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2016 Tournaments Thread

17K views 342 replies 21 participants last post by  Mimi 
#1 ·
Let's hope for a better 2016. Rafa started well winning in Abu Dhabi beating Milos Raonic but that was not an ATP tournament. Today in Doha he played doubles with Fernando Verdadco and they lost in a very tight match to Gabashvili and Ramos Vinolas 7-6(4) 4-6 9-11.
Hopefully he'll do better in singles tomorrow vs a fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta. 3rd match on Centre Court, vamos! :bounce: :bigclap: :cheerleader: :bounce: :bigclap: :cheerleader:
 
#2 ·
thank you so much Maria for making this thread :bowdown:

go go go Rafa in 2016! :woohoo:
 
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#3 ·
You're welcome dear Mimi! :kiss:

Rafa beat Pablo Carreno Busta 6-7(5) 6-3 6-1, the first set TB was scary for a moment but after that Rafa upped it and PCB couldn't keep it up. Tomorrow vs Robin Haase, again 3rd match on Centre Court, hope I can watch. :D Btw Feli and Ferru losing first round wasn't good. :eek:
 
#4 ·
I really liked how Rafa played today. Even in the first set. To me it seems as a good sign ;)
 
#5 ·
we don't have tv coverage but lets go rafa. Its time to beat the top guns :woohoo:
 
#7 ·
Sorry I haven't been around again. :eek: Rafa beat Robin Haase confortably 6-3 6-2 yesterday. Today I wasn't able to watch but Rafa beat Andrey Kuznetsov 6-3 5-7 6-4. Phew, I need to watch later what happened. Semifinal tomorrow vs Ilya Marchenko who beat David Ferrer in the first round and has backed it up so that's not gonna be a walk in the park. Anyway, VAMOS Rafa! :bounce: :bigclap: :cheerleader: :cheerleader: :cheerleader:
 
#8 ·
Rafa played great today imo. I don't know if he'll ever be "back" in terms of winning Slams again, but his form atm (since the US Open really) is as good as it ever is at this time of year, so that's all I really care about. I think some people just put him on a pedestal and expect too much.
 
#9 ·
I think Rafa himself too still expects a lot form himself. :)
Rafa beat Ilya marchenko today 6-3 6-4, got the job done, some excellent serving fo what I saw & heard, so it's looking good, better than last year but is it enough to beat Djokovic? We'll see tomorrow. Nole is looking as menacing as last year. :( :( :eek: ;banghead: Berdych tried his best but Nole still won in 2, 2nd set on TB. Hope for a good final tomorrow and that I can watch in peace and not be too frustrated & mad. :eek: :eek: :lol: Not expecting a victory though. Btw the two Lopez'es won the doubles trophy in Dubai today, YAY!!!!!! :D :dance: :yippee:
 
#10 · (Edited)
At least Federer and Murray can compete with Novak. There's nothing about Nadal's game that rattles Novak any longer. Novak has gotten a bit better over the last couple years while Nadal has gotten worse. Nadal has improved compared to how he was playing six months ago, but he's hardly at his apex. And only Nadal at his best can beat Novak.

The forehand and the return aren't good enough anymore to at all unease Novak. Those shots proved to be hit and miss throughout this tournament, and they were truly exposed here. His forehand is still too erratic. It doesn't seem like a natural shot. When he's ahead in points he frequently hits errors on that side, and the FH up the line has been MIA for a couple years now. It's not so much about power as it is about reflexes and confidence. He's just not playing freely anymore, particularly on that side. His returning remains garbage, missing too many seemingly easy returns and getting way too many back short. The last couple matches he played in Qatar would have been far more straight forward if he wasn't returning to horribly.

As I said before, if/when Nadal beats Novak again it'll likely be in a major. He just doesn't have the consistency and reflexes any longer to threaten him in a best of 3. I do think Nadal may be able to eek out another French Open, maybe. But it's likely a wrap for him at the other majors. Oh well. Ultimately, the refusal to truly evolve his game and commit to any change has come back to bite him in the late stage of his career. I saw this happening years ago. At least he's back in the top five. Though honestly, if he can't at least get back to a major semi this year this needs to be it for him.
 
#13 ·
It seems obvious once they play each other now, Novak plays above his level and Rafa goes one level below. Rafa really played much better throughout the week and Novak played worse.
It is very sad indeed to see such a difference between them. Even if Rafa improoved enough to reach SF and F this year it won't be enough for us. The beatdown he gets from Novak will ruin it anyway.
 
#14 ·
another runner up plate, another heart break :tears:
 
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#15 ·
Oh yeah. Better not to watch this kind of match for a Nadal fan. :eek: :eek: I agree about the FH and the whole week Rafa's play was also up-and-down, still it was better than last year so no need for despair. Let's just see what this year will bring, I'm sure that if he won't improve enough i.e. getting to the GS semis-finals, he'll think of retiring.
Btw what Murray and Rafa said, they can only hope that Nole's level will eventually drop and that's true, Nole cannot sustain that level forever. :lol: And Rafa will do whatever he wants anyway, irrelevant of some fan's wishes.
 
