The Good Of Nadals Return

Hes come back after 7 months. Hes won RG, and already qualified for the WTF, and won a hard court title. Hes proven that he can still live with the best of them. He has however has some disappointments, Zeballos, Darcis, and losing his MC streak.

Hes done well though, he could end the year now and be satisfied given how badly it could have gone...

Just thought it would be nice to have a positive Nadal thread.
If you dont like it... well its a forum... deal with it.

It was good to have him back and this defeat might be a blessing. It's nearly two months until the Masters hardcourt season resumes - so he could be fine

I wish him well and would love to see another US Open Murray / Rafa SF, with of course Andy winning

He won a slam beating his biggest rival along the way.

It was good to see Rafa back at Wimbledon but it must be alarming the way his return turned out. If it is the same old injury and it flared up on his first match on grass then it won't help him mentally or physically. I have no idea what the solution is if there is one. His movement was a pale shadow of what it was. Was that because of the knee? You would have thought there is a good chance it was. If it was more him not willing to trust the knee and trying to protect it then until he puts trust in it these sorts of defeats will become commonplace at Wimbledon for him.

Like I said on the other thread, a series of ex-pro's, all adept grass court players, thought his movement was well below par and suspect its the knee, and in turn its the grass itself that's causing the issue not his wear and tear leading up to the event on clay. The issue, for him, is despite all the tennis he's had he's probably done very little knee work for low surfaces, and there is so little time to adjust between clay and grass after RG. Maybe he just has to say goodbye to the surface...I suspect it's worse for his knees now than even hard court. 

Good to see him back on court but no Rafa fan is in a happy fan tonight. Losing one match is no big deal in any event, it happens, but to leave with clear question marks hanging over his knees once again isn't great. Even Darcis acknowledged Nadal wasn't at his best. Anyway, I hope it makes Murray's ascension all the easier.

falzy21 wrote:Hes come back after 7 months. Hes won RG, and already qualified for the WTF, and won a hard court title. Hes proven that he can still live with the best of them. He has however has some disappointments, Zeballos, Darcis, and losing his MC streak.

Hes done well though, he could end the year now and be satisfied given how badly it could have gone...

Just thought it would be nice to have a positive Nadal thread.
If you dont like it... well its a forum... deal with it.

I'm with you falzy.

I have to say that his recuperation and convalescence are still ongoing. He put everything into the FO and played some torrid matches to get to the final and win. This must have had an effect on his physical makeup, don't care if this looks like trying make excuses for his loss, but after seeing his match today, although Darcis played brilliant, Rafa should still have beaten him. He couldn't hit the ball through and couldn't make a lot of chases, he may well have burnt himself out after the FO, it was only two weeks ago. His movement didnt look clean or have any speed compared to normal Rafa levels, in fact he looked half the Nadal we saw in Paris.

A few moments of Rafastical magic, but nowhere near enough to do any real damage.

I stand by my conviction that he has lost too much upper body mass and strength in his layoff and can't hit the ball with the same amount of sting or top spin, which is one of his potent weapons.

He'll be back, taking the punches today was typical Nadal and if there's any good news to be had from this result, then its the fact that losing hasn't put back his plan to realise his old self, hopefully, and that in the coming months, he will slowly regain what he's essentially lost.

We haven't seen the last of Nadal.

Strangely for me, although at first I was delighted, I quickly because rather sad. I have come to respect Nadal and his achievements. It was only a few years ago that him being in the final was a formality, the record speaks for itself, final appearances in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 & 2011. I can't be entirely sure if the issue is injury or more to do with how little time he has to adjust to grass -I thought it was a mistake he missed Halle, he won the French Open last year and still went to Halle! It must be strange for a Nadal fan at the moment, only two weeks ago he romped home with another slam and now he's out in the first round of his second most successful slam, a fate not even eclipsed by last year's dismal result @ Wimbledon.

Some have said that Nadal's best opportunity to win a slam (outside RG) maybe the USO, and given his record there has been better than at Wimbledon in recent years, I'd say there is hope he can still get some further slam glory this year!

