Rafa Crushes Ferrer 6-0 6-2. Is He Back Yet?

After 8 months away from the court there was much speculation about whether Nadal would ever be able to return to the top. On his return he looked a little wobbly but last night he crushed the world number four 6-0 6-2

A dominant Rafa Nadal dismantled fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 6-0 6-2 on Saturday to win his second Mexican Open title and continue his successful comeback from a long injury lay-off.

Nadal, ranked fifth in the world, needed just over an hour to dispatch top seed Ferrer and was delighted with his form.

"For me, I played almost perfectly," said Nadal following the match. "My knee responded well all week."

Nadal also confirmed he would play in next week's Indian Wells hard-court tournament, despite speculation he might skip the event to spare his knee.

"My heart tells me I should continue competing, that I need to move on to the next tournament," he added.

"Rafa was just better than me today," said Ferrer.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/03/03/uk-tennis-mexico-nadal-idUKBRE92201I20130303

So is he back yet? How scared should other players be looking at that score line?

That's an unbelievable score line. It pretty much ends the discussion of whether Rafa can get back to his previous level. After a win like that, you have to conclude that he's back.

Top players love the challenge of playing other top players, so I doubt any of them are 'scared' to be honest.

He's got to be the favourite for RG now.

I just wonder how suspect the knee really is? We can only really judge when Rafa returns to hard courts - that will be the time to judge if he is really back. On clay court evidence he is definitely back but the acid test will come on hard courts.

Yes, we know Rafa can do this on clay to just about anyone...anyone remember 6-0 6-1 vs Verdasco in MC final a couple of years back. Once oiled, the guy is a clay machine and likely best ever on the surface so it doesn't surprise he could do that. However, I was too surprised by the scoreline...but as they say, form is temporary, class is permanent. It was only a matter of time, knee willing, that he'd start to look like his former self. These guys are greats of the game for a reason.

HCs are a different proposition though. He hasn't played a HC tournament for 12 months (Miami 12, and he had to pull out of that due to knee troubles...that's when it really started to be an issue). I also wonder if he needs a rest as well...He may yet still pull out of IW, and I can't see him doing Miami...even though he's defending 360 points in each.

Considering his breakdown in relations with IMG, I'd be surprised if he played Miami.
Personally I don't think he should play IW, but he says he's gonna play.

I think he intends to play IW but has pulled out of Miami. Is that the same as Federer? Poor Miami if so...

CaladonianCraig. Apart from IW it is a long time before any significant hard court tournaments. The other players should focus their worry on how he will play on clay and grass. No need to worry too much about the future...

Yes, same as Fed.

hawkeye wrote:I think he intends to play IW but has pulled out of Miami. Is that the same as Federer? Poor Miami if so...

CaladonianCraig. Apart from IW it is a long time before any significant hard court tournaments. The other players should focus their worry on how he will play on clay and grass. No need to worry too much about the future...

The point is hawkeye, sooner or later he is going to have to play a big hard court tournament and even grass (where his knee problem brought his break from the game) will be tough. I get the impression, understandably, that psychologically he is not quite fully trusting in his knee.

wow what a win, good to see!
Normally I would route for ferrer but having rafa back in the top 4 readdresses the balance in the draws big time.
Is it wise to play IW? He hasn't played on the hard for almost a year!
Maybe he feels if he is ok on hard then he will deffo be fine, whereas if he keeps playing on clay, he may feel wary about playing on hard.

He has come a long way since his return and albeit it is on his favourite surface but I still think it is a bit premature and unrealistic to expect him to suddenly win all the HC´s tournaments on top of this.. I think IW is a "try out" as he feels the knee has excelled even his expectations but I do not think he will risk more than that. His eye is set on winning the FO again thats for sure.. what other clay tournaments he picks up a long the way will be an added bonus

Not sure about the FO Haddie-Nuff.......

On the face of it you'd expect him to do well given his rather impressive record there.

But then IMBL ( a seasoned Rafa observer if ever there was one ...) has been very clear in telling us that he's only "eighth favourite" for this year's tourney ..... just ahead of Almagro apparently, but behind Ferrer .....

lags72 wrote:Not sure about the FO Haddie-Nuff.......

On the face of it you'd expect him to do well given his rather impressive record there.

But then IMBL ( a seasoned Rafa observer if ever there was one ...) has been very clear in telling us that he's only "eighth favourite" for this year's tourney ..... just ahead of Almagro apparently, but behind Ferrer .....

Really ??? yes what do I know about Rafa Nadal... I bow to the more knowledgeable

Oh by the way


http://news.williamhill.com/en/a/tennis/tennis-rafa-nadal-favourite-for-french-open/

lags72 wrote:Not sure about the FO Haddie-Nuff.......

On the face of it you'd expect him to do well given his rather impressive record there.