#16 ·
i didn't get to watch his matches coz we didn't have coverage but he looked not bad in the match against Raonic :tennis:

we can only hope Nole's level will drop. Call me bad girl, but I find it hard to believe that he can sustain this high level, at this "old" age. Even the great Roger showed some slowing sign at age 28 :surprise:
 
#18 ·
go go go rafa :woohoo:
 
#19 ·
An article on the ATP site about Rafa.

Toni Nadal: "Rafa Is A Better Player Now"

"I'm a little tired of talking about 2015," confessed Rafael Nadal in Doha, where he reached his first final of 2016.

Indeed, the Spaniard is eager to put behind him a turbulent 12 months, which saw him struggle to regain his best form after injury and illness had curtailed his 2014 campaign.

By most players’ standards, 2015 would have been considered a success – three ATP World Tour titles and a 61-20 match record. But the 14-time Grand Slam champion could only reach the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and Roland Garros and went 7-11 against Top 10 opponents.

With the 29 year old back to full fitness, Nadal and his coaching team – led by his uncle, Toni Nadal, with Francis Roig as his second coach – went to work in the off-season to bring his game back up to its highest level, making improvements and adjustments where necessary, but not at the cost of sacrificing Nadal’s trademark style.

"The pre-season has gone very well," Toni Nadal told ATPWorldTour.com. "We have intensified the training both in the length of the sessions and the rhythm. As was the case at the end of last season, I think things are going very well. In fact, I think Rafael's level is better than at this point last year.

“That he’s feeling good physically helped us more,” continued Uncle Toni. “For a long time we had to be careful with the workouts because there were various problems, but for a while now we have been able to do high intensity training sessions for as long as we want. I also think we have managed to get him back to playing aggressively, and that's what he needs to do to play well." Yeah well in the Doha final didn't seem like it. Dropping the ball short and in Nole's comfort zone. :sad:

As well as prioritising good physical conditioning, honing a specific plan on the court was an integral part of the off-season strategy.

"The game today is very different from four years ago", said Roig, who will accompany the team to Australia. "Now, the start of a sequence of play is vital and if you hit a bad second serve, you tighten up and right from the first ball you have lost the initiative.

“You have to adapt to what the good players are doing and, as he’s very good himself, we thought he could adapt and change certain aspects of his game and I think he is doing that."

As such, balancing increased aggression with Nadal’s staple baseline play became the focus. "Now I see him play and know that he can win the point in many more ways,” said Roig. “Without losing his basics of playing one more shot, but also without retreating and letting the ball drop."

Will see a new Nadal in 2016? "We're not doing anything new,” explains Uncle Toni. “Rather we are going back to the things we did in 2008, 2010 and 2013, but which, for one reason or another - usually physical problems that stopped him from having continuity in his game - we could not do.”
Toni Nadal Talks Of Rafa Improvements | ATP World Tour | Tennis
 
#20 ·
To face the powerful Verdarso in the first round, isn't it wonderful? :rolleyes:
 
#21 · (Edited)
Unfortunate first round match up for Nadal, but he should be able to wear down Verdasco's splotty now game during a five setter- should. Beyond that, his draw is pretty fair for a five seed. If he goes deep a potential match up with Wawrinka and Murray to get to the finals is about the best he could ask for. We'll get a sense of Nadal's level pretty early in the tournament. I'm just hoping he gets to the second week.
 
#22 ·
semi-final is perfect for me :tennis:
 
#23 ·
Rafa vs Fernando Verdasco 3rd match on RLA tomorrow, the last match of the day session. So hopefully I'll catch some before going to work and Rafa will win. VAMOS! :bounce: :bigclap: Don't get me wrong, I like Nando too but I don't want another long thriller like the 2009 semis. :eek: :angel:
 
#24 ·
sorry, I don't like Nando. He looks like a big crying baby :baby:
 
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#25 · (Edited)
Hi Mimi dear! :hug: But what do you folks think of this match-fixing news? :eek: :eek: People far from tennis may think like all tennis matches are fixed now or smth. :tape: The Italians and Russians and the St. Petersburg tourney aren't exactly news to people following tennis seriously. I hate that the reputation of tennis suffers, like Nole's domination hasn't done enough damage. ;) But seriously, even if I'm not a tennis freak any more it's still sad to see.
 
#26 ·
i don't believe there is a match fixing between Rafa and Nando. Guess Rafa, even at his decline, still does not need Nando to "give him the match" ;). I can't watch the match since I am working :banghead:
 
#27 ·
lost the first set 6:7 after playing for 70 minutes :banghead:
 
#29 ·
Hi Veronique! Hope you're doing well. :hug: But Rafa is just.... :tape: Losing 2 TBs! :help: :banghead: I left home after the 4th set and that's just too much for me. if he starts losing in the first rounds then better call it quits immediately. That would be just awful. Still hope he can win. :eek:
 
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