I don't get why Nadal gets stick. 

When it's all said and done, Nadal will probably be top 2-3 in the all time greatest players(my opinion). 

No one can question what Nadal brings to the tour. 100% commitment. Leaves it all out there. 

Nadal forced Federer to improve, thus improving tennis for the fans(I'm a huge Federer fan but appreciate what Nadal's achieved(even though he's hammered Federer on many occasions))

Nadal's increased fitness has been refreshing and in the end will probably mean he'll burn bright but for a shorter period. 

But what a career. 12 majors. An unprecedented 8 French Opens. 4 majors off clay. 

Many players would've been happy just to stick it on clay. Nadal improved his game of achieved golden gold, Wimbledon etc. 

Today could be the last time we see Rafael Nadal ever play at Wimbledon, so he deserves the respect a player of his class has earnt.  

I can see Nadal skipping New York and Melbourne. Trying to win his 9th French Open and retiring.

Nadal's return exceeded my expectations. I thought he would come back and having lost a bit. Still competitive, but you know slip towards a Quarter Final type player who just wouldn't have enough once he reached the top players. I didn't see any future slams. So he's done better than i thought.

"I can see Nadal skipping New York and Melbourne. Trying to win his 9th French Open and retiring."

This is over the top for me. He will play the slams unless injured. Even if his injuries forced him off HC and grass entirely, why not continue to play the clay season for a few years more? There would be no shame in winning FOs only, and other good clay tournaments. Not after having a career where you conquered every other slam already anyway.

But...I don't think it'll come to that.

Isn't this the first tournament of the year where he didn't make a final?

I was going to start a thread on a similiar theme to your post, Henman Bill. It would annoy me if the ATP with mandatory events and what not end up penalising players, especially those at the top of their game. I know they want to avoid Masters 1000 where someone like del Potro or Gasquet ends up as the top seed, but they would seem little point in forcing Nadal into too many hard/grass court events if his body isn't up to it and possibly Murray. Does he need to go through  4 or 5 events on clay for the sole purpose of doing his back in?

Henman Bill wrote:"I can see Nadal skipping New York and Melbourne. Trying to win his 9th French Open and retiring."

This is over the top for me. He will play the slams unless injured. Even if his injuries forced him off HC and grass entirely, why not continue to play the clay season for a few years more? There would be no shame in winning FOs only, and other good clay tournaments. Not after having a career where you conquered every other slam already anyway.

But...I don't think it'll come to that.

Isn't this the first tournament of the year where he didn't make a final?

I don't think it's an over reaction TBH. 

Nadal's 27, he's had a magnificent career. A hall of fame career. 

He's got nothing to prove. 

There's more to life than tennis. 

Does Nadal really want to destroy his body beyond repair even if he's only playing on clay? Winning on clay is hardly a challenge for him.

I think he's still work in progress (to get back to full fitness) and we shouldn't write him off just yet. If his knee is sore, then a further period of rest may help. Grass could have been just that little too much for him to compete on, FO was just two weeks ago and it was a long slog for him to win it.

My jury's out on whether this is just a set back or the final nail in his career.

Gerry SA wrote:Today could be the last time we see Rafael Nadal ever play at Wimbledon, so he deserves the respect a player of his class has earnt.  

I don't see why this should be his last Wimbledon.  Hewitt was knocked out in the first round as defending champion in 2003 and here he is, 10 years later, still fighting.  It's beyond unlikely that Nadal will be playing Wimbledon in 2023 but there is nothing to prevent him coming back to Wimbledon for several more years, providing he manages his body a little better.

