Topic: Enter the Clay Warrior King : Domination Redefined / 7 RG Titles and Counting

[hercules]

affirmative general swish the invincible.
 
no question about it. the sport is more demanding now than at anytime in the past. and getting more brutal with each passing year.

[Tennis4you]

affirmative general swish the invincible.
 
no question about it. the sport is more demanding now than at anytime in the past. and getting more brutal with each passing year.

Makes you wonder what the world of tennis is going to be like in 10 years.

[hercules]

affirmative general swish the invincible.
 
no question about it. the sport is more demanding now than at anytime in the past. and getting more brutal with each passing year.

Makes you wonder what the world of tennis is going to be like in 10 years.

i hear ya. i like to think really much further ahead in the future like in year 3030 and beyond.

[hercules]

my expectations for the clay warrior in 2012:
 
1. monte carlo
2. barcelona
3. rome
4. paris (rg)
5. wimbledon
 
 
and i dont care what happens to him in all the other tournaments. in fact i hope he loses early in all of the remaining events. that is the probably the only way we can ensure healthy knees and greater longevity from him in the sport.
 
he might consider the #1 rank important but i dont. he has been there. enough is enough.
 
it is now time to maximize his opportunities where he has a competitive advantage. and that happens to be on natural surfaces.
 
losing early on hard courts for him has never been more important. its a damn shame that he and his camp do not know that. it would keep him in the sport longer and he can also use that extra time on fitness, training, and more practice on clay.
 
for him, if he runs after everything, he will get nothing. as it is, his mindless infatuation has cost him some of his complete domination on clay. he is not as consistent off the ground as he used to be.
 
 

[falcon]

Hmm but I also wanted to see a 2010 like year again. May be not. Atleast he should win more RG's and Wimbys. I agree, enough of hard courts. He has already proved that he can win on them.

[hercules]

the sport is too demanding now. and add to that the fact that he has the most demanding style of play on the planet.
 
it simply doesnt make any sense to run after everything and damn near lose them all. and also lose your knees and your health in the process.
 
let the others run after everything.

[swish]

I found this schedule from another site:

Monte Carlo starts on the 16th April, and we have this schedule:

1 week of Monte Carlo
1 week of Barcelona

1week off

1 week of Madrid
1 week of Rome

1 week off

2 weeks of the French Open
1 week of Halle

1 week off

2 weeks of Wimbledon

3 weeks off

1 week of London Olympics at Wimbledon
1 week of Toronto
1 week of Cincinnati

1 week off

2 weeks of the US Open

[hercules]

thanks for posting the schedule general swish.

[swish]

Any word of Nadal's where abouts, schedule or training?

[hercules]

i have not heard anything yet general swish.
 
i guess those folks over at nadal`s vamos brigade website would know more.
 
i am sure he is slaving away on hard courts like a blundering buffoon.

[tennisfan78]

I am sure he is working hard. Too bad we dont usually know the details about the top players preparations.

[hercules]

fed is probably training in dubai.
 
and nole is most likely doing some hitting on clay in monte carlo. i call that being very smart. i hear that tries to practice on clay pretty much year around when possible.
 
no telling where murray is. probably training in south florida if i was to take a wild guess.

[falcon]

fed is probably training in dubai.
 
and nole is most likely doing some hitting on clay in monte carlo. i call that being very smart. i hear that tries to practice on clay pretty much year around when possible.
 
no telling where murray is. probably training in south florida if i was to take a wild guess.

Rafa must be running back and forth on cement 

[hercules]

 
when will his infatuation with hard courts ever end? as it is, hard courts have ruined his knees and affected his once amazing movement.
 
hard courts have also made him less consistent. he used to be a machine.
 
you have got to stick to your knitting after you have done it all. there is nothing more left to prove on hard courts.

[swish]

Nadal will never neglect the hards.

I don't think he's able to give up on hards without losing his spirit everywhere.

He may not be very wise in his actions but that's what makes him who he is.

[tennisfan78]

fed is probably training in dubai.
 
and nole is most likely doing some hitting on clay in monte carlo. i call that being very smart. i hear that tries to practice on clay pretty much year around when possible.
 
no telling where murray is. probably training in south florida if i was to take a wild guess.

I didnt know that about nole and his practice on clay. Thats cool

[tennisfan78]

Nadal will never neglect the hards.

I don't think he's able to give up on hards without losing his spirit everywhere.

He may not be very wise in his actions but that's what makes him who he is.

He loves to compete, and his never say die attitude is just amazing.

I see what CD is saying about hards, but wouldn't it also help him (as long as he doesnt over strain), when he moves from Hard to Clay season, making him play his best tennis on his favorite surface?

[ashwin#1]

Nadal has been Completely destroyed by Nole in 2011..Nole was successfull in breaking physical as well as mental barriers of Rafa..But in the end, even nole gave up...

I expect Nadal to reach the finals at all the clay-court tournaments..( i wouldn't go as far as to predict him as the winner becoz who knows..maybe another player might dominate next year.. )
but i will say that nadal has 85-90% chance of defending his title at barcelona, French open.
he should be able to reach at least the semis or finals of US open( totally depends upon his physical condition)..

& i can also say he will be yet again unsucessfull at the world tour finals 2012..

But the main part - OLYMPICS !!!
I expect him to reach quarterfinals or better..( this too depends on his performance at the AELTC or as others migh say -WIMBLEDON)..

& i wouldn't be surprised to see him as the no.1 player or no.3 player..as i feel that in 2012, the ball game will be between the terrific three( fed, nole & rafa) instead of fab four( nole, fed, rafa & murray)..i may be wrong tho..murray's highly unpredictable..

hope i am right..

[hercules]

fed is probably training in dubai.
 
and nole is most likely doing some hitting on clay in monte carlo. i call that being very smart. i hear that tries to practice on clay pretty much year around when possible.
 
no telling where murray is. probably training in south florida if i was to take a wild guess.

I didnt know that about nole and his practice on clay. Thats cool

clay to hard is not as much of an adjustment as it is from clay to grass.

also the surface is very forgiving. so for the guys who simply have to make a living off the baseline, practicing on clay year around or at least as much as possible makes great sense. it keeps their ground game sharp.

[Start da Game]

Nadal will never neglect the hards.

I don't think he's able to give up on hards without losing his spirit everywhere.

He may not be very wise in his actions but that's what makes him who he is.

He loves to compete, and his never say die attitude is just amazing.

I see what CD is saying about hards, but wouldn't it also help him (as long as he doesnt over strain), when he moves from Hard to Clay season, making him play his best tennis on his favorite surface?

the thing is that his groundstrokes can only be corrected on clay.......hence the argument that maximizing practice and match play on clay will maximize his overall chances in a season.......

he should cut down on all the unnecessary hardcourt stuff.......simple as that.......slams and masters offer enough ranking points, there's no need to go after hardcourt 250s and 500s.......eliminating few hardcourt tournaments from the schedule and using that time to rest and practice on clay will actually improve his chances in other hardcourt tournaments he takes part in.......

all 500s and all 250s except chennai/doha need to be eliminated from the schedule.......barcelona too.......it's a tough decision but the time has come to take some tough decisions for his own good........montecarlo and rome are simply bigger than barcelona and it's not possible to win all those 3 titles in 3 weeks.......he used to routine that feat two or three years ago but not anymore.......

he is bigger than 250s and 500s........in fact he is bigger than masters tournaments too but ITF are too much of crybabies to allow a top gun like him to escape 1000s......