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He'll never pass Fed.
Rafeal Nadal Appreciation Thread
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by rook,
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i used to not like Nadal because i was a Federer fan. now i give him props since he's too damn good.
i think it's crazy that not long ago we all thought Sampras was the G.O.A.T., then along comes Federer and now Nadal. the 3 of them all came along in a short span of time and Roger was able to play against both of them.
that's very odd in sports. something comparable could be wilt, magic and mj but their playing days were spread further apart.
i think it's crazy that not long ago we all thought Sampras was the G.O.A.T., then along comes Federer and now Nadal. the 3 of them all came along in a short span of time and Roger was able to play against both of them.
that's very odd in sports. something comparable could be wilt, magic and mj but their playing days were spread further apart.
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i used to not like Nadal because i was a Federer fan. now i give him props since he's too damn good.
i think it's crazy that not long ago we all thought Sampras was the G.O.A.T., then along comes Federer and now Nadal. the 3 of them all came along in a short span of time and Roger was able to play against both of them.
that's very odd in sports. something comparable could be wilt, magic and mj but their playing days were spread further apart.
i think it's crazy that not long ago we all thought Sampras was the G.O.A.T., then along comes Federer and now Nadal. the 3 of them all came along in a short span of time and Roger was able to play against both of them.
that's very odd in sports. something comparable could be wilt, magic and mj but their playing days were spread further apart.
He can definitely pass Federer. Nadal is only 24, has 9 GS titles already and has outplayed Fed on grass and clay since the 08 French. I'd like to see a hard court final between the two of them in Australia to start the year, though. If Nadal does cruise and not lose a set all the way to the finals, I'm betting Djoker would have pushed it to 5 last night.
He can definitely pass Federer. Nadal is only 24, has 9 GS titles already and has outplayed Fed on grass and clay since the 08 French. I'd like to see a hard court final between the two of them in Australia to start the year, though. If Nadal does cruise and not lose a set all the way to the finals, I'm betting Djoker would have pushed it to 5 last night.
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I don't think you can really say Fed "was able to play against" Sampras because they only played once, which was in the 4th round at Wimbledon in 2001 (which Fed won). Sampras was reaching the end of his career (he basically retired at the end of the 2002 US Open), while Fed was still just a "rising star". Both were hardly at their primes. This is why I don't like using the term GOAT... because you can't compare different players from different eras (different equipment, playing surfaces/conditions, etc). Sampras was the greatest of his era, while Fed is the greatest of this era (though I suppose Rafa will try to change that, granted that his knees will hold up).
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I don't think you can really say Fed "was able to play against" Sampras because they only played once, which was in the 4th round at Wimbledon in 2001 (which Fed won). Sampras was reaching the end of his career (he basically retired at the end of the 2002 US Open), while Fed was still just a "rising star". Both were hardly at their primes. This is why I don't like using the term GOAT... because you can't compare different players from different eras (different equipment, playing surfaces/conditions, etc). Sampras was the greatest of his era, while Fed is the greatest of this era (though I suppose Rafa will try to change that, granted that his knees will hold up).
aepps20
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Rafa is a beast. I love his game but his style of play is contingent on him staying 100% healthy which is something I'm not sure he can do. Rafa has terrible knees and his grind it out style of play only exacerbates the problem
aepps20
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Rafa is a beast. I love his game but his style of play is contingent on him staying 100% healthy which is something I'm not sure he can do. Rafa has terrible knees and his grind it out style of play only exacerbates the problem
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Has a very good chance of going down as the GOAT...
I think next year is his best chance to go for Grand Slam, he'll be prime age at 25 and he is healthy again. It's been a blessing to watch him and Federer this decade, knowing we could be watching the two best players ever. Rafa especially is just a really special athlete, cat like reflexes on the court and covers ground better than any player I've ever seen. And as others have said, he's a class act.
I think next year is his best chance to go for Grand Slam, he'll be prime age at 25 and he is healthy again. It's been a blessing to watch him and Federer this decade, knowing we could be watching the two best players ever. Rafa especially is just a really special athlete, cat like reflexes on the court and covers ground better than any player I've ever seen. And as others have said, he's a class act.
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Has a very good chance of going down as the GOAT...
I think next year is his best chance to go for Grand Slam, he'll be prime age at 25 and he is healthy again. It's been a blessing to watch him and Federer this decade, knowing we could be watching the two best players ever. Rafa especially is just a really special athlete, cat like reflexes on the court and covers ground better than any player I've ever seen. And as others have said, he's a class act.
I think next year is his best chance to go for Grand Slam, he'll be prime age at 25 and he is healthy again. It's been a blessing to watch him and Federer this decade, knowing we could be watching the two best players ever. Rafa especially is just a really special athlete, cat like reflexes on the court and covers ground better than any player I've ever seen. And as others have said, he's a class act.
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He only does this (as far as I know) during Grand Slam final wins.