Rafa came back from his 7mth lay-off at a time when he knew he was good and ready.. imo Rafa deliberately chose to come back and try the knee out on clay, his first two tournaments got him to the semis and Rafa being Rafa said hey lets try another.. until he got to his beloved RG and then it was all his eggs in one basket... he won and the job was done.. he never played Halle because he couldn´t play Halle. He went from Paris home to the doctor who told him to rest.. I would put my last € on the fact that the doctor advised him not to play Wimbledon.. but because of the disaster last year he knew he would have to "show his face" .. I never expected him to win. I personally believed that Wimbledon so soon after the effort that went into winning RG was a step too far. I am proud of him, Im proud of his achievements since he returned from injury. I am now deeply concerned.. I believe he will never play Wimbledon again. And though its a pessimistic thought I fear for his future.. Im not sure he will pull  it back again. And to attempt playing the HC season in my view is tantamount to professional suicide. Yes my glass is only half full but with good reason I think. And I know from my fellow Rafa fans on and off this forum have the same fears as I do

Haddie-nuff wrote:Rafa came back from his 7mth lay-off at a time when he knew he was good and ready.. imo Rafa deliberately chose to come back and try the knee out on clay, his first two tournaments got him to the semis and Rafa being Rafa said hey lets try another.. until he got to his beloved RG and then it was all his eggs in one basket... he won and the job was done.. he never played Halle because he couldn´t play Halle. He went from Paris home to the doctor who told him to rest.. I would put my last € on the fact that the doctor advised him not to play Wimbledon.. but because of the disaster last year he knew he would have to "show his face" .. I never expected him to win. I personally believed that Wimbledon so soon after the effort that went into winning RG was a step too far. I am proud of him, Im proud of his achievements since he returned from injury. I am now deeply concerned.. I believe he will never play Wimbledon again. And though its a pessimistic thought I fear for his future.. Im not sure he will pull  it back again. And to attempt playing the HC season in my view is tantamount to professional suicide. Yes my glass is only half full but with good reason I think. And I know from my fellow Rafa fans on and off this forum have the same fears as I do

Superb post.

I do hope you are wrong but it was very concerning, even as a Murray supporter, to see just one match on grass really affect him so much. Can he come back to Wimbledon again? Perhaps with surgery he can but also now he has two big mental scars. The hard courts may not be as bad as grass actually as I believe not so quick stops, turns and movement is needed as is the case on grass but we shall see. All the best to Rafa and hope to see him back soon.

Haddie-nuff wrote: I believe he will never play Wimbledon again. And though its a pessimistic thought I fear for his future.. Im not sure he will pull  it back again. And to attempt playing the HC season in my view is tantamount to professional suicide. Yes my glass is only half full but with good reason I think. And I know from my fellow Rafa fans on and off this forum have the same fears as I do

I wondered if he was saying goodbye to Wimbledon too yesterday, despite what he said in the press conference - something about how he acknowledged the crowd and how he walked off with Darcis.  If so, I wish it had been goodbye on CC.  I have to say that if skipping Wimbledon prolongs his career then I think it will be well worth the missing so that we can all continue to watch him strut his stuff at RG for some time to come.  Many a player and their fans would take that option.

I don't share your pessimism about the hard courts, though as a fan one tends to foresee difficulties for a player than a neutral observer does.  Nadal played really well at IW.  His fans will hope for a kind draw at USO so that he does not spend longer than necessary on court in the early rounds, but if he is feeling well then not many can withstand the onslaught. 

It is a great shame to see a great champion like Rafa go out in the first round but on the bright side, if the knee isn't right then better for the rest of his season that he went out early then exacerbated the injury by  fighting through more rounds.

When you are a professional sportsman it must be very difficult to accept that your body cannot be relied on to perform the way it has always done. If he had been another 5 years older I think it would well have been expected . That this has happened to a player still in his prime (it broke my heart when Borg retired at 26yrs old but at least that was a voluntary decision).
I can only say thanks to them both they have given me some wonderful years of tennis viewing. I hope, sincerely, that my fears are unfounded.. Like him or hate him any decent fan of this sport  would not wish this on him.... get well soon Rafa

It is still early days to be so pessimistic - a couple of weeks ago he totally outclassed Ferrer in the final without needing to get out of 3rd gear, and he played an extremely physical match in the semis which he may still be feeling a few effects from.

