So Nadal will be going loco down in...

Hasnt been here since 2005...looks like he's determined to play less hardcourt then.

http://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2012-10-19/10844.php

Watch how suddenly everyone else in the draw withdraws!

Indeed, might as well hand over the trophy now.
In the final of 2005 when he was 18 he lost just 1 game...

But after AO rather than go to the 500 Dubai, I guess he's just swapping that for a 500 clay. Ferrer and Almagro will be there - so that'll hurt their rankings!

No mention of whether he'll play Brazil before that at this point, he did last time in Mexico.

One other option is that he plays Hamburg in mid-July on clay. I think he'll likely drop Cincy before the USO. AFter that maybe a 500 in Asia before playing Paris and WTF.

Does anyone know what exemptions he now gets for age and no. of matches played?

He gets one Masters exemption i believe.

Born Slippy wrote:He gets one Masters exemption i believe.

Or he could miss all the hard court ones and say to hell with his ranking. Nadal preserving his knees and then winning the French for the next 5 years is not beyond the realms of possibility - no matter where he is ranked

I don't think getting to No.1 will figure high on his list of priorities - after that, as Fed alludes, it's having the fitness for the big matches that's important

Interesting article

I found this link of equal interest though

http://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2012-10-16/10837.php

Interesting comments about Murray and I tend to agree with him - full respect for Rafa for being consistent in his respect for the Scot

I think that this article is the most realistic I have read over recent weeks concerning Rafa.. it reflects a lot of my own thoughts concerning his current health situation.. I would also reiterrate what is said from a fan´s point of view is that a little of Rafa is better than no Rafa at all.. and if it means that he has to avoid hard courts and therefore a drop in his rankings then sobeit

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1375419-rafael-nadals-limitations-will-force-changes-in-his-game

Good article Haddie. Personally I am glad that he appears to have chosen to play more clay next season, much easier on his damaged knees and should allow him to play for longer and still gain ranking points. A very sensible decision.

It really is the only way forward if his knees are that bad. At least it enables him to carry on playing and that is what is important to him and tennis fans everywhere.

Exactly Craig. It will also give a big profile boost to the tournaments he chooses to play in.

Carriege
Me too.. I think it is now only becoming clear to everyone just how damaged his knees really were. I think it would be foolhardy of him to attempt to play hard court until he knows just how his knees will behave playing competitive tennis again. I have been worried that he might attempt the AO which, in my humble view (what the hell do I know) would be most unwise.

Haddie-nuff wrote:Carriege
Me too.. I think it is now only becoming clear to everyone just how damaged his knees really were. I think it would be foolhardy of him to attempt to play hard court until he knows just how his knees will behave playing competitive tennis again. I have been worried that he might attempt the AO which, in my humble view (what the hell do I know) would be most unwise.

Very true. As a tennis fan I would like to see Nadal playing in these tournaments but I don't want him to permanently injure himself doing so. I think he should stick to what he can do without exacerbating his injury and we can all enjoy his presence for longer.

Banrbo, Carrieg, Caledonian; absolute class posting as usual, good to see Murray fans show concern for Rafa

Haddie, Nadal should listen to his body and come back when he feels the time is right. Forget rankings, at the end of the day if he's at his best and physically fit he's damn difficult to beat whatever ranking he is.
Apparently Rafa said playing WTF is 'not impossible' but 'difficult.'

IMBL

IMO Rafa is saying what he thinks everyone wants to hear .. Mexico is a reality the rest is what he would wish for but Im not convinced he thinks it will happen

It Must Be Love wrote:Forget rankings, at the end of the day if he's at his best and physically fit he's damn difficult to beat whatever ranking he is.

Agreed. As I stated earlier - he could win five french opens, ranked outside the Top 10

Yep, as long as he's fully fit

So both Murray fans and certain Nadal fans are falling over themselves to express concern about Nadals health. Offering the advice or hope (depending on viewpoint) that he doesn't stretch himself by competing off clay.

It Must Be Love

If Nadal is fully fit he is very difficult to beat anywhere. Why do you think a fully fit Nadal can't increase his slam counts at the AO, Wimbledon and the US and be ranked number one (not outside the top 10)? In fact who do you think has a better chance than Nadal?

HE did you read my posts?


Not really sure what you're saying.
Firstly I commented that it was good to see Murray fans wishing good health on Rafa, even though they don't support him as a fan. I've seen some on other forums who haven't shown such class. Apologies if me not criticising Murray fans for no reason offended you.

Secondly where exactly did I say that he isn't difficult to beat anywhere. (in-fact I actually specifically said that he was).
Personally I feel he should listen to his body, and of course if he is fully fit he can be very competitive on all surfaces.
However the point Haddie and Carrieg were making that if needed Rafa should play more on clay and limit the tournaments he plays on HC as they are (as you've said before) tougher on his body and knees.

