No Pressure Then Rafa?

Of course everyone knows Nadal on clay is unbeatable. Put him in front of a crazy home crowd (Did I hear it was the biggest audience ever for a competative tennis match) who just expect him to win. Many will already be planning their celebration. He's playing for his country something he appears to relish but any thought of a loss would be more scary. Same goes for his team mates.

Also his opponant is anything but a pushover. Del Potro took the great Federer to 5 sets at RG as well as beating him to claim the US Open. Del Potro has also not played recently as he felt it was more important to prepare for this tie. He is clearly motivated and as a big underdog playing with less or even no pressure. He will also be able to rely on some very vocal support.

No pressure then Rafa...

Just hope that when sorry if he does win his achievement will be given the acknowledgement it deserves.

Yes, there are probably 3 players right now that Rafa wouldnt want to have to play and beat to get the title...Djoko, Fed and Delpo. Yes, its a tall order for Delpo but the weight of expectation on Rafa's shoulders must be huge this morning given we know how patriotic Rafa is, and that Spain, the crowd and his team will be expecting nothing but a win.

Conversely, if he comes through this then his mojo is going to undergo a fair amount of re-inflation (as it did for Verdasco and Djokovic).
If not and Spain go on to lose...well he's going to be in a very dark place isnt he.

So agree hawkeye...there's massive expectation on him against a very difficult opponent (their last match at SW19 2011 was very tight), and given that he'll know the last rubber would be tough too...who would want to play a pumped up Nalby or Monaco if Nadal had lost? Ferrer wouldnt.

Plus Nadal has admitted he's knackered.

I'll be congratulating Spain warmly when they take the coveted Cup today, which I fully expect them to do.

As for the 'pressure' ...... Well I'd say playing at home in front of adoring crowds, on your favoured surface and with a 2-1 lead are better described as major advantages than pressure. And Rafa himself began the DC final on Friday well rested & prepared, after a long period of R & R (having only played eight sets of competitive tennis in the previous seven weeks or so)

If Rafa and Spain win today it will be a fine achievement.

But hardly material for "Rafa The Movie : How I Overcame Insurmountable Odds in Seville"

Please !

After Rafa had a quick warm-up session with Monaco on Friday, he then saw Delboy toil away for nearly 5 hours and lose, against an out of sorts Ferrer.

If Spain were 2-1 down, then Rafa would be under pressure. But at 2-1 up with the luxury of knowing if he loses, Monaco has got to come out and beat Ferreer when Delboy couldn't.

Before the tie started the only way Argentina could win was by taking the doubles and both Delboy's singles. From the start the pressure's been on Delboy and it still is.

The Argies really needed an on form and fully fit Fat Dave and Delboy to have a chance in this tie.

I'm not referring to tiredness, etc. Just the pressure side...yes Delpo has pressure too.
BUT...He's not expected to win.
Rafa is.
He always is on clay.

Of course Rafa is used to pressure but all the same Delpo is no Monaco.
Delpo had a hard match on Friday but he's had a day off...its like any other slam conditions and the pros are used to that.
My point is only in agreement that he carries the full weight of expectation of his nation today as "overdogs".

And no matter how good or experienced you are, the weight of a nation on your shoulders, which makes DC finals different than normal tennis tournaments, is alot of pressure.

The good news is that his first match proved that contrary to rumour Nadal is 100%.

Good news in that it confirms the Federer win at the WTF was against a 100% Rafa. I know the OP is a fan of giving full credit, as he says.

bogbrush wrote:The good news is that his first match proved that contrary to rumour Nadal is 100%.

Unless he's playing Novak or Fed this boy wins claycourt matches at around 50 - 70% of his best.

lol bogbrush.
I'll reserve judgement about trying to %'ergise Nadal for any given match.
People can simply have off days, or even purple patch days.
If one guy has a bad day and the other a purple day then confectionery can result.
It happens. He looked ok on Friday but looks like another off day today so far...

lydian - I like Rafa's ever-present will to win and his dedication. I've little doubt that Spain will take the spoils today, I'd say it's a just a question of whether by 3-2 or 4-1

If I was in Seville and there was a section of the stand marked " For Neutral Tennis Fans" that's where I'd be sitting. Not that there would be much demand for such a section, admittedly..... !!

So I genuinely have no axe to grind on this one today. But I can't help be mildly amused by your determination to talk up problems and build a picture of dire possibilities that don't exist, when you know really that everything is in fact in Spain's favour.

Perhaps you're looking not just for a Spanish win but the ability to say "Wow ..... wasn't that impressive ..... they won even though everything was against them ....!! "

Now come on lydian ..... We weren't born yesterday

lags72 - talk up problems? hey? I dont like having words/thoughts put in my mouth and I'm actually offended by the inference of the bit you wrote in italics.
I'm just saying the guy has alot of expectation on his shoulders, and funnily enough he's playing very nervously and out of sorts so far today - 1:6 first set.
I dont share your "little doubt" comment about Spain winning. They are favourites pre-tie but DC is a very unpredictable beast as results down the years have shown.
If I was an ardent fan of his I'd be defending him blindly on the other almost-hating DC thread where he's called "The Nadull" constantly.

lydian - I assure you no offence was intended. The quotes in italics were a little bit of poetic licence. I think you're being a little over-sensitive on that one, but I'm happy to retract.

Your other comments are well-made and I do agree that there have been some quirky results in DC history. But losing a Final tie after being 2-0 up on home soil is incredibly rare and I imagine hasn't happened for several decades, if ever .....? Someone will no doubt prove me wrong !

Yes losing from 2-0 is rare, 1939 was last time in a final it happened.
I just dont like being talked about as some Nadal fanboy which is where your comments were going by saying "Wow, wasnt that impressive". I'm a "fan" of his in mild terms but not overly so and dont like being painted as such. I find it funny my mildly pro-Nadal comments get picked up on whereas the daily attacks, almost hating , at times, he gets on this forum run rife and go uncommented. This is because there are hardly any Nadal fans of any type in here left. Indeed this forum has for some time had a very definite overall undertone of being anti-Nadal when you scan the content of most threads over time so why would any new potential Nadal fan want to join when they browse as a guest and see the guy already being called "The Nadull", the moonballer, etc, with regularity in here when there are plenty of other tennis forums with much stronger Nadal fanbases to join, e.g. MTL...which begs the question why would I be therefore here if I was an overtly strong Nadal fan?

Sorry for the lengthy response but I just want to be clear. Otherwise fair enough on your other points lags72

Full credit to Nadal for beating a very determined and high class opponent in Del Potro. The match was great to watch and the atmosphere excellent.

All credit to Nadal ....... AND Ferrer

Nadal definitely showed signs of pressure in this match. Also at the end instead of the pure pleasure that most other players would have experienced there appeared to be a strong sense of relief.

It must be tough being so good...

Yeah, he played great.

It's just a pity that if he'd lost it would have been an injury, or tiredness, or an off day.

He might have been injured in the first set.