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/tramlines/nadal-defeat-raises-more-questions-035330426.html

That is one blog that holds one opinion but until there is a statement from Nadal's team that his participation in the hardcourt swing is in doubt, then I would wait before being too gloomy.  If you google 'Rafael Nadal knees' you will find plenty of speculation in the press similar to the blog you reference, but you will also find this blog:

http://news.sportsinteraction.com/sports/tennis-sports/nadals-loss-to-darcis-is-not-about-his-injured-knees-77894/

For the moment, the two are just opposite opinions, (albeit while both acknowledging the knee issue) and I wouldn't despair yet.

I have never been in the 'Lets hate Rafa camp'

I have to say that if his career from here on out is going to be shortened by injury, the sport shall be poorer for it.

His comeback has been remarkable. Reaching 9 finals in 9 tournaments is no easy feat and granted yes 8 of them on clay, but from such an long and extended period out makes it the more stunning.

The issue at hand is which tournaments does he skip? He seemed ok in IW and I think Paris is slow enough to keep him interested. He might well have to miss the HC swing.

Granted Rafa isn't everyones cup of tea, but I draw the line when I see people who actually take delight in insulting a player who is injured.

time please wrote:That is one blog that holds one opinion but until there is a statement from Nadal's team that his participation in the hardcourt swing is in doubt, then I would wait before being too gloomy.  If you google 'Rafael Nadal knees' you will find plenty of speculation in the press similar to the blog you reference, but you will also find this blog:

http://news.sportsinteraction.com/sports/tennis-sports/nadals-loss-to-darcis-is-not-about-his-injured-knees-77894/

For the moment, the two are just opposite opinions, (albeit while both acknowledging the knee issue) and I

wouldn't despair yet.

I place more faith in this one personally... this is Rafa´s own Spanish Blog ... how is your Spanish

http://rafael.nadal.over-blog.com/

In truth it is his knee.. and that he believed he could play when he went out on court.. which leads me to think he already knew he had a problem.. he goes on to say that what happened before he does not want to happen again.. he cannot say what his schedule will be it is a team decision making process at the moment.
He wants to play USO he doesnt say he will play USO

legendkillarV2 wrote:I have never been in the 'Lets hate Rafa camp'

I have to say that if his career from here on out is going to be shortened by injury, the sport shall be poorer for it.

His comeback has been remarkable. Reaching 9 finals in 9 tournaments is no easy feat and granted yes 8 of them on clay, but from such an long and extended period out makes it the more stunning.

The issue at hand is which tournaments does he skip? He seemed ok in IW and I think Paris is slow enough to keep him interested. He might well have to miss the HC swing.

Granted Rafa isn't everyones cup of tea, but I draw the line when I see people who actually take delight in insulting a player who is injured.

Spot on.

Yes Lk Ill second that:clap:
Whatever else he is he doesn´t deserve that

Watch the documentary of Andy Murray for what a great guy Rafa comes across as ...and Roger and Novak for that matter.

CaledonianCraig wrote:Watch the documentary of Andy Murray for what a great guy Rafa comes across as ...and Roger and Novak for that matter.

I would love to Craig but it wont let me play it in my neck of the woods

Well in short Rafa had a lot of kind words to say about Andy and the mischievous grin he gave when relating a trick he played on Andy was great. He told how when they were dining at separate tables in Monte Carlo with Murray beside Kim and Rafa was texting him personal messages pretending to be from a girlfriend. Funny story.

Well of course they have been friends since they were youngsters havent they when Andy came over to Spain for a couple of years.
Yes I can imagine that was quite funny

Nadal's comeback has been hugely successful so far.  I'm sure he'd like more, but I'm as sure that he's sufficiently aware of his condition to be able to count his blessings.  As I have said on other posts, this year (and last) suggest that the transition between clay and grass has become the most difficult one for him these days.  He can still play a bit on HC, the question is how much it takes out of him. 

He won't want to do anything by halves and he's clearly still the clay maestro - are we therefore going to see a repeat over 2013-2014 of his prolonged break from 2012-2013 with a view to his maximising his chances of a big one?

