Oh by the way, Nadal finally dropped serve for the first time today 
US Open
- Thread starter Sean_RedDevil
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I don't think he has a weak surface anymore. Clay is obviously his strongest, but the rest aren't too far behind, combined with all his physical tools, he now has learned and matured to the point, he is not afraid of anyone on any surface.
Well he is the best on clay and grass but until this US Open he was yet quite poor on the hard court. It's been ages since he's won any sort of title on the hard courts..
Yeah but I really think the Nadal we are seeing now is a completely different guy to the one even say 18 months ago. And this, despite the injuries he has suffered from.
He really is ready to usurp Fed as the King of tennis.
Fed vs Nadal, final would be perfect.
He really is ready to usurp Fed as the King of tennis.
Fed vs Nadal, final would be perfect.
Yeah but I really think the Nadal we are seeing now is a completely different guy to the one even say 18 months ago. And this, despite the injuries he has suffered from.
He really is ready to usurp Fed as the King of tennis.
Fed vs Nadal, final would be perfect.
He really is ready to usurp Fed as the King of tennis.
Fed vs Nadal, final would be perfect.
Yeah Nadal will win this I think. Federer isn't the player he once was. And there are some players who struggle against certain opponents. Nadal is the guy Federer struggles against. So I see Nadal winning, as much as I'd like to see Federer win.
As for 'King of Tennis', should Nadal win this, it will be his year, but in general I don't think he's nearly as good as Federer at his best.
As for 'King of Tennis', should Nadal win this, it will be his year, but in general I don't think he's nearly as good as Federer at his best.
Currently Rafa is the King of Tennis. But Fed might just be the favorite going into the final. He's in tremendous form right now even though he's not played anyone good except Soderling really.
But he's been brilliant in this tournament. His serving yesterday vs Soderling in the strong wind was stunning. But yeah Fed has a mental block against Rafa so hopefully Rafa can win it. If he does win it he's won everything there is to win, the Davis Cup, all four Slams, Olympic gold and all at the age of 25.
Though he yet has to get past Youzny so lets see what happens.
I have a feeling Djokovic might just maybe upset Fed. Seeing their past head to head at the USO it seems unlikely but it just could happen. Nole's playing really well, as good as Nadal and Fed since that first round match.
And well Fed has always been a more skillful player than Nadal but I would not say Fed at his best was better than Nadal at his best. Fed at his best was competing against not that great competition in Roddick and Hewitt. Nadal has had to overcome one of the greatest ever, Federer to win all that he has.
Well Federer's won three grandslams these last two years, as has Nadal, so there's not been much between them in the big tournaments of late.
He's been great by other peoples standards. But he's nowhere near the player we saw around 4 years back. I remember, he used to hit stunning winners almost every other game back then, sometimes more. Crazy angles, all done with a swagger, leaving opponents bewildered. Now his game is less exciting and more 'normal' I feel. He's hitting the ball well from the back of the court but the genius of his game isn't there IMO. It's all groundstrokes from the back of the court, and focusing on ball striking.
Nah, I'll never agree with the latter. Federer at his best was just the purest form of genius. He was a true artist with a tennis racket . Nadal's a fine player but I don't see him as the same level.
I mean, he actually lost to Berdych early on at Wimbledon didn't he? That's not Federer. He was almost invincible in his prime. He would be beating players like Berdych for fun back then. He's just very human these days, like anyone else, loses the odd match. Hits a lot fewer winners and makes more errors than he used to.
Well the guy is 29 now so it's inevitable he'll go down a bit. That said I can still see him winning 1 or 2 slams before he retires, not on clay and grass but on one of the hard courts.
Yeah I agree about the errors part. The number of unforced errors he's been hitting over the last 1 to 2 years is just stunning. But well he's won every slam there is to win so I doubt he's that bothered now
Still think he's lucky to have won the French Open, if only Soderling had not beaten Rafa
Yeah Federer was/is indeed a genius but I still don't count him as the greatest ever simply because he's played in a far weaker field than most others. The only people in the top 10 to have won a Slam right now are Nadal and Djokovic. Roddick's not top 10 anymore, Hewitt's not anywhere even in the top 30 I think and the others are just not good enough. And before Nadal came along his only competition was Roddick and Hewitt. If Sampras had been playing in this current era I would not have bet against him winning a lot more than his 14 Slams.
When I was growing up, I used to really like Pat Rafter. But it would have been really hard for him to win a grandslam against people like Federer and Nadal who have such complete games. So some of the players in those generations were held in a higher regard was because they were able to win grandslam titles. With Federer beating every for fun and winning every slam, and now Nadal beginning to dominate, the titles available for the others are lesser. Hence people thinking there aren't many great players.
