear there?
Rafans focus on Rafa and pretenders focus on Rafans.
And it makes me wonder.
Such a shame Rafans were not allowed to enjoy his victory over Stan…………..
it’s the ROS that did the whole damage…Nole’s ROS is amazing and with it he just takes control of the point whether it’s Rafa’s first or second serve…Rafa being less confident of his own game did not help either…I think this match is way better than Beijing…Rafa was wining points on Novak’s serve in the first set…but at crucial moments Rafa would make an unusual error (or to be precise an error “usual for 2015”) or Nole would just implement a great serve to bail him out…
Rafa is in the right track…too bad he did not get to meet Fed this time cause I believe he would have beaten him or would have been close to beating him…it would make it clear that it’s only Nole Rafa needs to figure out how to beat…he certainly is back when other players are concerned…that is a very good prospect for 2016…
Nats gets it.
Rafa’s serve is simply not good enough. Novak couldnt do that to Fed or Stan for example because both of them have better serves than Rafa’s.
I feel Rafa was playing better at Beijing, at least Novak couldnt toy with him there. Novak had to take risk there, painting the lines to win points against Rafa. Rafa was also serving better there and he was more aggressive. I think the difference is Rafa at Beijing was playing freely with no expectations, here at London, after winning all RR matches to reach the SF, he may harbor some hopes of winning. He’s certainly more tight in this match, not serving well made things worse.
Was Novak playing better in this matcb than at Beijing? I feel Novak also played better at Beijing; here he wasnt even being pushed and so he neednt even play all that well.
Both Rafa and Nole won higher percentage on the second serve in this match than in Beijing…total points won for both players where exactly the same in that Beijing match and today 41% for Rafa and 50% for Nole…the only difference is in the return statistics where Rafa was just bellow par today: 11% 1st return points won vs. 39% 2nd return points won for Rafa whereas in Beijing it was 30% vs 50% respectively…
I think Novak played brilliant match today…painting the lines and serving better than in his previous matches…he was too good for Rafa but Rafa is getting closer…
Like I previously said on another thread, Nole will toy with Rafa, if he didn’t improve his service.
More than that, their recent matches have also showed evidence of Nole preempting every shot of Rafa as if he knows Rafa’s game plan inside out.
Even today, Nole had almost anticipated every shot and every serve even before Rafa had set himself for the shot. Novak looked around 2 steps ahead throughout the match.
All this points to one and one thing only : Rafa’s plan has become too predictable. Serving with more power or more consistent FH alone will not solve the issue. He needs to break his pattern of play. For starter, I would like Rafa to follow almost every alternate down the T serve with a S&V approach esp on the deuce court. Secondly, can go for flat serves on his 2nd serves esp. when in 0-30 or 15-30 hole. Thirdly, 2 or 3 consecutive sliced BH’s to Nole’s FH.
The only thing that troubles Nole is the unpredictability of his opponent’s game. That’s why Fed and Stan have troublem him more in the recent times. They don’t have set or favourable patterns of serves or groundstrokes, always changing the pace and direction of the ball.
Absolutely agree on Novak anticipating Nadal’s game! Even as I was watching, I felt I knew where Nadal was playing his shots! Plus his slices today were completely inoffensive, I have the feeling every time Nadal uses the slice against Djokovic in a rally, the chances he has of winning it is 2 %, specially when he hits them like he did today. Reminds me of US Open 2011 final for some reason.
Incorrect.
This was far from Rafa’s best game.
yep…Rafa was bellow par today…he just was not ready for Nole…his statements before the match indicated that he never believed he could win…and that’s enough said…
I think he will take positives from the week as he should.
14 times GS champion is absolutely outclassed. He needs to climb mountain to recover his deficit playing Nole.
By next year Novak might have 13 to 14 slams. Who would be greater player by then.
And your point is??
Yes, I did think that Novak was ready for every shot from Rafa as if he knew what was coming. Rafa has become way too predictable with his shot patterns. Novak anticipated everything and had the answers.
As it’s been said here, Rafa’s camp don’t have any answers against Novak. It’s completely nonsensical because Fed is showing the way and still they come up with the same game plan over and over.. Novak is the reason why Nadal’s tennis brain went into overdrive and if he doesn’t find an answer (I think he needs to add someone else in the mix case clearly U. Toni isn’t helping) he might as well be content with maybe winning RG again if Novak is out for some reason.
just met the legend vamosrafa
epic!!only good thing about today so far….
A true and real Rafan.
Then your day is now complete! 🙂
Pictures?!
Vamos has one
If you see Benny say hi from augusta and me.
LOL… was great to meet you , Ricky!
Vamos Ricky and Vamos Tenngrand!
The game plan is fine but the execution is poor.
With rafa playing like this against Nole, h2h in 2 years time may become 23-30.
He would stop playing than continue like this for another two years IMO.
hawkeye,
I don’t agree. Novak knew exactly where Rafa was going to hit his shots and he was ready. I do think that Rafa has become too predictable. Novak’s ROS has been a formidable weapon for which Rafa does not have the answers.
Looking at some of the rallies, it was clear that Rafa couldn’t hang in there with Novak. He seemed to always be on defense running from one end of the court to the other. Novak got the good court positioning and was able to stand there and hit shots to each corner of the court. The stats show that Rafa was losing more of the longer rallies in this match.
Execution was poor, but the game plan wasn’t good either.
Well we can disagree but at least we can talk about Rafa’s game and tennis where others can’t.
He made too many mental unforced errors that he would have made before and it’s not physical.
He needs to address this before he can get execute any real changes to his game.
Sincerest commiserations to all Rafans. To Rafa…Vamos!
hawkeye,
Of course! Always! 🙂
I like the post-match analysis and discussion. I get to read other people’s thoughts and ideas about what happened. That helps me a lot!
Do you think that the forehand not working was mental? Because lucky and others have noticed that Rafa isn’t hitting it with as much power as he has in the past. Also the serve!
I guess that Rafa regresses when he faces Novak these days. He doesn’t have the confidence that he has regained once he’s on the court with Novak. I feel that he has lost the match before it has begun.