Haddie-nuff wrote:

time please wrote:That is one blog that holds one opinion but until there is a statement from Nadal's team that his participation in the hardcourt swing is in doubt, then I would wait before being too gloomy.  If you google 'Rafael Nadal knees' you will find plenty of speculation in the press similar to the blog you reference, but you will also find this blog:

http://news.sportsinteraction.com/sports/tennis-sports/nadals-loss-to-darcis-is-not-about-his-injured-knees-77894/

For the moment, the two are just opposite opinions, (albeit while both acknowledging the knee issue) and I

wouldn't despair yet.

I place more faith in this one personally... this is Rafa´s own Spanish Blog ... how is your Spanish

http://rafael.nadal.over-blog.com/

In truth it is his knee.. and that he believed he could play when he went out on court.. which leads me to think he already knew he had a problem.. he goes on to say that what happened before he does not want to happen again.. he cannot say what his schedule will be it is a team decision making process at the moment.
He wants to play USO he doesnt say he will play USO

My Spanish is non-existent, but I do understand enough French to translate the bit on the left where the it is emphasised that the writer is not in touch with Rafa or his team so I'm guessing that whatever the article, the information is coming from the same press conferences that everyone else is party to?  

In any event, the only thing I am saying is to all Rafa fans is that I wouldn't get too gloomy until you hear from the team themselves whether Rafa will have to withdraw from the upcoming US tournaments, and Rafa himself said that he wasn't going to have to stop playing that long (though I do understand that the whole extent of the time he would take over recuperation last year was something that emerged over several press releases and weeks - hopefully that is not the same scenario this time)

I am not trying to minimise anything, and I understand fans' concerns, but there is no point in looking on the blackest possible outcome before we all know that it is as black as that.

Please don't be too quick on writing Wimbly off Rafas list.

It was depressing for all his fans to see him exit in such a manner, but this event was too close to the FO triumph. A harsh 5 set semi has to have taken it's toll even set his rehab back, he prob came back early to prepare for Paris. IMO, if he had played another clay event instead of Wimbledon, we would still have had the same result against the same player albeit a little closer.

I see him taking more time off to get his knee truely back into contention and cherry picking his way through the tournies in between the slams so that he can try to extend his career.

If he can't play on grass then he cant play on hard court either, so I don't think this will be an issue considering his level of play from the layoff. I think there is a strong case though for adding in at least another fortnight between these two slams for grass tournies for all players to take advantage of.

He may even have to learn a new way to play his game.

Were not writing him off again are we... people have enough egg on their face doing that to make several omelettes. If we write him off hell just come back, the guy isnt human...

falzy21 wrote:Were not writing him off again are we... people have enough egg on their face doing that to make several omelettes. If we write him off hell just come back, the guy isnt human...

You dont know how much I want you to be right

Richard Krajicek, who's at Wimbledon all week, just said this on BBC Radio 5 live:

"I think we might have seen the last of Rafa Nadal on grass. He has won two titles at Wimbledon, and he plays well on grass, but he needs to be able to move. Yesterday, he couldn't move.
It was good for Steve Darcis that he didn't choke, but if Rafa had been able to move, it would have been a different game.

I saw it in Rafa's eyes yesterday - he knew this tournament was over for him. He lost that fire a little bit. Seeing that, I felt a little tear in my eye."

Crikey, that seems a bit melodramatic from Krajicek. I sincerely hope that he's mistaken, it'd be a shame if Rafa didn't feel like he could ever return to the surface. He's a fighter though, all the top players are  - how many times have we seen Fedal in particular written off, only to be proven wrong? He'll find a way back, I believe it.

Pat Cash on the BBC earlier was sure that Rafa was not 100% as well.

"I saw it in Rafa's eyes yesterday - he knew this tournament was over for him. He lost that fire a little bit. Seeing that, I felt a little tear in my eye."

OK, so we call him Crycek from now on eh ?

Nadals grass is not over till the fat lady sings.

JubbaIsle wrote:

Nadals grass is not over till the fat lady sings.

Watch out here comes Roseanne Barr clearing her throat.

CaledonianCraig wrote:

JubbaIsle wrote:

Nadals grass is not over till the fat lady sings.

Watch out here comes Roseanne Barr clearing her throat.

Can she sing though ?

Nah she was just removing some mucus from her throat.