But then IMBL ( a seasoned Rafa observer if ever there was one ...) has been very clear in telling us that he's only "eighth favourite" for this year's tourney ..... just ahead of Almagro apparently, but behind Ferrer .....

Nadal now 7th favourite after yesterday

Not what william hill says is it

Haddie-nuff wrote:Not what william hill says is it

Betting companies are deviously good

Nadal now 7th favourite after yesterday

Then what is that based on if not a betting company.

Thanks for the William Hill link H-n.

Don't think they know much about betting, so instead of their 11/10 I think I'd rather go with IMBL's 50/1 !

lags72 wrote:Thanks for the William Hill link H-n.

Don't think they know much about betting, so instead of their 11/10 I think I'd rather go with IMBL's 50/1 !

I put it down to 45/1 yesterday

Anyway joking aside, I think Nadal's preparation in the European clay season will be key.

Red wrote:Anyway joking aside, I think Nadal's preparation in the European clay season will be key.

Now that is where we do agree. He needs some really competitive matches with players in the top ten.
Rafa has come to think of the FO as being his own and whatever, providing his knee is holding up under the strain, he will I absolutely guarantee, go all out. If he cannot win the FO there is not much chance of him winning another slam... at least not this year.

Haddie-nuff wrote:

Red wrote:Anyway joking aside, I think Nadal's preparation in the European clay season will be key.

Now that is where we do agree. He needs some really competitive matches with players in the top ten.
Rafa has come to think of the FO as being his own and whatever, providing his knee is holding up under the strain, he will I absolutely guarantee, go all out. If he cannot win the FO there is not much chance of him winning another slam... at least not this year.

In 2009 he won AO but lost French Open, so it's not so clear cut.

Im not implying that its clear cut... what the dickens is clear cut in tennis.
What I am saying is that these are somewhat different circumstances than in 2009 .. Rafa knows he is going to get one bite of the cherry this year... I mean I am surprised as are many others that he is going to throw in IW in the mix I though he would stick with just clay until he is absolutely sure of that knee .. but his decision to do so makes you realise just how hungry he is after 7 mths lay off.
His confidence is high, he has done better than I believe he, or indeed anyone else thought he would.. "Reach for the Sky". His mental game has come back which I thought would take longer than his physical recovery.
You know "you are what you believe you are" and I think he believes in himself after this initial success.

CaledonianCraig wrote:

hawkeye wrote:I think he intends to play IW but has pulled out of Miami. Is that the same as Federer? Poor Miami if so...

CaladonianCraig. Apart from IW it is a long time before any significant hard court tournaments. The other players should focus their worry on how he will play on clay and grass. No need to worry too much about the future...

The point is hawkeye, sooner or later he is going to have to play a big hard court tournament and even grass (where his knee problem brought his break from the game) will be tough. I get the impression, understandably, that psychologically he is not quite fully trusting in his knee.

Nadal's injury problem didn't start on grass and I think he has made it quite clear he favors natural surfaces and that includes grass. He is also pretty good on grass too (cough). People forget he was the favorite to win at last years Wimbledon and that is why it was such a shock when he lost. I would guess that Nadal has never quite trusted his knee but it hasn't stopped him getting 11 slams. The only "big" hard court tournaments for such an elite player such as Nadal are the US and AO opens. Like I said they are a long way off so certainly nothing to worry about now.

Personally I'm pleased he's going to IW. He must be feeling good about his recovery to do so and it's not like he will be under any pressure to win. Also I'd got mixed up and thought that Federer was missing both IW and Miami but he will be at IW too. Both Roger and Rafa in the same tournament. Woo Hoo!

Yes, he's back.

But that scoreline is an embarrassment to Ferrer.

Last match v Novak 6-2 6-2 6-1. Now Rafa spanks him even harder.

I don't care what the rankings suggest, there is absolutely no way he is the "best of the rest".

Well 6, 7 and 8 are Berdych, Del Potro and Tsonga. None of them looked anywhere near Ferrer's level when they had the misfortune to play him last year. Hard to say someone else is more deserving of the ranking.

I agree with murdoch, if berdych and tsonga weren't such mental midgets and so inconsistent ferrer would not have the ranking he has. The guy plays a lot of tournaments and gets deep into the draw every time though. Still he has very little to hurt any of the bigger players with. Ferrer played awful and just couldn't get the ball through the court against Nadal on a clay court.

Again you are right Socal.. shame really because David deserves more if only for his work ethic. But Oh dear Berdych I do ask myself what are the rest like if thats what we have challenging the top players... there is only one word that comes to mind Pathetic. .. I doubt if he could even spell the word Slam !!!
Tsonga .. entertaining yes.. what else can I say

But those guys get smacked whenever they come up against Ferrer. He didn't look toothless when only dropping 8 games to DP at Wimbledon or when embarrassing Berdych in the Davis Cup final. He isn't as good as the top 4 but he's clearly been far better than the rest since the start of 2012.