Yes lack of confidence is the main reason for not trusting his shots, lost accuracy and therefore loss in power to compensate.
Mental unforced errors are the result of not being able to execute
Rafa, unlike Novak, has a weaker wing and so he’s busy running from left to right or right to left just to cover the weaker wing. Stan is solid ftom both wings and so Novak couldnt dictate play against Stan the way he could vs Rafa. Even Fed is better than Rafa now at both wings!
Rafa’s serve has become such a liability that each time he serves, I’m so worried that his opponent would get a direct return winner. Without a good serve, its hard for him to dictate play or at least play his service game on his own terms. He’s trying to play more inside the court but couldnt time his FH well and hence all those netted FH.
Its still WIP for Rafa. I do feel once he can solve the serve issue and time his FH better, he can then execute a more aggressive game plan on the HCs. There are so many things that Rafa should and could improve besides his serve – his BH DTL, backhand ROS DTL, slices, S&V tactics, court position, drop shot return placements etc and etc.
Rafa didn’t show up.
Even berdych troubles Nole more than Rafa? Really sad
Rafa has now lost 9 straight sets to Novak
Sometimes the scoreline doesn’t do the story justice.
What I mean is that watching Berdych v Nole doesn’t even compare to today’s match. Rafa brings out the best in Nole. Nole has to bring his best to beat Rafa and that’s why it’s illusive. Two sides, two perspectives. I was nervous far more for Rafole than Berdole. No comparison, imo.
Like today
Yes, like today – also in Shanghai.
Meant Beijing, but Shanghai too, also Basel. I have no anti-jinxing agenda, honestly thought Rafa would accomplish the 3-0 as predicted. My thinking based on watching and results was that Rafa would meet Federer in the semi and Nole in the final. Felt Rafa could beat Stan and Andy – not completely on Rafa’s merit alone (all parties have their issues) but Rafa’s stock is rising and a win’s a win. That’s what his confidence requires, imo.
Berdych served better than Rafa. Rafa had to work so hard to win points. Novak also up his level vs Rafa.
Rafa is no match for Novak now. Only two guys could beat Novak but not consistently – Stan on slower surfaces and Fed on quicker surfaces but BO3 matches. Novak is the king now on any surface.
It’s true, Luckystar, Berdych has a good serve. He doesn’t move like Rafa, he isn’t smart like Rafa – so much different – could be here all day. You’ve written excellent analysis. Enjoy reading your posts -very fair and balanced. I’m no Rafa expert. I just watch tennis, watched Rafa this fall, perhaps closer than ever because so many people were writing him off. I don’t believe that’s the case.
It’s about confidence – so, I have nothing concrete. But, Rafa’s done it all before: played strong on both wings,(best forehand ever), the crushing 1st serve. The match wins were making him smile and enjoy tennis – he said as much. There was a time last year when I wondered.
Are you cheering for your guy against The Scruffy One tomorrow?
Scruffy gonna win in two.
elusive not illusive
Where do I reply to your post Hawkey? Okay, I’ll try here. You are getting ahead of yourself. I picked Stan in 3. Really like the idea – which isn’t a good reason to pick, but…
I think you are still a Roger fan as much if not more so than a Nole fan.
Forgive me for saying so because beating Murray and Ferrer indoors is one thing but he has little chance against Roger who schooled Nole.
Fed is at a whole nuther level than Stanford. Hope Mirka brings her cheering voice.
If fedole meet, who you rooting for?
Trying to follow your line of reasoning as to me being more of a Federer fan – but I don’t get it. If it’s about picking and jinxing – maybe this tennis stuff is driving you a wee bit crazy, Majesty? I pick sincerely. Not to jinx. But if it pleases You, Majesty, I will attempt to set aside my well – honed bracketeer skills and comply.
Picking Nole for the trophy and picking Stan as runner-up. Tired of Federer winning back in 2009 after he won Wimbles, for good. Cheered Delpo’s win. Nole thereafter for wins. Not Serbian, no connection other I like his tennis and all on my own decided Nole is kick a**! Does this sincere admission/confession satisfy You, or does it not? I
Yes. It enforces My crazy thinking.
I didn’t ask who you picked to win but who your heart will root for in a fedole final should it come to pass.
#FreudianSlip
#DrMajestyAndMrMajesty
Just a WEE bit crazy? I’m hurt. I’m a lot crazy when it comes to tennis. Ricky should start another poll about Me.
This is kinda creepy, hawkeyes.
Fair enough.
I just thought I’d read elsewhere earlier in the week that you’d be happy if someone other than Nole won this week. My mistake. Sorry for that.
Oh my goodness, I may have. Kei winning would great! Rafa, great. Perhaps, I don’t care so much one way or another how Nole gets outta this, preferably another performance like today, we’ll see. I watch sport for fun and not just tennis or Nole.
Cool. Again apologies if I offended or creeped you out. Just banter.
Conclusion after nearly a week on this blog. Like Ricky’s write-ups and information. Thought maybe this was more a more open forum than it is. A very benign but thoughtful post of mine was deleted without explanation. No big deal but it’s weird. Thinking I’m done here and will say buh-bye. Wish you all and especially Rafa Nadal the best. But an inquisition makes me wonder….this comment sections and threads are unfriendly and unwelcome to anyone not a Huge Rafa fan.
Sorry to hear that. It was great to have you commenting here and I’m very sorry if I was the cause of you leaving. I hope you change your mind.
With that said, the same is true if you are a Rafan on TX unless you are willing to put him down and criticize his behaviour from time to time. Long time Rafans there are in permanent moderation.
ratcliff, i am really really sorry to hear that you are going as it was great to have you here. i am one of the very few people here who likes nole a lot (i often defend him and cheer for him) and i do get attacked for that sometimes which is very boring. so it would be great if you had stayed. this site would be so much better if it had more nole and fed fans and was not so absurdly rafacentric full of petty squabbles and arguments.
i hope nole wins wtf and i will be cheering him on now that rafa is out. he’s a great guy and player and a credit to the sport.
Ditto. I’m frequently criticized of being complimentary toward nole.