Of course I think if Rafa comes back to his best he can add to his slam count, but for me (and the majority) he has already created his legacy, one of the greatest players of all time and the greatest clay-courter of all time.

Did you read any of the posts HE? Your response would suggest not.

I clearly stated that I would like to see him playing in all tournaments but only if he did not risk his health by doing so.

He seems to be upping the number of clay tournaments for next year suggesting that he feels the need to take better care of his knees.

It Must Be Love

I was responding to you agreeing with banbrotam speculating that he could win 5 FO's ranked outside the top 10. You said so long as he is fully fit. Apologies if I misunderstood. And of course other players and fans of other players would be happy if he confined himself to that.

Nadal is only 26 and is way too young to have finished creating a legacy and way too young to be forced into semi retirement. Injuries of course can happen to any player at any time but from what I've heard Nadal's injury is not career threatening. IMO some people are getting a bit carried away with speculation about Nadal's demise and what consequence this would have on other players. On this thread fans of a certain other player are gathered round like vultures. Ha ha!

hawkeye wrote:On this thread fans of a certain other player are gathered round like vultures. Ha ha!

The fact that you translate it that way says a lot more about you than it does about about fans of a "certain other player". I am a tennis fan and I like Nadal, if I want to wish him well I will do and do not need your permission to do so.

hawkeye wrote:It Must Be Love

I was responding to you agreeing with banbrotam speculating that he could win 5 FO's ranked outside the top 10. You said so long as he is fully fit. Apologies if I misunderstood. And of course other players and fans of other players would be happy if he confined himself to that.

Nadal is only 26 and is way too young to have finished creating a legacy and way too young to be forced into semi retirement. Injuries of course can happen to any player at any time but from what I've heard Nadal's injury is not career threatening. IMO some people are getting a bit carried away with speculation about Nadal's demise and what consequence this would have on other players. On this thread fans of a certain other player are gathered round like vultures. Ha ha!

I am not aware that anyone has suggested that Rafa has finished creating a legacy or being forced into semi retirement. Read the article again HE does it not suggest to you what the rest of us have come to realise that Rafa´s knee issues are and have been a lot more serious than was first thought. Where does he actually state that he will be playing any other tournament but Mexico... he has hinted at WANTING to play AO and ther APT tour but does he say he WILL be .. No. The Spanish are extremely good at telling you what they think you want to hear.. rather than what is factual. And I think that for the most of Rafa´s fans we have accepted the reality and that is if Rafa wants to find his way back up the rankings it is to quote him "one step at a time". I for one would rather see him coast through the clay court season and give his knees a chance to get back to competitive tennis than to see him take the giant leap of playing a GS on hardcourt. and find himself back at square one

So the consensus appears to be that we hope Nadal comes back fully fit but, if his knee problem requires long term management, he should adjust his schedule to benefit his health. Seems reasonable to me.

hawkeye wrote:It Must Be Love

I was responding to you agreeing with banbrotam speculating that he could win 5 FO's ranked outside the top 10. You said so long as he is fully fit. Apologies if I misunderstood. And of course other players and fans of other players would be happy if he confined himself to that.

Nadal is only 26 and is way too young to have finished creating a legacy and way too young to be forced into semi retirement. Injuries of course can happen to any player at any time but from what I've heard Nadal's injury is not career threatening. IMO some people are getting a bit carried away with speculation about Nadal's demise and what consequence this would have on other players. On this thread fans of a certain other player are gathered round like vultures. Ha ha!

Hawkeye. Some of us are dealing in realities and I suggest you do. I've no doubt that Nadal can challenge for No.1 - but the grind of the season away from the Clay would curtail his career significantly in comparison to say, missing half the hard court Masters. I'm more than happy for Nadal to take your stance, simply because I think his hard court days (at the very Top) are over. Not only will Nole and Murray continue to have a positive head to head for any last five matches, I'm not certain that he'll cope with the likes of Raonic now

Realities, Hawkeye. Realities. It would be smart of Rafa to concentrate on the Clay and be selective elsewhere. Obviously his ranking could suffer - but that wouldn't stop him still winning on the dirt

Well Banb I don't think the problem with Hard Courts is that if he is fully fit he won't be competitive on it; but I think it's the fact for the long term it will put even more strain on his body and could give him more injuries.