I know BS and thats the sad thing he deserves to have won a major for all his efforts... but it does make you question the rest on tour doesn´t it when lets face it Rafa has been absent for 7/8 mths and is still No.5.

Haddie-nuff wrote:Again you are right Socal.. shame really because David deserves more if only for his work ethic. But Oh dear Berdych I do ask myself what are the rest like if thats what we have challenging the top players... there is only one word that comes to mind Pathetic. .. I doubt if he could even spell the word Slam !!!
Tsonga .. entertaining yes.. what else can I say

I mean if you watched the final haddie berdy matched djokovic the whole match except on the big points were he manufactured ways to blow those points. He netted an easy sitter of a volley with Novak off the court and the whole court to just tap into that cost him a break at the end of set 1. Then he double faults on set point, and missed a smash by a mile that end up costing him at the end of second set. Both guys have made a lot of money and won some trophies but both Tsonga and Berdych are huge underachievers, talent wise they should be right up with the big boys.

Haddie-nuff wrote:I know BS and thats the sad thing he deserves to have won a major for all his efforts... but it does make you question the rest on tour doesn´t it when lets face it Rafa has been absent for 7/8 mths and is still No.5.

Doesn't really make me question it. He does still have a grand slam, two Masters titles plus a few other events on his record. It isn't like Nadal being out has left a big gap for the likes of Berdych in any event. They can't pick up the really big points because the top 3 are just better than them.

Doesn't really make me question it. He does still have a grand slam, two Masters titles plus a few other events on his record. It isn't like Nadal being out has left a big gap for the likes of Berdych in any event. They can't pick up the really big points because the top 3 are just better than them

-------------------------------------

Who ????

Haddie-nuff wrote:Doesn't really make me question it. He does still have a grand slam, two Masters titles plus a few other events on his record. It isn't like Nadal being out has left a big gap for the likes of Berdych in any event. They can't pick up the really big points because the top 3 are just better than them

-------------------------------------

Who ????

Nadal's record for that year.

IMBL

BS did you watch berdych's choke job in the final against Novak? I mean in the clutch he missed some absolute gimmes. When is the guy going to actually cash in on all that talent. No way that a david ferrer at like five foot 8 should be finishing above him every single year.

I dont think David has lost against him yet has he ???

I wouldn't be surprised if ferrer owns berdych, because at least ferrer doesn't beat himself and brings it at a consistent level.

I think Novak thought his Christmas´s and Birthdays had come at once when he missed that overhead

Berdych, Tsonga and Del Potro do at least have weapons. They can damage the top guys. They don't always get the results but the momentum of the match does at least swing their way at times. They force the top guys into difficult spots which they have to get out of.

A match against Ferrer is just a formality. 5 sets against Novak and Rafa and he manages just 7 games. He may be a nice guy and he make work hard but he should feel embarrassed by that. Berdych, Tsonga and Del Potro aren't getting trounced in that way.

socal1976 wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if ferrer owns berdych, because at least ferrer doesn't beat himself and brings it at a consistent level.

Ferrer is good at consistently beating everyone outside top four and consistently losing to everyone inside top four. Very consistent, but at a not-good-enough level.

summerblues wrote:

socal1976 wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if ferrer owns berdych, because at least ferrer doesn't beat himself and brings it at a consistent level.

Ferrer is good at consistently beating everyone outside top four and consistently losing to everyone inside top four. Very consistent, but at a not-good-enough level.

But I havent checked so I dont know.
But how many titles do Berdych and Tsonga have against how many Ferrer has won.
Id be interested to know

ATP site says:

Tsonga 10
Berdych 8
Ferrer 20

But Ferrer is about three years older. In the last three years he won about half of his all titles, so was around 10 at the same age as Berdych and Tsonga.

Success-wise, they are kind of comparable. Ferrer less flashy but more conistent, while the other two the other way around.

But then you are left asking the question.....
Who in the last analysis is the most successful.. a man who has achieved 20 titles albeit he is now 31yrs old... and according to concensus of opinion has little talent.. just work ethic.
The other two albeit younger who have achieved virtually nothing with oodles of talent but obviously lacking the very thing that Ferrer has and they dont.
Again I say.. I take my hat of to Ferrer his tenacity and hard work has made him a tennis player who will be remembered.
At the moment I cannot see Berdych at any rate carving his name in the Tennis History books.

HM Murdoch wrote:Berdych, Tsonga and Del Potro do at least have weapons. They can damage the top guys. They don't always get the results but the momentum of the match does at least swing their way at times. They force the top guys into difficult spots which they have to get out of.

A match against Ferrer is just a formality. 5 sets against Novak and Rafa and he manages just 7 games. He may be a nice guy and he make work hard but he should feel embarrassed by that. Berdych, Tsonga and Del Potro aren't getting trounced in that way.