I regret my questioning of ratcliff. But I can’t do more than apologize.
oh and ricky why did you delete one of ratcliff’s posts??? isn’t great to be chasing away such a thoughtful and insightful poster and also this site is frankly in desperate need of nole and fed fans as it is rafacentric to the point of complete and utter tedium.
I didnt. Thanks.
I havent deleted any post by anyone since the tournament started. I literally have no clue what that guy is even talking about. But i also dont care, so lets get back to tennis.
well you can’t blame fed or nole fans for leaving here hawks..it’s utterly ridiculous how insular this site is with such a small pool of regular posters (sorry i am in a bad mood right now)
all these utterly silly infantile arguments about ‘loyal’ rafa fans would make most sane people take one or 2 looks and then just decide not to post here
is a pity when we have amazing people like vr, lucky, nny….
Well I take the blame for her leaving. This one’s on me. My bad.
oh ok sorry ricky…maybe ratcliff will reconsider his/her decision if they realise that the post wasn’t deleted by you…
sorry again….
amy says:
— it is rafacentric to the point of complete and utter tedium—
===
.
It reminded me that you encouraged hawk to sabotage Rafa’s page…
😆
i dont know what you said hawks…but maybe you could go over to tennis-x sometime and say something in case she posts there (!!)
Everything I said is above Amy.
then i don’t really understand why she was offended…think it is far more to do with the difficulties of being a nole fan on a rafacentric site..she doesn’t seem like the sort of person just to take offence at harmless banter (which was pretty much all it was!!)
ratcliff,
I like reading your thoughts. As someone who is not specifically a Rafa fan, it’s good to hear another perspective. You are also respectful of Rafa in defeat. I appreciate that. Whoever you say is your favorite player, I accept that.
Good. There is a sane person here! Chapeau, NNY.
hawkeye,
I don’t think it had anything to do with you at all.
Listen up people, do you hear there?
we’re to believe that Novak’s level was better in 2011 but now he’s the best on all surfaces and all players including Rafa have to retool their game even though Rafa had already executed his plan to beat him in 2012 and 2013.
And it makes me wonder.
Nah, they’d already retooled their games after 2011. Everyone has to retool now because they’re getting older now, Novak has already retooled his game with the help of Becker, Fed with Edberg, Stan with Magnus, Murray is still looking around.
Rafa is getting older too so his 2012 and 2013 game he can no longer execute them now. He’s yet to show success with his new game plan if he has any.
Lucky doesn’t get it. Yes everybody tweaks their game. His “new” game plan is essentially 2013.
Dont think its 2013, more like working to play more inside the court and come forward to the net more often (though not as much as Fed does), after realising that he can no longer win the battle from the baseline.
In 2013 Rafa was still camping at the baseline albeit closer. He was still quicker and more powerful back then than he is now.
I don’t see Rafa coming to net any more than 2013. He needs to do it more often as evidenced by his extremely high success rate.
ratcliff,
It just takes a little time to get used to hawkeye’s humor! He’s a good guy, really!
hawkeye,
I don’t want to start that one all over again! But you know where I stand regarding Novak in 2011. However, you also know what others will say, i.e. that 2015 has been a weak year with not as much competition as 2011.
I do think Fed’s going to beat Stan. How easy it will be depends on whether Stan plays his game. He’s been looking better, but still not at his best.
Regarding today’s match, what stays with me is how Rafa lost. It wasn’t a battle. He wasn’t able to make it competitive. That is what concerns me right now.
I so much want to analyze the match, but its sad my comment gets stuck to get Ricky’s approval and hardly appears on time.
Perspective please
Rafa lost to Nole 6 3 6 3 in 2013WTF final too
Today is not any worse compared to that when Rafa was much better
Rafa has to climb to No 2 to have someone else do the dirty job for him to take care of Nole
Till Rafa gets his confidence back I mean
Rafa has to avoid getting Novak in qtrs n semis. Get back to No 2 Rafa
sanju,
I don’t see how you can compare this loss to the one in 2013. Look at what Rafa did in 2013. By the time Rafa had that loss to Novak, he had already beaten him in the RG semifinal that year and also the USO. He also beat him at Montreal in a memorable match.
So there is no way that you can say it’s okay because it happened two years ago. Not the same at all. This year Rafa hasn’t been able to beat Novak anywhere. He lost to him at RG in the quarterfinals, only his second loss at that tournament.
That’s why this loss is worse.
Also, it’s going to be awhile before Rafa gets back to #2. If that is what you are counting on for Rafa to have a shot at winning slams again, then that really says it all.
Had Rafa played like Montreal 2013 he could have won today not saying he would have but would have been much closer.
Montreal is medium fast outdoors and we shouldn’t dismiss that indoors isn’t for Rafa.
If after having a stellar 2013 and beating Novak elsewhere if he could lose 6 3 6 3 in 2013 , why did we expect any better today when he is far off from 2013 level.
Rafa is simply not ready to take on Nole till he wins some big titles and for that he needs some help. Once the titles come, confidence will come too.
Not meeting Nole till finals will help him rake up confidence and Novak can have a bad day n get taken out by someone else.
Rafa had a pretty good week indoors overall.
I do believe that it is something to build on.
Let’s see where he takes it from here.
Sanju,
Who said that I expected Rafa to win? I didn’t expect it, but I hoped. There’s nothing wrong with that. What I did want to see was a competitive match. I still say that there is no comparison between this loss and the won in 2013, because Rafa had already beaten Novak where it counted, in two slams. He didn’t do that this year.
I believe Rafa would have beaten Fed today. Novak is just too much in his head now.
