Topic: The Return of the King of Clay: Rafael Nadal

[masterclass]

Where\when will Rafael Nadal return to tournament play?

Uncle Toni hopes for Davis Cup against the USA.
http://www.daviscup.com/en/news/articles/nadal-aiming-for-davis-cup-comeback.aspx - This article was posted today on the Davis Cup site saying Nadal is aiming for a comeback there.

Some say to skip the Asian Swing and come back indoors in Paris to prepare for the World Tour Finals.

Others have said he should take the rest of the year off and return next year for Qatar/Australia.

Another group suggests he should take the rest of the year off, skip the Australian Open and start back on South America clay, move on to Acapulco and then North America, make his required appearance in the IW and Miami hard court masters, but take strategic early exits. Then move on to the European Clay season, followed by the grass at Wimbledon, and then see how he feels.

Others say he should totally rest, get surgery if he needs it, and come back when everything is perfect.

Finally others say the King of Clay Warrior has accomplished enough and might simply retire.

What say you?

Respectfully,
masterclass

[ashwin#1]

Asian Swing for me..Tokyo open or Shanghai..
Unless he goes in for a major surgery or something like that( which i hope doesn't happen.)

[Clay Death]

great thread general masterclass.
 
he will be back at davis cup against the americans.

[monstertruck]

He might as well hang the racquet up now.
One thing is certain, if he elects to continue playing, he is in for some of that pain he's so fondly dished out to others.

Walk away while you still can Rafa.  Literally.

[Clay Death]

he is coming back to defend his rg crown general monster.
 
he is not the kind who is going to walk away. all this time off has to be torture for him. i think it will revitalize his drive and hunger.
 
he just has to make changes.

[swish]

He might as well hang the racquet up now.
One thing is certain, if he elects to continue playing, he is in for some of that pain he's so fondly dished out to others.

Walk away while you still can Rafa.  Literally.

 
 
Hang the racket up???? 
 
 
 

[williamchung7]

Ask his medic.......

[Clay Death]

he is not going anywhere. he is likely to play until he is 30 if he makes those adjustments and also changes his training.

[medwatt]

I was really a bit skeptical initially when Nadal withdrew from Olympics and Toronto as I thought he might be trying a different strategy to change the pattern he's been at such that a better second half of the season will be ensured but him pulling out of the USOPEN blows my conjecture rocket high.
I will not say I am anxious to see him back but I hope he recovers.

[Clay Death]

he has no reason to lie about his knees.
 
nobody that great would ever bother pulling out of all the important events, lose fame, potential additional endorsement money, rankings, prestige, and serious prize money just because he feels like it.
 
nobody should have doubted that he has knee issues. the guy has been hurting since indian wells.
 
only problem is that he does not know when to pull back. now he is being forced to pull back.

[mav140]

After recent events I seriously doubt Nadal will be playing into his 30s... Or playing at 100% into his 30s..

He ould have to change his tactics 180 degrees and I just don't see him do that.

I saw him try for a bit in 2010, just to see him go back to his old defensive and grinding style of play again... It's in his DNA... It's what he feels comfortable with... And continuing with this style of play will guarantee him not to be playing at 100% into his 30s...

Sent from my LG-P990 using Tapatalk 2

[monstertruck]

he is coming back to defend his rg crown general monster.
 
he is not the kind who is going to walk away. all this time off has to be torture for him. i think it will revitalize his drive and hunger.
 
he just has to make changes.

I think you're right.
It will, however, take a terrible toll on his body to continue.
At least he may have a few more RG crowns to admire in the trophy case.

[monstertruck]

He might as well hang the racquet up now.
One thing is certain, if he elects to continue playing, he is in for some of that pain he's so fondly dished out to others.

Walk away while you still can Rafa.  Literally.

 
 
Hang the racket up????

The writing was on the wall when he first came on tour.
What's talked about so little in this forum is the amount of time he has to spend on court both practicing and playing to find his rhythm.  Because of the timing of his FH he needs to hit a TON of balls.  His style of play (no matter how long he takes between points) is predicated on supreme defence and wearing an opponent down with long, long, long, long, long, rallies.  That coupled with the fact that he spends hour after hour practicing on hard courts to fine tune the timing on his buggy whip FH spells doom for his knees.  Doom I tell you! 

Unfortunately, I can say "Been there, done that" to my knees as well.  Too much time on court coupled with a beer keg physique finally destroyed my knees as well.  Now at age 50 I hobble around like an 90 year old man.  This is what's in store for Mr. Nadal, depending on how much longer he elects to play.

So yes, hanging up the racquet should be an option.
Borg did it.

[Start da Game]

gen. mc, parenthesis and the matter inside it is not needed me thinks.......it stresses that he is only a king of clay which i don't think is true.........he is more than just the king of clay........i am expecting him to return shortly after us open and play one of the hardcourt masters........

[medwatt]

. . . . amount of time he has to spend on court both practicing and playing to find his rhythm.  Because of the timing of his FH he needs to hit a TON of balls.  His style of play (no matter how long he takes between points) is predicated on supreme defence and wearing an opponent down with long, long, long, long, long, rallies.  That coupled with the fact that he spends hour after hour practicing on hard courts to fine tune the timing on his buggy whip FH spells doom for his knees.  Doom I tell you! 

Well said . . . It was this style of play that earned him the titles and the trepidation his contemporaries have for him. It is impossible to see Nadal have the same success if he reduces the intensity with which he plays even by the tiniest of fractions. Even matches which end 6-1 6-1 unfairly do not disclose how much time he took to win it.
It doesn't matter if he isn't able to play until 30, he's already achieved that over a shorter time which he would have over a longer period had he played with an easier style on his body.

[Start da Game]

. . . . amount of time he has to spend on court both practicing and playing to find his rhythm.  Because of the timing of his FH he needs to hit a TON of balls.  His style of play (no matter how long he takes between points) is predicated on supreme defence and wearing an opponent down with long, long, long, long, long, rallies.  That coupled with the fact that he spends hour after hour practicing on hard courts to fine tune the timing on his buggy whip FH spells doom for his knees.  Doom I tell you! 

Well said . . . It was this style of play that earned him the titles and the trepidation his contemporaries have for him. It is impossible to see Nadal have the same success if he reduces the intensity with which he plays even by the tiniest of fractions. Even matches which end 6-1 6-1 unfairly do not disclose how much time he took to win it.
It doesn't matter if he isn't able to play until 30, he's already achieved that over a shorter time which he would have over a longer period had he played with an easier style on his body.

http://www.tennis4you.com/forum/index.php?topic=16877.msg514173#msg514173

[jesse james]

I agree with Moonstruck.
 The fact that people have wrongly predicted Nadal's demise don't mean that those predictions were irrational-on the contrary they were entirely rational even though they've turned out to be wrong, in that narrow sense.
What people who came to that conclusion about Nadals short career failed to anticipate or incorporate into their thinking was Nadal's exceptional ability to withstand his punishing approach-this is unprecedented.
  The question is can Nadal continue to play at a level he has and extend the perceived boundaries of what is considered exceptional even further, and it's still rational to assume he can't. He's clearly suffering because of the way he plays, and even his body has to give up sometime.

[oracle86]

Well, it can only go downhill from here. But even then, if he can win a few Slams occasionally [like Federer post 2007], I guess he'll feel it's worth it.

[TigerTim]

Acapulco if he is clever.

[Clay Death]

he is not leaving the sport until he is 30.
 
better learn to live with that. nothing can keep him down. he finds a way to bounce back.
 
only thing is that he will have to practice and play more on clay.