That is the thing though Murdoch, Ferrer gets all he can out of his abilities. Where here you have the guys who are the biggest hitters on tour berdy, Tsonga, and Del PO failing to outshine him. Ferrer doesn't have any weapons to hurt the big boys so that is why if the top guys are on they just bowl him over. The other guys have that potential to test the big boys and to hurt them with their weapons but fail to do so. So if anyone is embarassing himself I feel it isn't ferrer, it is the guys with 140 mile an hour serves and 110 mile an hour forehands who just don't fight as hard as he does, just don't bring it. Del Po should be excluded to some extent because he has won the slam and has been damaged by injury. But Tsong and Berdy really don't have any excuse.

HM Murdoch wrote:Berdych, Tsonga and Del Potro do at least have weapons. They can damage the top guys. They don't always get the results but the momentum of the match does at least swing their way at times. They force the top guys into difficult spots which they have to get out of.

A match against Ferrer is just a formality. 5 sets against Novak and Rafa and he manages just 7 games. He may be a nice guy and he make work hard but he should feel embarrassed by that. Berdych, Tsonga and Del Potro aren't getting trounced in that way.

That is the thing though Murdoch, Ferrer gets all he can out of his abilities. Where here you have the guys who are the biggest hitters on tour berdy, Tsonga, and Del PO failing to outshine him. Ferrer doesn't have any weapons to hurt the big boys so that is why if the top guys are on they just bowl him over. The other guys have that potential to test the big boys and to hurt them with their weapons but fail to do so. So if anyone is embarassing himself I feel it isn't ferrer, it is the guys with 140 mile an hour serves and 110 mile an hour forehands who just don't fight as hard as he does, just don't bring it. Del Po should be excluded to some extent because he has won the slam and has been damaged by injury. But Tsong and Berdy really don't have any excuse.

Haddie-nuff wrote:just work ethic.

Why "just" work ethic? Work ethic is a pretty important part of the package; perhaps more so than talent.

Haddie-nuff wrote:
The other two albeit younger who have achieved virtually nothing

That is not really fair to them, certainly not in comparison to Ferrer? I think each of the three has won exactly one Masters tournament, and the two younger ones have won about as many total ATP titles as Ferrer when he was their age. Also, unlike Ferrer, they both have at least been to a slam final. I certainly would not say they achieved virtually nothing in comparison to Ferrer.

summerblues wrote:

Haddie-nuff wrote:just work ethic.

Why "just" work ethic? Work ethic is a pretty important part of the package; perhaps more so than talent.

Haddie-nuff wrote:
The other two albeit younger who have achieved virtually nothing

That is not really fair to them, certainly not in comparison to Ferrer? I think each of the three has won exactly one Masters tournament, and the two younger ones have won about as many total ATP titles as Ferrer when he was their age. Also, unlike Ferrer, they both have at least been to a slam final. I certainly would not say they achieved virtually nothing in comparison to Ferrer.

Yes summerblues but ferrer has maximized his potential, the other two guys berdych and Tsonga have way underachieved for the talent and power they possess. Berdych is basically the same exact player he was 5 years ago and Tsonga didn't have a coach for 2 years because tennis wasn't fun when he had a coach. This is the difference between very good players and great players. Djokovic, Murray, and Nadal continue to add to their repetoire and have done so for years. These guys seem to be the same exact players they were with minor improvements here and there with what they were years ago.

socal1976 wrote:Yes summerblues but ferrer has maximized his potential, the other two guys berdych and Tsonga have way underachieved for the talent

I think we are saying the same thing.

Haddie-nuff wrote:But then you are left asking the question.....
Who in the last analysis is the most successful.. a man who has achieved 20 titles albeit he is now 31yrs old... and according to concensus of opinion has little talent.. just work ethic.
The other two albeit younger who have achieved virtually nothing with oodles of talent but obviously lacking the very thing that Ferrer has and they dont.
Again I say.. I take my hat of to Ferrer his tenacity and hard work has made him a tennis player who will be remembered.
At the moment I cannot see Berdych at any rate carving his name in the Tennis History books.

What a strange post to denegrate Berdych and Tsonga to try to big up Ferrer.
I have no idea why H-N thinks that Ferrer will be remembered any more than Berdych. As has been said, both have one Masters win among other titles. Berdych has multiple wins over Federer at slams, back to back slams wins over Federer and Djokovic, and a slam final.
And as for Tsonga, he was ranked higher than Ferrer over the summer, and is one of a select few with slam wins over Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.
Sure they do not have the mental strength of the very top players, but that's a pretty high standard to judge them by.
I think how they are rated at the end of their careers will be similar (assuming neither Berdych nor Tsonga bag that elusive slam) - but how they have approached their careers is obviously not.