Not really, Federer would have broken Nadal’s service multiple times. I think Federer is no more afraid of this Rafa.
no he wouldnt have
Novak supposedly said Rafa is one of greatest rivals I had
Note the past tense unless it’s a Freudian slip
no, he meant it…he does not consider Rafa his biggest rival any more…nor does he see anybody else to that matter…Nole is mountain high on confidence right now and there is a reason for it…his results are extreme…he deserves all the credit for it…but as I said a while ago: weak era and Nole turns into a self-centered egoist…I really hope someone puts him down to earth…
I have to put up with Nole’s fans ridiculing Rafa’s game but I am used to it and can live with that…they even go that far to say that Novak lost to Fed on purpose because he wanted to meet and humiliate Rafa in the semis…
well, life goes on…hope Rafa learns from this and moves on…he still has it in himself…he still can be a force even when Novak is concerned…he just needs to believe in his game…
as his Majesty rightly pointed out: two steps forward one step back….the progress is visible…
BTW, I agree with you that we should be pleased with Rafa’s results here considering the tough year he was going through…
natashao2013 (at 8:31 pm),
—I have to put up with Nole’s fans ridiculing Rafa’s game but I am used to it and can live with that…—
===
.
One poster wrote above that “this site is frankly in desperate need of nole and fed fans as it is rafacentric to the point of complete and utter tedium.”
Thankfully, there’s not too many ND fans here! 🙂
Listen up people, do you hear there?
Rafans focus on Rafa and pretenders focus on Rafans with nothing to add about Rafa’s game or tennis.
And it makes me wonder.
Nobody is throwing out Rafa’s result in this tournament. He did well to beat the #2 and #4 players. That’s a big step forward. But he just isn’t ready to take on Novak. Not yet. I am sure that Rafa is going to focus on what he did here and then work to get even better.
You spent the whole week telling us that Rafa’s win over Stan was worthless because Sta wasn’t trying. Instead of allowing Rafa’s fans to enjoy his victory you spoilt it by denouncing it and pouring cold water on it.
Listen up people, do you hear there?
Rafans focus on Rafa and pretenders focus on Rafans.
And it makes me wonder.
Hey, thanks so much! I didn’t know that I had the power to prevent you from enjoying that match!
Give me a break! Grow up please! Nobody can spoil anything for you unless you let them. You’ve been posting this nonsense again and again. It’s always directed at me. Why? If you can’t handle what someone says about a match, then you are in the wrong place!
Get a life and move one!
You really shouldn’t say that Rafa’s win was worthless. That’s hardly befitting a true blue, loyal right to the ground, Rafa fan!
http://rs879.pbsrc.com/albums/ab355/StickyGlue302/Images%20to%20Snag/Funny/IfYoureGonnaBeTwo-Faced.jpg
I think Djokovic assumes Federer’s play more challenging to him than Rafa’s. I think Djokovic thinks that Federer, right now, is the most dangerous rival for him unless Rafa changes his tactics.
its all about matchups
No, the player whom Nole fears most is Stanimal not Fed…
Just imagine if Fed, Nadal, and Djoker have had the same age. The Grandslams distribution might have gone this way each year.
Aus Open: Djokovic
French Open: Nadal
Wimbledon: Federer
US Open: Federer
or they might have gone Murray Nadal Federer Wawrinka?
That’s possible.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/8f/77/56/8f77564c1323e0dde1a6f7888b8d3bc6.jpg
Listen up people, do you hear there?
Rafans focus on Rafa and pretenders focus on Rafans with nothing to add about Rafa’s game or tennis.
And it makes me wonder.
The pollution (@9:00 pm) keeps coming. Just saying.
The only original content from you is criticism of other fans.
Judge not. Lest yee be judged.
(at 9:14 pm),
Your main occupation is stalking other posters. 😆
At 9:31. You are stalking me too. The difference is that’s your only original content on this site.
Two to tango.
Then you would have to decide which side of your face you want to slap!
It was not a happy outcome and the match was over quickly but I had an AMAZING experience. I was able to watch argubaly the best backhand in the game, the best ROS in the game and the best forehand in the game all at the same time. The way rafa and novak cover the court is MIND BLOWING.
Rafa started the match hitting two forehand DTL winners and I got up from the seat to cheer him up! I had the best seat in the house lol…ribehind the baseline, first row… right behind the line judge in the middle of the court….Rafa could very clearly hear my ‘come on rafaaaaaaa’ and all the shouting.
I can only imagine the pressure rafa must be under when serving. Novak’s return is CRAZY!! there was a point I was thinking where the heck can rafa serve to get a free point! He has now learned to manhandle body serves too! He was ready most of the times.
My view was amazing so I was able to see lots of stuff. Djokovic was just in cruise control in most of their rallies. He was standing close to the baseline and changing direction of the ball so easily and slowly builds on advantage Rafa was doing so much defending . There were some good second serve returns by rafa but not consistent enough.
I think the biggest difference was the huge gap in the serve-return dynamic. Novak has a far superior ROS and he has a better serve too. Rafa tries to take control by using his forehand but Novak has developed some patterns that don’t allow rafa to dictate much with his forehand..
TBC in the next post…
Glad you enjoyed it. It wasn’t Rafa’s day with Djoker brimming with confidence. I’, sure things can only get better. They showed Rafa leaving the O2 and he was smiling, that’s good enough for me.
Vamos Rafa!
no, it was not about rafa not having a good day. In his current state, this was close to the best he could offer. Djokovic just raised his level too today. The good thing is that he is improving and enjoying his tennis. His best tennis next year should be good enough to win , at least on surfaces that favor him more.
I could see rafa giving it his all and loved it.
What novak does in LOTS of rallies is to hit HEAVY forehands , not too hard and flat but heavy, to get rafa moving to his backhand side….. normally novak gets either a good angle of good length so he eventually draws an attack-able backhand response from rafa and THEN goes for rafa’s forehand. He now flattens out the ball a lot more and takes time away from rafa. Then rafa spends most of the time defending and novak keep spreading the court unless rafa can come up with a big shot in the rally to turn the table. Rafa’s movement towards the backhand side is still not 100% explosive and his slices are inconsistent. Novak exploited that.
Novak’s start to the match to race to 3-0 was too damn good . Then rafa steadied the ship for some time and played some good tennis. Rafa was NOT making stupid mistakes. There was a longgg rally in the second set when rafa was facing BP . Rafa lost the point after playing a clueless backhand slice that landed wide. He was not able to have enough aggression to penetrate djokovic’s baseline game.