You keep on repeating 'realities' 'realities' but the fact of the matter is none of us know the reality of the future (or we'd be filthy rich and have bankrupted Bet365 by now ).
Firstly there is the big hypothetical: Can Rafa get back to full fitness, can he get back to his best? Nothing is guaranteed.
But if the recovery does go as planned, and he regains full fitness by start of 2013, he'll still have to plan his schedule cleverly.
I think he should play a light schedule, with all clay tournaments apart from:
Australian Open
Wimbledon
Cincinatti
US Open
WTF

If he plays this schedule I think he'll be competent and challenging for every tournament he plays.
If this does happen we could have some brilliant rivalries set up:
Murray vs Nadal- So far Nadal has had the better record in Grand Slams, but I believe Murray has improved under Lendl. Like WTF 2010, we could have some more brilliant matches between these two!
Djokovic vs Nadal- Nadal has won the last 3 matches, but I believe Djokovic has had the better on hard courts. The last time they played on hard courts Djokovic hardly cruised, in-fact he won in a 5th set epic! A lot will depend on Djokovic. This year he has been very consistent, but after the AO in the bigger tournaments he has not been at his best at his latter stages. No one knows for sure how well Djokovic will play.

As for your Raonic prediction... well let's put it this way, you have more faith in young Milos than I do.

Anyway overall I don't think you can accurately know any 'realities' really. The first question mark is whether Nadal comes back to full fitness, and I think I speak for the majority of the tennis fans when I say I hope this is the case.
Secondly if this is the case, what happens from there no one knows. I think if Nadal balances his schedule well, he can be competitive in all the tournaments he plays, hard courts as well as grass and clay. If he plays too much HC, there might be a possibility of more injury trouble, as that surface is not good for his knees.

Hawkeye don't you feel a bit silly for getting all bent out of shape and offended at the prospect of Nadal going to Latin America when I suggested it weeks ago. Frankly I have been saying it for years and for some reason people always seem to get offended by the suggestion. These are 500 point events in beautiful locations and a growing market for tennis. If Nadal did this 5 years ago he would have saved himself 20 weeks of playing and practicing on hardcourts over the course of his career. That is why I always felt with how damaging playing on hardcourts was for him that it was short term thinking to take t extra appearance fee from the sheiks to show up for dubai. He also should can Abu Dhabi from his schedule as well.

It Must Be Love wrote:Well Banb I don't think the problem with Hard Courts is that if he is fully fit he won't be competitive on it; but I think it's the fact for the long term it will put even more strain on his body and could give him more injuries.

You keep on repeating 'realities' 'realities' but the fact of the matter is none of us know the reality of the future (or we'd be filthy rich and have bankrupted Bet365 by now ).
Firstly there is the big hypothetical: Can Rafa get back to full fitness, can he get back to his best? Nothing is guaranteed.
But if the recovery does go as planned, and he regains full fitness by start of 2013, he'll still have to plan his schedule cleverly.
I think he should play a light schedule, with all clay tournaments apart from:
Australian Open
Wimbledon
Cincinatti
US Open
WTF

If he plays this schedule I think he'll be competent and challenging for every tournament he plays.
If this does happen we could have some brilliant rivalries set up:
Murray vs Nadal- So far Nadal has had the better record in Grand Slams, but I believe Murray has improved under Lendl. Like WTF 2010, we could have some more brilliant matches between these two!
Djokovic vs Nadal- Nadal has won the last 3 matches, but I believe Djokovic has had the better on hard courts. The last time they played on hard courts Djokovic hardly cruised, in-fact he won in a 5th set epic! A lot will depend on Djokovic. This year he has been very consistent, but after the AO in the bigger tournaments he has not been at his best at his latter stages. No one knows for sure how well Djokovic will play.

As for your Raonic prediction... well let's put it this way, you have more faith in young Milos than I do.

Anyway overall I don't think you can accurately know any 'realities' really. The first question mark is whether Nadal comes back to full fitness, and I think I speak for the majority of the tennis fans when I say I hope this is the case.
Secondly if this is the case, what happens from there no one knows. I think if Nadal balances his schedule well, he can be competitive in all the tournaments he plays, hard courts as well as grass and clay. If he plays too much HC, there might be a possibility of more injury trouble, as that surface is not good for his knees.

Er. I agree with all your comments in the first half and the latter section - that's my point, no matter what Rafa needs a lighter schedule on the hard courts and I'd pick the one you've mentioned

As for Raonic, my point is that Rafa tends to be more vulnerable to the big forehand players having a good day, than the others

My apologies there, I must have misunderstood your post
Glad you agree with me

As for young Raonic, I think he has a long way to go before threatening a big player in a BO5. BO3 though, I think he can cause a few upsets next year.

It Must Be Love wrote:My apologies there, I must have misunderstood your post
Glad you agree with me

As for young Raonic, I think he has a long way to go before threatening a big player in a BO5. BO3 though, I think he can cause a few upsets next year.

I do have to agree with your opinion regarding Raonic .. he is, imo, not yet living up to the hype that has surrounded him. Rafa has had no trouble with him on his two encounters with him both on HC which Rafa one in two straight sets. Raonic has a some way to go before he can become a serious threat to the big four, and Ive yet to see a great deal of improvement in the last 12 months. He could I feel do with spending a little more time in the gym He is still young and he may yet prove me wrong. Ill reserve final judgement