And it's extremely hard work to win a Grand Slam. He might make it look easy like Fed, but to win one isn't a pushover. It's a reflection of how much work and dedication he's put into the game to reach the level he is now.
And of course he'll do it at the one Grand Slam he has never won until yesterday.
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He only does this (as far as I know) during Grand Slam final wins.
And it's extremely hard work to win a Grand Slam. He might make it look easy like Fed, but to win one isn't a pushover. It's a reflection of how much work and dedication he's put into the game to reach the level he is now.
And of course he'll do it at the one Grand Slam he has never won until yesterday.
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US Open= Hard court.
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US Open= Hard court.
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master of the short pants.
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master of the short pants.
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I agree. Next year is his 1st BEST chance at doing so. The way hes playing right now, unless those kness start to ache again like last year, he'll dominate all the way through. Though something tells me Roger is FAR from done. But he clearly has become 2nd to Rafa'Originally Posted by airmaxpenny1
Has a very good chance of going down as the GOAT...
I think next year is his best chance to go for Grand Slam, he'll be prime age at 25 and he is healthy again. It's been a blessing to watch him and Federer this decade, knowing we could be watching the two best players ever. Rafa especially is just a really special athlete, cat like reflexes on the court and covers ground better than any player I've ever seen. And as others have said, he's a class act.
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I agree. Next year is his 1st BEST chance at doing so. The way hes playing right now, unless those kness start to ache again like last year, he'll dominate all the way through. Though something tells me Roger is FAR from done. But he clearly has become 2nd to Rafa'Originally Posted by airmaxpenny1
Has a very good chance of going down as the GOAT...
I think next year is his best chance to go for Grand Slam, he'll be prime age at 25 and he is healthy again. It's been a blessing to watch him and Federer this decade, knowing we could be watching the two best players ever. Rafa especially is just a really special athlete, cat like reflexes on the court and covers ground better than any player I've ever seen. And as others have said, he's a class act.
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he only played Pete once? i didn't know that, i figured it would be a few times. i know they played an exhibition match a few years ago and Pete won, but i don't know how serious it was. nadal has now won a major on all surfaces, plus his serve has improved. it's scary how good he is now. pete has never won the French (clay) and roger just won his first one recently. wilbon made a good point on pti today, he said there might be some 16-17 year old kid out there who might challenge nadal in a few years.
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he only played Pete once? i didn't know that, i figured it would be a few times. i know they played an exhibition match a few years ago and Pete won, but i don't know how serious it was. nadal has now won a major on all surfaces, plus his serve has improved. it's scary how good he is now. pete has never won the French (clay) and roger just won his first one recently. wilbon made a good point on pti today, he said there might be some 16-17 year old kid out there who might challenge nadal in a few years.
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he only played Pete once? i didn't know that, i figured it would be a few times. i know they played an exhibition match a few years ago and Pete won, but i don't know how serious it was. nadal has now won a major on all surfaces, plus his serve has improved. it's scary how good he is now. pete has never won the French (clay) and roger just won his first one recently. wilbon made a good point on pti today, he said there might be some 16-17 year old kid out there who might challenge nadal in a few years.
Competitively on the ATP... only 1 meeting between them, which was 2001 in Wimbledon. Post-retirement exhibitions obviously don't count, as they usually goof around during the points.
We don't get PTI here (I'm not in the US), but what Wilbon said can really be applied to every tennis generation actually. Back in the 80's/early 90's during the McEnroe, Lendl, Edberg, etc. era, there was a 17 year-old who on the 1985 Wimbledon, a 17 year-old who won the 1989 French Open and a 19 year-old who won the 1990 US Open ... They were Boris Becker, Michael Chang and Pete Sampras (defeating a 20 year-old Agassi). Federer was 19 when he beat Sampras, while Rafa was 19 when he won the French in 2005. The point being, there will always be an up-n-coming youngster who will successfully take down the #1.
Anyway...
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he only played Pete once? i didn't know that, i figured it would be a few times. i know they played an exhibition match a few years ago and Pete won, but i don't know how serious it was. nadal has now won a major on all surfaces, plus his serve has improved. it's scary how good he is now. pete has never won the French (clay) and roger just won his first one recently. wilbon made a good point on pti today, he said there might be some 16-17 year old kid out there who might challenge nadal in a few years.
Competitively on the ATP... only 1 meeting between them, which was 2001 in Wimbledon. Post-retirement exhibitions obviously don't count, as they usually goof around during the points.
We don't get PTI here (I'm not in the US), but what Wilbon said can really be applied to every tennis generation actually. Back in the 80's/early 90's during the McEnroe, Lendl, Edberg, etc. era, there was a 17 year-old who on the 1985 Wimbledon, a 17 year-old who won the 1989 French Open and a 19 year-old who won the 1990 US Open ... They were Boris Becker, Michael Chang and Pete Sampras (defeating a 20 year-old Agassi). Federer was 19 when he beat Sampras, while Rafa was 19 when he won the French in 2005. The point being, there will always be an up-n-coming youngster who will successfully take down the #1.
Anyway...