I do think rafa is on the right track. He did some right things and now has a very good idea how much more work he needs despite all the improvements. Novak is a TERRIBLE TERRIBLE matchup for him.
I do feel rafa can turn the tables on surfaces that favor him more. He will be very much there in 2016. I wish rafa’s serve can improve :/ It will help him big time. He solved the djokovic puzzle in 2012 but djokovic has now retooled his game to counter some winning patterns rafa had. He now deals with body serves MUCH better. He defends on his forehand side with better length and this he has improved to counter rafa’s inside out forehand. His forehand ROS has also improved.
For rafa, he must keep making efforts to return serves more aggressively and perhaps be more offensive with his first strikes. And he cannot allow his backhand side to be exploited. he can craft some winning patterns again but needs work.
Rafa’s forehand DTL , btw, is an ELECTRIC shot. Most people in my box were rafa fans but most of them were quiet and only clapped. I was the only one shouting and I knew rafa could hear clearly when he was on the side I was sitting.lol.
” Novak is a TERRIBLE TERRIBLE matchup for him.”
At the moment.
what do you mean?:s rafa is a terrible matchup for federer and novak is equally terrible for rafa. The difference is that rafa has been able to handle his worst matchup much better than federer has. Rafa’s lefty serve falls in novak’s comfort zone to return with authority, rafa’s CC forehand goes to novak’s backhand. Currently, novak’s defending is even better , at least on hard courts and he can match rafa’s speed too.
Rafa has to develop some winning patterns to overcome all this. Has done that in the past but needs to do that again.
Rafa was just not able to effectively use the shot that can change the dynamics: his forehand.
Overall a gooood week. He will improve more.
Rafa’s serve is letting him down at the moment so I hope that improves.
It was a pity his fans were not allowed to enjoy his successes this week with some people trying to dismiss his victory over Stan as a non event because Stan wasn’t trying. Such a shame.
Listen up people, do you hear there?
Rafans focus on Rafa and pretenders focus on Rafans.
And it makes me wonder.
oh come on you! stop instigating people here. You are frustrated rafa lost and trying to take it on other posters here. I was also there at that match and it was not the best of efforts by stan in the second half of the 2nd set. It is a thing of the past now.
A much bigger match took place.
As hawkeye has pointed out, focus on RAFA and no Rafans.
She wouldn’t have anything else to say.
vamosrafa (at 9:44 pm),
The polluting device (@ 9:41 pm) is focused on Rafans!
vamosrafa,
I know exactly which rally you are talking about in that second set. I brought it up in one my comments about the match earlier. I remember that backhand slice that went wide! So frustrating.
Thanks for posting your observations about the match.
augusta08 says:November 21, 2015 at 9:55 pm
The polluting device is focused on Rafans!
Listen up people, do you hear there?
A reborn environmentalist is self-aware.
And it makes me wonder.
Nice report.
How did you score courtside seats??
http://cdn.someecards.com/someecards/usercards/MjAxMy0zZWNiYTcwOGI5YzMxNjUw.png
Listen up people, do you hear there?
Rafans focus on Rafa and pretenders focus on Rafans.
The difference in quality of content is deafening.
And it makes me wonder.
lolll
Look who is polluting this thread! The same thing with pictures no less! Like a broken record. Why? Nothing else to say. If you can’t handle Rafa’s losses then you should find some other way to get rid of your frustration and anger.
Great pictures! lolll
Polluting device (at 9:41 pm, 9:39 pm) seems to be set to auto mode. 😆
Just proving my point repeatedly for me.
Yes, if you are going to be two-faced, at least make one side of your face pretty! Good advice for you!
vamosrafa,
She’s been posting the same thing about not being allowed to enjoy Rafa’s win over Stan. She posted if after a few of my posts while we were live blogging. Over and over and over. Like a broken record!
Someone can’t let go. But then that’s the whole point isn’t it? I try to ignore it as much as possible. But when it’s posted all over the place, then it’s hard to do so.
Someone needs to go throw their toys out of their pram! Just because Rafa lost is no excuse to try to take it out on the rest of us.
[polldaddy poll=9192449]
And some extra fun stuff:
– I shook hands with Papa Nadal!! LOL. Because my seat was so awesome, the whole nadal clan walked past me. I said ‘sebastian…..picture?’ but he was in a hurry with his family so I just leaned forward and extended my hand and the tapped it. haha. Xisa, rafa’s mother, sister , his doctor I guess were all there. Maymo jogged past me right after rafa left the court!
– I met Carlos Moya, took a picture. ! Cool guy.
– I met RICKY DIMON!!!! …………. yes, our very own, Ricky. He is an awesome guy 😉
Very nice experience overall!!
How did you get those seats??? Was it Mirka’s?
hahaha…I just bought them….The rafa clan walked past me coz that was the only way for them to use the exit they wanted to use.
vamosrafa,
It sounds like you had a wonderful experience. Seeing his family and Carlos Moya. Meeting Ricky. Hey, he posted about it here on the site. He said that he met the legend, vamosrafa!
Two Rafa matches in one week!
I was very disappointed in the way this match played out. I was truly hoping that Rafa would make it competitive.
he really posted that! lol….let me check out. We took a picture as well.
Yes, the match was not competitive. I was hoping at least one set could be a competitive one but Djokovic was in control throughout.
A lot of work needs to be done. Rafa must keep working hard….
Rafa should know better than to play defensive tennis against Novak.
Novak for the moment is almost unbeatable. The only thing you can do is congratulate him. But things are like this today. What Novak is doing is just amazing. It is obvious that it’s true if somebody can do it, it’s him, but it’s not easy to stay at that high level four years in a row or five years in a row.
He’s hitting amazing. The return is always amazing. This year he is serving great. And then he is able to play with no mistakes and changing directions so easy, playing so, so long. He’s doing everything good.
Novak and Fed are playing really nice tennis,Very clear in their respective gameplans and great execution.Nadal on the other hand looks like he’s from a previous generation.The game has passed him by.
The motivation for your “observation”:
How old were Rafa and Fed the last time Fed beat Rafa in a slam?
You’re welcome.
