2011 French Open!

[Moralspain]

Djokovic is , without any doubt, the new king on clay

The best claycourter ever (imo) was this guy:



Not his dude:



It s the same guy...but not the same player (on clay).

you know aging takes its toll, i mean he's 24 but he started to win when he was 17, and that verb "to win" is the key, which means pressure, lot of competitive matches... etc, many players start playing at a young age but it's not the same, he has been either the 1 or 2 in the world since the 2005 (he was 17), really really young, all these thing are not easy to handle, notice he has been almost a perfect player during 6 straight years.
Few days ago he said "i feel like an old man".
It's a fact that we don't see impossible shots like he used to hit on clay, he can't reach all the balls like he used to and blablabla, he's now more "human", still competitive though, and in my opinion with more chances to get more Wimbledons than RGs titles in the near future.
All that being said I will never judge him or complaint about his game, he has done more than i expected. Not europeans know about Mallorca thanks to him so well.... he's an idol for us.

Nadalism religion, join us

[Saarbrigga]

and in my opinion with more chances to get more Wimbledons than RGs titles in the near future.

That s interesting through...

2 Scenarios (at the end of his career):

1) 7 RG titles, 2 Wimbledon titles (much more RG titles)

2) 5 RG titles, 6 Wimbledon titles (more Wimbledon than RG)

If he himself (Nadal) could chose between 1 and 2, what do you think he would prefer?

And what would you prefer (as Xavi)?

[NickZ3535]

Djokovic is , without any doubt, the new king on clay

Maybe at the moment, yes. But just because Rafa isn t at his best right now.

In my opinion his best clay court Tennis he played in the period 2005 - 2008, especially 2008.
Since 2009 he lost a little bit of his arm muscles. He became a better allround player but lost on clay.

Just compare it.

The best claycourter ever (imo) was this guy:



Not his dude:



It s the same guy...but not the same player (on clay).

Yeah I agree that he's dropped off...

I was watching highlights of his first match with Federer at the French..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sgak8FGvNo0

And you forget just how fast he was when he was younger. He was also a lot thinner. I imagine that he bulked up a little more for a better serve and more stability on the hard courts. As much as I'd love to see him get thinner and get that ridiculous speed back, I'm sure it would come at the price of him hurting his knees again...

So all in all I think he's made a total gameplay adjustment to make him better on the other surfaces, but at the same time it's definitely reduced the quality of his clay game.

[NickZ3535]

I also wish he'd bring back some of the fist pumps and passion, especially if he plays Novak in the finals. I feel like he got away from it when he became the favorite to win every match on clay. It was kind of ridiculous how much he was doing it back then, but I'd like to at least see some of it.

[Sherlock 117]

I also wish he'd bring back some of the fist pumps and passion, especially if he plays Novak in the finals. I feel like he got away from it when he became the favorite to win every match on clay. It was kind of ridiculous how much he was doing it back then, but I'd like to at least see some of it.

I was thinking the same thing about two years ago. I never see him do it anymore. Kind of like how Hewitt stopped screaming his "Come on" all the time. It might be annoying to other players, but it's so exciting to see the players let out their emotion like that.

[Vieira151]

and in my opinion with more chances to get more Wimbledons than RGs titles in the near future.

That s interesting through...

2 Scenarios (at the end of his career):

1) 7 RG titles, 2 Wimbledon titles (much more RG titles)

2) 5 RG titles, 6 Wimbledon titles (more Wimbledon than RG)

If he himself (Nadal) could chose between 1 and 2, what do you think he would prefer?

And what would you prefer (as Xavi)?

He would prefer 2. Because that is 11 Grand Slams as opposed to 9.

[Chederer]

Murray says---when times get tough, hit a drop shot....i like this tactic...when i played a lot with my old man we called these "dink shots"

[Moralspain]

Rafa playing better today...."fighting" better
6-4, 6-1
Legs: working
FH: working
BH: working

[Moralspain]

6-4, 6-1, 7-6, important win....sorry for the crowd though, i know what he really wished

[Chederer]

i think what really won the match for Nadal was the serve on the deuce side outwide to soderlings backhand...he couldnt get to it...rafa was playing the wind too. so i am sure that helped as well....murray will have to play the match of his life to beat him....lots of rallies, exchanges...

[Rob ITST]

the serve on the deuce side outwide to soderlings backhand

That's pretty impressive, given that Soderling is right-handed.

[Vieira151]

When was the last time the Top 4 were all in the Semi's of a tournament? Couldn't have been that long ago, no?

[supinesmokey13]

When was the last time the Top 4 were all in the Semi's of a tournament? Couldn't have been that long ago, no?

London world tour finals

[Moralspain]

btw great win for Andy as well, it might not look like but Chela is always a tough opponent, he arrived to this last match with big confidence and playing very well plus he's a clay specialist, so Andy faced the challenge pretty well and managed the important points better than Chela. (2 first sets)
Along Nadal, Murray is one of the best mentally prepared.

[Chederer]

the serve on the deuce side outwide to soderlings backhand

That's pretty impressive, given that Soderling is right-handed.

ha ha ha...im thinking from a self perspective and being right handed...meant ad side