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

[swish]

now seriously, I don't think Rog will overtake #2. I mean sure everything is possible, but I don't see it happening. we are about to enter the clay season and we all know who is the king on clay.

In the clay season you have to look at points being defended, Djokovic and Nadal have a lot.
 
Fed will probably lose his points race lead there but is very good on clay so should stay close.
 
 

[Start da Game]

i don't think dropping down to no.3 would dent rafa's confidence.......if anything, it would make him pressure free and set him up for another dash at the top spot which is exactly what he likes........he likes chasing something, than being the chased one.......

remember that even in 2010, he started as no.3 before he raced to the top again.......

[swish]

i don't think dropping down to no.3 would dent rafa's confidence.......if anything, it would make him pressure free and set him up for another dash at the top spot which is exactly what he likes........he likes chasing something, than being the chased one.......

remember that even in 2010, he started as no.3 before he raced to the top again.......

Being #3 is not good, his main competitor is Djokovic and when losing to him would mean losing SF's, less points.
 
But Nadal knows this and it may push him. So in that way it could be good.
 
 
 

[Start da Game]

i don't think dropping down to no.3 would dent rafa's confidence.......if anything, it would make him pressure free and set him up for another dash at the top spot which is exactly what he likes........he likes chasing something, than being the chased one.......

remember that even in 2010, he started as no.3 before he raced to the top again.......

Being #3 is not good, his main competitor is Djokovic and when losing to him would mean losing SF's, less points.
 
But Nadal knows this and it may push him. So in that way it could be good.

djokovic won't be a factor anymore.......i say he takes out djokovic in their next meeting irrespective of which surface it is......

[swish]

i don't think dropping down to no.3 would dent rafa's confidence.......if anything, it would make him pressure free and set him up for another dash at the top spot which is exactly what he likes........he likes chasing something, than being the chased one.......

remember that even in 2010, he started as no.3 before he raced to the top again.......

Being #3 is not good, his main competitor is Djokovic and when losing to him would mean losing SF's, less points.
 
But Nadal knows this and it may push him. So in that way it could be good.

djokovic won't be a factor anymore.......i say he takes out djokovic in their next meeting irrespective of which surface it is......

Djokovic will work Nadal's BH, if that isn't fixed it'll be big trouble.
 
 

[Start da Game]

yes, the backhand is desperately needed......he needs to stop worrying about missing and just focus on keeping them deep off that wing.......actually he doesn't even need to attack with his backhand, he just shouldn't drop them short or miss.......

[Alex]

i don't think dropping down to no.3 would dent rafa's confidence.......if anything, it would make him pressure free and set him up for another dash at the top spot which is exactly what he likes........he likes chasing something, than being the chased one.......

remember that even in 2010, he started as no.3 before he raced to the top again.......

Being #3 is not good, his main competitor is Djokovic and when losing to him would mean losing SF's, less points.
 
But Nadal knows this and it may push him. So in that way it could be good.

djokovic won't be a factor anymore.......i say he takes out djokovic in their next meeting irrespective of which surface it is......

well, Shank it's good to be optimistic but saying that world #1 is not the factor any more is silly. It's your wishful thinking bud. yes, Nole is not as sharp as last year but he still manages to win when it matters. the fact that he lost to Murray in Dubai and to Isner at IW is not a big deal. let's see what happens at RG and W. Nadal is not as sharp either. they go up and down. It's normal. You can't win everything  .

[Start da Game]

we will see, alex.......i think nadal will play better this year on clay than last year........last year he was dismal on the surface with just one working wing.......he was on the brink of losing to an unknown italian qualifier in the first round of rome........such was his form.......

[Alex]

we will see, alex.......i think nadal will play better this year on clay than last year........last year he was dismal on the surface with just one working wing.......he was on the brink of losing to an unknown italian qualifier in the first round of rome........such was his form.......

Shank, I honestly think that both Djokovic and Nadal have dropped their forms respectively. Sure, Nole took the AO but it took him like 11 hours to beat Murray and Nadal. I'm not complaining, he won, it's good with me  . Nadal is Nadal, I sometimes feel that he never learns. I think that he played better last year too. I still don't think that anyone on the tour will overtake their rankings although I do realize that Fed is close, but again the clay season is coming... I really don't believe that Fed can pull it off. I'm wondering if Fed is playing MC this year.

[hercules]

his game is declining because he refuses to put the time in and focus hard enough on his singles game. there has been zero improvements in his game in nearly 17 months.
 
that being said, make no mistake about it. his consistency will come on clay after sufficient number of matches there and it will be more than enough for the RG title.
 
and he can take it from there. i dont really care if he never wins another hard court title and his rankings drop. it is actually happening right before our eyes already.
 
what i care about the most is 2 more french titles for him and maybe 1-2 more wimbledon titles. that is more than good enough.
 
that is tennis immortality right there.

[swish]

Nadal will get his game straightened out.
He's done things the way he thinks they should be done and has 10 slams to show for it.
 
If it weren't for Djokovic he probably would have 2 more slams and some more masters so only one guy has been in his way.
 
Those are the kind of battles a top player has to deal with and has always been that way.
It's a kind of mental challenge that long time top players have to deal with as they go thru their career, Fed has already been there and now it's Nadal's time.
 
Those kind of problems and how they are dealt with determine a retired players legacy.
I wouldn't want it too easy, legacies aren't made that way.
 
 

[Start da Game]

i see both types of arguments above but i think nadal really seems to have dropped his level, swish.......first he looks slow and is moving like a fat cow.......

second thing is that he is hesitating to drive the backhands and is lobbing them back.......i never thought he would struggle this long with the backhand.......what the f**k is he even thinking, just no focus on his game at all.......

if he does not win miami, he will be under some pressure in montecarlo......

[Alex]

i see both types of arguments above but i think nadal really seems to have dropped his level, swish.......first he looks slow and is moving like a fat cow.......

second thing is that he is hesitating to drive the backhands and is lobbing them back.......i never thought he would struggle this long with the backhand.......what the f**k is he even thinking, just no focus on his game at all.......

if he does not win miami, he will be under some pressure in montecarlo......

not sure about Miami but MC is Rafa's playground. I'm still not sure if Nole will play there. He said he was going to. What about Roger? It will be interesting if they all show up.

[hercules]

he has always made his limited game work on clay. and dont forget that he gets the time he needs on clay to execute his shots and his options.
 
i expect that he will bring a bigger resolve and determination if he loses early in miami and loses more points.

[Start da Game]

he needs miami, hercules.......otherwise he will be low on confidence and they are going to pounce on him in montecarlo.......he might still pull it off but i think the pressure will increase if he doesn't do well in miami........even murray took him to 3 sets last year in montecarlo.......

he had a great chance to break the duck in IW but he blew it......he was a different mover and different player in 2008, that enabled him to dominate straightaway on clay.......but that's not the case anymore and he needs to get his act together in miami.......singles is what all the focus should be on........

 

[FedFanForever]

CD - you have to admit Nadal's backhand has become absolute crap. Even on clay it's not much of a shot.

[Alex]

CD - you have to admit Nadal's backhand has become absolute crap. Even on clay it's not much of a shot.

wrong, Nole's BH is too good  . oh I feel like a smart ars right now 

[hercules]

his backhand sucks. he has brought that on himself.
 
so he can also fix it.

[FedFanForever]

his backhand sucks. he has brought that on himself.
 
so he can also fix it.

I've never seen it so bad. It's like Challenger level.

[hercules]

its worse.
 
even i had a better backhand.