All in all a good week for Nadal but the downside is that he wasnt able to make this one competitive he only won 10 return points in 9 games.
That’s a disappointing stat.
“Nadal has never won the year-end championship, but he has already done something this week that he had only accomplished once previously in his career. For the first time since 2010, the fifth-ranked Spaniard compiled a perfect 3-0 record in group competition.”
I think in 2013 Nadal also went 3-0 in Group stage.
he did
Seconded.
The djokovic serve is now a real weapon. His first serve is quite good now.
Also, rafa’s technically the most inferior amongst the Big 3. Toni is to be blamed for that . But at the same time, Toni must be credited for a lot of things. My regret is that they never have tried adding someone else to the team….Toni can stay but what harm is there in trying!
Oscar Borras did wonders to his serve in such quick time. We don’t even know rafa’s true potential because he has always lacked technical guidance of the highest order.
Yes his serve is definitely a weapon now even the 2nd serve is quite good Djokovic gets very good depth on most of his 2nd serves and doesnt just try to roll it in.
#Boris
yup….Boris has helped him there. The partnership with Boris has been quite successful.
@64aces, yeah, his second serve is pretty strong
Agree with you VR.
Actually Rafa has better 2nd serve winning % than his first serve. He probably reduced the pace and varied it more on his 2nd serve. Rafa’s first serve is too predictable. We know Novak is the best returner of serve, still Fed can score more wins on his serve because of the unpredictability of his serve. Rafa has to learn to serve smart, less predictable, maybe throws in an ace down the T more often.
For Rafa’s ROS, i dont like it that he just hit the returns as hard as possible, to me placement is important, the way Novak does it. Maybe, Rafa could practice ROS DTL with his BH more, as Novak could anticipate a CC return and is ready for it all the time.
Rafa’s pattern of play vs Novak was too predictable, if he played like he did vs Murray, Im sure he would make a match out of it. Its as if Rafa is unsure how to play against Novak. There’s a game in the second set at 2-2, 15-30 I think, that Rafa instead of going FHDTL to an open court, he instead went CC all too often and one too many during the rally and Novak went on to win that exchange. A FHDTL would have Novak scrambling to his FH corner and so Rafa could then take advantage. Too bad, Rafa had no confidence hitting that shot during that point and in the match…
lucky,
I particularly agree with your last paragraph. You summed up succinctly what the issue is when Rafa plays Novak now. As I watched, it was as if Novak knew exactly where Rafa was going to hit the ball and he was ready. You also make a good point about Rafa being unsure how to play against Novak. Rafa wasn’t able to make tactical adjustments in this match the way he has in his other matches recently. He seemed almost lost at times.
Novak got the good court positioning and was able to run Rafa from one corner to the next. Rafa seemed to always be in a defensive mode while Novak was dictating the rallies. Rafa desperately needs his DTL forehand in matches with Novak. That was the shot that did so much damage in his wins over Novak in the 2013 RG and USO. He must have that shot.
Everyone knows Rafa needs to use his dtlfh. People were talking about it in 2011 when Rafa kept losing as dtlfh. But at Wimbledon 2011 in the SF against Delpo he suffered some foot pain and thereafter for the rest of the year I never saw any more of dtlfh. When he came back in 2013, he used it effectively.
The point I am making is that Rafa knows what he needs to do but he cannot execute it. A new coach or fresh pair of eyes will not help him. His problem is physical. Don’t know what it is but it is neither anxiety or not knowing what to do against Djoko.
vamosrafa,
Don’t you think that a new pair of eyes might proved some much needed insight and guidance for Rafa now? I am not talking about a new coach per se. Rafa is not going to get rid of his Uncle. But I do think that he and his team need a fresh perspective. Sometimes another person can provide suggestions and improvements and make observations that are valuable. I don’t know if it should be a serving coach or maybe someone on a consulting basis. But I really do believe that someone else has to be added to Rafa’s team, even if it’s only temporary.
Rafa has to make some adjustments to account for the aging process. Rafa’s core game will stay intact. He can’t change that. We are not going to see Rafa serving and volleying suddenly. Rafa will need to try to shorten points if possible. A better serve would give him more of an advantage at the start of the point. He needs to find his forehand consistently again.
Rafa may have found the answers for everyone but Novak, but he will need to solve that riddle, too. He can’t try to avoid him as the #1 player. If he wants to win slams, then he needs to find solutions to once again gain the advantage against Novak. I don’t think it’s going to be easy, because Novak has gotten the best of him this year in all their matches. Novak is incredibly confident when he plays Rafa now. So Rafa will have to change his patterns of play. He’s done it in the past after the 2012 AO final. Now that Novak has also adjusted his game, it’s Rafa’s turn.
To be frank, I’m rather disappointed with the way Rafa played his last two matches here. He was right on the mark when he started with Ferrer but as soon as Ferrer turned aggressive and played attacking tennis, Rafa retreated into defensive mode. This is something I dislike about Rafa and his mindset, I mean come on, he has all the weapons to play offensive tennis, and he has the power to overcome Ferrer, why not fight fire with fire and overpower Ferrer? Why let Ferrer bossed him all over the place? Ferrer wasnt even playing at the top of his game and was having problems with his own serve and yet Rafa managed to waste the SP in the first set after breaking Ferrer!
Had he played more offensively throughout, he would’ve won in straight sets, and at the same time giving himself confidence that that’s the way to play going forward. No doubt its his competitive spirit and thinking tennis that got him through in the end, but what message it sent out to Novak, who most likely would be watching the match closely.
Novak did his job of stamping his authority on Rafa, dampening his confidence and spirit, might have cast some more doubts in Rafa’s head and stopped his momentum. Novak certainly wont want to see a resurgent and confident Rafa come next year and so he’s eager to stiffle whatever Rafa had built up lately.
What could Rafa achieve playing the way he played in the SF? Its the same old way and he literally handed the match to Novak, not bringing anything new into the match to challenge Novak. At least if he played the way he played the first two matches, he could test and push Novak and saw how’s Novak’s response and gauged his own level. Now he gained nothing, no insight as to how his new game plan matched up with Novak’s game.