Had Federer not been around these last 7 years or so, Roddick would have had at least 4, Djokovic would surely have gotten a few and Murray would be off the mark and well on his way to being one of the best.
Had Federer not been around these last 7 years or so, Roddick would have had at least 4, Djokovic would surely have gotten a few and Murray would be off the mark and well on his way to being one of the best.
This is getting really silly now...
Pat Rafter won the US open against Greg Rusedski in the final, BUT he beat Agassi and Chang(a very good player at that stage), then beat the Scud in the 2nd US Open win.
He lost two Wimbledon finals, one against Pete and another against Ivanisevic in 5 sets.
All of a sudden, all the players from barely a decade ago are dross, and the current guys are the best players ever?
Amol is a Federer fanboi, do not mind his biased clap-trap. Fact is when Federer was stacking up GS right, left and center, the overall competitive level in terms of his opponents was poor compared to previous years or now. Likes of Hewitt and Roddick bar odd occasions have never been that good while someone like Safin threw it away due to other issues. This should not count against Federer but that is how it is. He is still one of the best of all time but not the best. Nadal definitely has a chance to supersede him as well.
I really think the ESPN commentators are hyping up Nadal so they can tear him down when he has a drop in form.
Last night John McEnroe said he'd put Nadal behind Borg, Laver and Federer as the 4th greatest of all time, I kid you not. I really like Nadal, but it's too much praise waaay to soon. It'll be an amazing feat if he does complete the career slam at 24 on Sunday though.
Last night John McEnroe said he'd put Nadal behind Borg, Laver and Federer as the 4th greatest of all time, I kid you not.
I really like Nadal, but it's too much praise waaay to soon. It'll be an amazing feat if he does complete the career slam at 24 on Sunday though.Spot on. I don't dispute the fact that Fed is one of the all time greats of tennis but he really did face no decent competition until Nadal came along. It says a lot about the level of mens tennis that Hewitt and Roddick were the best tennis had to offer for a while.
Infact the level was so poor that a 35 year old Agassi, struggling with injury made it to the US Open Final in 2005 and was 1 set all with Federer in the final and a break up in the 3rd before eventually losing! In 2006, the year he retired and was playing with pain meds every match, he was World Number 7. Agassi was a great but at the age of 35 and 36 to reach US Open finals and to be World Num 7 did not speak very highly of the level of tennis then. It's improved in the last few years with Nadal arriving on the scene though and with the likes of Djokovic(sort of ) improving.
Oh and as for Nadal superseding Fed, sadly I don't think that will happen. Hope it does though!
I really think the ESPN commentators are hyping up Nadal so they can tear him down when he has a drop in form.
Last night John McEnroe said he'd put Nadal behind Borg, Laver and Federer as the 4th greatest of all time, I kid you not.
McEnroe's been going gaga over Nadal over the last few days. And he's the one who put Nadal as 4th favorite before this tournament started afair.
Oh and if he does complete the career golden slam on sunday then well he has to go down as one of the greatest ever. I'd gladly sacrifice a French Open next year just to see him finally win USO
Federer, Murray and who else? I hope he didn't put him behind Djokovic or Soderling. Almost forgot about the Olympic medal, yeah a win on Sunday would really cement his legend status. I'd be surprised if he pulls it off, I think if he runs into Federer, it might be like the 2007 Wimbledon final. Brad Gilbert(probably one of the worst tennis commentators/analyst ever) thinks Federer won't have a claim to GOAT if Nadal beats him again in a final in a 4th slam.
Hmm yeah I sort of have a bad feeling about Nadal playing Fed. He's just beaten him so many times in recent finals that it just feels like Fed is due a win. However hopefully his mental block continues. Anyway one step at a time. He needs to beat Youzny first!
And Well Fed is a great and all but what kind of GOAT is he if he's not even the greatest in the current era and can never beat Nadal?
A Nadal win on Sunday would maybe start putting Nadal on the same level as far as legend status goes as Federer. And he deserves it. He used to be called a one court wonder. Glad he's proven a lot of people wrong.
I think it'll be a huge blot on Federer's CV for sure, but I don't think it should affect his claim to being the greatest that much, everyone has their bad match-ups. The difference in slams won will always be present, and some won't consider him greater than Federer unless he closes the gap. The one court wonder has always been a load of crap since 2008 when he won the olympics on a court just as fast as the ones at the US Open.
Yeah he looked to be improving at that point on the hard courts. Even won in Australia back in 09 but then the injury and everything just ruined his game especially on the hard courts.