Even though Novak would be more prepared the next time had he played against Rafa’s new game plan, Im sure Rafa’s still a WIP and so Rafa could still modify or make adjustments to his more offensive game. To me its an opportunity wasted and ends his year on a not so pleasant note even though he won all his group RR matches.
I will panic about Rafa only if he loses RG next year. So far Rafa has been right about his progress and his expectations.Both he and U T have said recently that Rafa’s game is good enough to beat everyone except Djoko. Also that his aim is to be back in 2016 and peak for clay. In other words while he expects to do well at AO 2016, he is not saying winning it is his goal or even his expectation. His goal is to peak for clay.
UT said this year was frustrating for Rafa for he is used to winning. But his legs do not move well . His forehand is not working. UT did not say whether Rafa is hopeful of recovering speed and movement but obviously they are hopeful of doing something ( what?) otherwise they would not confidently talk about peaking for clay.
http://www.si.com/tennis/2015/10/09/rafael-nadal-toni-nadal-2016-season
I noticed that at the beginning of this year Rafa looked thin and he lacked power on his shots. He definitely looks sturdier so obviously he is regaining his strength. This is perfectly do able as people get stronger in their thirties probably till 35?. However I doubt he can improve his speed or reflexes. Especially reflexes which become significantly slower after 29 or 30 due to fall in HGH which starts around 25 but the fall becomes significant near 30. Most of the great players have won most of their slams by 29. Federer despite his perfect body won just 1 slam after 29. So did Sampras.
However Agassi has shown that if you are motivated enough and playing in a weak era you can add to your tally. Djoko and Federer are playing in a weak era now which probably started last year when Rafa injured his back. So in 1 year Fed reached 3 finals ( 2 Wimbledon and 1 USO) and Djoko being in his prime won all of them, Reminds me of Agassi meeting Federer in USO 2005. So if the next gen do not step up, Rafa has every chance of winning slams in the years ahead.
Perhaps Rafa’s fans have high expectations, even unrealistic expectations of him winning on the HCs esp the indoor ones. It seems that Toni and Rafa wish to concentrate on winning on clay, maybe they’re more realistic than many of his fans.
I certainly hope that Rafa can and will win the FO again and re-exert his authority on clay if he’s not going to win anywhere else. I wish Rafa all the best come next year.
Rafa has spoken openly about how difficult it is for him to change his way of playing at this stage in his career. It is understandable while he is in the transition process his results will fluctuate and when his back is against the wall he reverts to his default mode.
Meanwhile let’s be happy he did as well as he did and stop crying over spilt milk that he was convincingly outplayed by Djokovic in the SF. As Lucky points out it was unrealistic of his fans to entertain the hope he could defy the odds and beat the No.1 on an indoor hardcourt at the O2.
I was one of those guilty of allowing hope to triumph over experience 🙁
No amount of crystal ball gazing can tell us what results next year will bring – although it could be safe to bet it’s unlikely to include a win against an indoor HC specialist in the final stages of significant tournaments.
ed251137 (at 9:46 am),
—his fans to entertain the hope…
I was one of those guilty of allowing hope to triumph… —
===
.
I’m always “allowing hope to triumph.” Because I’m a Rafan. 🙂
Even Hawkeye allowed his heart to rule his head 🙂
While Ricky remained relentlessly objective.
all i do is pick winners. The last 5 days are an example. Today will be no different.
I’m wondering how many times Ricky bragged about his picks during RR stages when a coin could have picked as well.
I’m also curious as to how many times Ricky picked winners the four times fed beat djokovic on BO5 HC since last fall.
Nole going down again in straights today. Rafa let him play his game but a peak fed won’t.
NID
Rafa’s speed was lower than in his first two O2 matches…against Ferry he showed weaknesses and I did not like what I was seeing…however, I thought the reason for it was that Rafa was not mentally in the match with Ferry…
Rafa’s game will not change drastically and I do not think any of his fans envisage sudden serve and volley game by Rafa…However, the game plan can change…the strategy to deal with certain players can be developed as long as Rafa can execute it…I also think that this time around the execution was poor…Rafa was not ready either physically or mentally to deal with this Nole…Rafa’s statements before the match proved that he was never going to play to win…he was just going to play…
In 2016 the situation can change but it will depend on several factors: Rafa continuing to improve his movements, court positioning, serve, implement some net play when possible, not reverting to his defensive style of play, etc. Rafa will have to be able to beat convincingly players other than Nole…unlike this year, he will have to play well enough to deal with other opponents…and then it will also take for Novak to drop in level. I personally think that it must happen at some point…nobody stays in the “beast mode” forever…Novak has a lot of points to defend next year, which means he will have to play a lot and also at the high level to be able to beat all of them…it will be tough even for Novak, unless Rafa, Andy and Wawa, and possibly young guns like Kyrgios and Thiem turn out to be all hopeless, which is very unlikely…This year Novak benefited from the weak field, weak era, easy draws, all contributing to development of Novak’s game and most importantly confidence. Tennis is a confidence game…Rafa knows what to do but he needs more confidence in his game to be able to execute it right…
I am sure Rafa will be strong on clay next year…he may win it all the way he is progressing…But I would so much like Rafa to be ready for the AO 2016…who knows: high temperatures, the draw, Nick Kyrgios ( 🙂 ) meeting Nole early… it can all help Rafa…I hope for Rafa to be healthy, I hope for some changes in strategy and I do hope for some luck in draws…and Rafa can be on top again…if Rafa was in Nole’s group he could have been in the finals today as I am sure this Rafa would have beaten Fed…Stan had his chances yesterday but he blew it…
We should not be disheartened by Rafa’s loss to Novak though…we all knew it would happen one way or another…while it would mean volume to us his fans, if he was able to make it more competitive on an indoor HC, for Rafa it would only mean more effort and no results…Outdoor slow AO courts should be much more appropriate for Rafa proving
himself…
Enjoy your time off, Rafa! You did us proud by winning all three matches and destroying Wawa and Andy the way you did! That is certainly an encouraging sign!
Vamos Rafa!
It was such a pleasure to read your post, nats. I feel a lot better for it.
It is frustrating, though, that Rafa’s critics do not allow his fans to enjoy his successes. Every time we have something to celebrate, they find some angle to vilify him and dilute whatever he’s achieved. Unfortunately, it is not possible to ignore these comments because they are long winded and verbose.
I still enjoy Rafa play than anyone else so I look forward to Abu Dhabi where I will be courtside.
#Vamos Rafa no matter what.
The polluting device (@3:28 pm) keeps running as usual.
We should also take heart that Rafa has had one of the most successful fall season of his career. His ranking is down to 5 because he did not capitalize on the clay season, after which he is usually #1 in the race. If he is successful in the clay season the rest will fall into place.
Vamos Rafa!
I add the data.
Ranking points Rafa earned after the USO in 2007 – 2015 (without Davis Cup):
2015 — 1740
2014 — 190
2013 — 2020 – the best result
2012 — didn’t play
2011 — 590
2010 — 1680
2009 — 1140
2008 — 180*
2007 — 1200*
*The points earned before 2009 are recalculated according to the current ATP Point table.
Rafa is optimistic. 🙂
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CUah92LWUAAAK48.png
http://images.clipartpanda.com/smiley-face-thumbs-up-clipart-dTre6KXT9.jpeg
Rafa is stating math. In 2015, there weren’t many rankings points Nole left on the table.
#BYOAT
Rafa is optimistic.
REUTERS, Nov 21, 2015: ¤¤ Tennis – I’m back in the top league, declares Nadal.
(Excerpts)
“I was not able to think about Novak for the whole season,” Nadal told reporters. “I have been playing in another league.
“Seems like the last month-and-a-half, two months, I was in this league, I am in this top league.
“So my motivation and my goal is try to keep being in that top league, that is the top five, top four of the world. That’s my goal, and we’ll see if I am able to keep doing this.”
A fully functioning body will help in his mission as he nears his 30th birthday.
“Today I’m feeling good. My body is healthy, is strong. I feel good physically,” said Nadal, who has a 17-4 winning record since the U.S. Open. “I am able to practise a lot. I am able to compete great in long matches.
“I played the full season with not many problems. I’ve lost the strange feelings on court that I had during the season.” ¤¤
Read more in:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/11/21/tennis-men-atp-nadal-idUKL3N13G08M20151121
Be strong, Rafa! 🙂
The best analyst of Rafa is Rafa himself.
Thank you. This is what Rafa has to say:
I’m back in the top league, declares Nadal (Reuters)
“I was not able to think about Novak for the whole season,” Nadal told reporters. “I have been playing in another league. Seems like the last month-and-a-half, two months, I was in this league, I am in this top league. So my motivation and my goal is try to keep being in that top league, that is the top five, top four of the world. That’s my goal, and we’ll see if I am able to keep doing this.”
Rafa did not play anything like he played against Novak when he beat him at the USO in 2010 and 2013, nowhere near. He is on the way to regain his game but clearly he is not there yet. Beating Djokovic yesterday would have been nice but he didn’t. Onwardsand upwards.
Vamos Rafa!
Allez Roger! (Just for today) 🙂
Rafans should learn from Rafa:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CUbB7vEVEAM2M8I.png
🙂
Rafa looks so good! And I love his smile!
Vamos!
+1
If some learnt from Rafa, they’d spend less time judging Rafans and more time discussing Rafa and tennis.
@ at 3:34 pm
—…judging Rafans…—
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‘
This is YOUR main occupation!
Actually hawkeye, if you are referring to me, I don’t judge Rafans, only those who SAY they are Rafans but everything they say proves otherwise.
hawkeye,
Regarding you post @ 3:34pm, well said! It just baffles me how some here do not follow the example of the player whom they purport to support and worship. Rafa has such a decent spirit and good nature. He is always fair to his rivals and gives them praise for their accomplishments. He has set a great example of what true sportsmanship really is in this sport. That’s just another reason to be proud to be his fan.
No one here can tell me if I am or am not a supposedly “true” Rafan. Only I know what is in my heart. I do not have to pass some phony loyalty test that is put up by others who presume to think that they are the only ones who know what it means to be a Rafan. That’s beyond presumptuous.
hawk@3:43 pm
You continue to prove repeatedly that judging others is YOUR main occupation!
nativenewyorker7 (at 3:49 pm),
You should learn from Rafa – see my post at 2:25 pm.
It is your only original content judging posters here repeatedly proving my point.
hawkeye, saying you (I don’t mean you) are a fan doesn’t make one a fan. A fan would at least find SOMETHING positive to say about someone they support once in a while.
We do. I said the tournament was a positive step for Rafa and he is the best that’s ever played the game which disproves your particular type of fallacy because you know it’s all you can do.
Listen up people, do you hear there?
Rafans focus on Rafa and pretenders focus on Rafans with nothing to add about Rafa’s game or tennis.
And it makes me wonder.
nativenewyorker7 (at 3:49 pm)
—No one here can tell me if I am or am not a supposedly “true” Rafan.—
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Really? What’s this:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CUbYRuFUYAAwOer.png:medium
P.S.
If I may ask, doesn’t the statement “a true Rafan” imply that there are “not true Rafans” ?
On Sky, scheduled immediately after the final is ‘Sporting Greats – Rafael Nadal’ it’s on almost every other day as is the one on Fed Sky doesn’t think Djoker is a sporting great yet.
Yes, Rafans should learn from Rafa’s example. He has been honest in acknowledging what Novak did this year. But he also knows that he is making real progress and should be ready for 2016.
I am going to continue to support him, while saying what I think and also giving credit to his rivals where it’s due.
Is it just unfortunate your opinion of Rafa is always negative?
The polluting device (@ 3:53 pm) seems to be set to auto mode. 😆
Over the last 5-7 years I have never known NNY to stick up for Rafa she ALWaYS agrees with negative comments about him and fights to the death for other players. She should do well on The Dysfunctional Tennis site but that didn’t work out too well for her if I remember correctly.
The polluting device (@ 4:07 pm) runs constantly. 😆