I cannot believe the players play the semis on Saturday and the final on Sunday
it endangers their health. and will probably sway on the quality of the final, if not on its winner, since Nadal is obviously the freshest and best prepared of all contenders.
it endangers their health. and will probably sway on the quality of the final, if not on its winner, since Nadal is obviously the freshest and best prepared of all contenders.
Now, come on.
Greatest ever? Again, this only deserves a
He may well win on Sunday but it doesn't make him anywhere near the best ever.
Yeah, I find this really surprising too. I worry for Federer.
I'd love Federer to win the US, but I can't see him getting past Nadal.
Just imagine if Nadal hadn't been around...Roger would have had 1 extra Wimbledon and 3 French Opens to his name also
Just imagine if Nadal hadn't been around...Roger would have had 1 extra Wimbledon and 3 French Opens to his name also
wheres the fun in that?
its like saying just imagine if United were the only top team in the league, we would have X number of more trophies beating cannon fodder week in week out
Yeah the US Open schedule is a joke.
Wozniacki
And Clijsters is ugly
Wozniacki
And Clijsters is ugly
Could you explain to me how you came to the conclusion that Nadal is the freshest?
What is there to worry? The final would be Fed/Djoko's 3rd game in 5 days while it would be Rafa/Youzny's 3rd game in 4 days. And also given the fact that despite not being number one anymore Fed YET got the added benefit of starting the USO 3 days before the current world number 1 how exactly is fitness a worry for Fed?
Don't you think winning 9 slams and completing a career golden slam at the age of 24 for a one court wonder against the so called "greatest player in the history of tennis" in 6 of those 9 slams as almost as good as what Fed did against the likes of Roddick and Hewitt?
Now, come on.
He may well win on Sunday but it doesn't make him anywhere near the best ever.
Yeah the US Open schedule is a joke.
Wozniacki
And Clijsters is ugly
Wozzy is useless
Kim lost the 1st set but a break up in the 2nd. Come on Kim! Can't stand a Williams winning another slam!
The scheduling is pathetic. An exhibition doubles match was played before Nadal Verdasco on Arthus Ashe last night. Pathetic.
And ya I can't believe the semis are just a day before the finals. One of the semi finals will be in the day session though.
Kim breaks and holds on for 5-2
Her shot making is really the best in the woman's game.
PS: Pathetic serving by Kim and she gets broken as she was serving for set. Back on serve now
Her shot making is really the best in the woman's game.
PS: Pathetic serving by Kim and she gets broken as she was serving for set. Back on serve now
Kim's just throwing this match away now. So many stupid unforced errors
Now, come on.
Considering only 6 players have ever done the career grand slam, if Rafa does it he will automatically put himself in legendary status.
Kim takes the tie break 7-2. Shockingly poor tie break from Williams. 2 double faults, simple over head smash hit long. She really showed nerves there. These are two of the three best players in the world playing and some of the tennis and serving has been woeful.
Kim with the break in the 3rd set. Very much doubt she's going to hold her serve though. This tournament is a real joke. The conditions make the quality of tennis really really poor.
What a lob by Kim to break Venus! She's going to serve for it now. Hope she does not bottle it again!
Clijsters suddenly became totally awesome.
Yesss!
Beats Venus for the 3rd time in a row at the USO, on course for a 3rd title back to back at Flushing Meadows, 20 wins in a row
Beats Venus for the 3rd time in a row at the USO, on course for a 3rd title back to back at Flushing Meadows, 20 wins in a row
Zyonareva won't be easy in the final. She's beaten Kim twice since Wimbledon (including Wimbledon)
I hope Roger wins this as it could be one of his last Slams as he is 29. I do think he could win another Wimbledon if fit. It is always hard to compare different champions as they are never at their peak at the same time. I think Roger was at his peak probably 3 or 4 years ago and that Roger would have beaten today's Nadal except on clay. Nadal is great but still too one dimensional and defensive although he is improving into a more attacking player. Unfortunately for Roger because they have changed the grass at Wimbledon and are using heavier balls it is easier for Nadal to win there than it is for Roger to win in Paris. I doubt Pete Sampras, Edberg and Rafter would do well at Wimbledon now as it is so hard to be really aggressive on the grass with the slow conditions. The serve and volley game has just about gone. Anyway I hope Clijsters wins tomorrow and Roger on Sunday if he can get past Djokovic. He will probably have the tougher semi so it will be hard for him to be rested for Sunday. I still think Roger is the greatest ever and it will be up to Nadal to win more grand slams if he wants that title.