Unlike many of here, I am unbiased! Just because I don't think Nadal has the highest peak doesn't mean I shouldn't include him. After all, like Stan, he has a title here.
Troll threads like the "how many slams would Djokovic 2015 win in 2013" need stamping out. No provocation, just genuine chat about tennis is what we need.
Nadal at AO-2009 is one of the most fantastic phenomena in the history of the sport. He played with a passion that made him unbeatable. He just could not lose. Verdasco is Wawrinka and Tsonga of that time - incredible level of play, but not a mentality of the GOAT. The same with Murray.
Nadal of course. How this can be a serious question is beyond me. No ue at quick and risky game + goat passing shots + inhuman stamina + unreal will to win + amazing court coverage + etc, etc.
Wawa, Murray and Tsonga are comparable. Personally I would rate them the next way: Tsonga>Stan>Andy, but it`s very close, multiplied by my memory and past impressions. As Stan frightened me sometimes, but Tso was pure scary thing in 2008. Murray never had the same impact on me, but it`s not strange - his attacking game is less impressive than those two.
Jo has the weakest peak here, so it isn't him. Wawrinka and Andy are comparable as they both tested Peakovic quite a bit. Wawrinka's more powerful, flashy and scary to witness whereas Andy is harder to hit through, more consistent and more of a pain in the arse. I'll go with Andy, barely, because because he was more reliable, outlasted Djokovic in numerous rallies, played some absolutely spectacular tennis and was a tricky son of a bitch for Djokovic to do anything to for the most part. Wawrinka was too, but I'm biased, so fuck it...they're basically on the same level anyway so it doesn't matter. Nadal was a monster in the 2009 tournament, mostly due to stamina and defense, but I'd put him a close 3rd despite this being one of the only non-clay slam tournaments I will legitimately congratulate Nadal on winning. He was that good.
Andy was good but it was more about outlasting him which Novak is comfortable doing on most occasions judging from their meetings. Stan is not the same feeling, he tries to brutalise and pressure with his power pinning Djokovic back with his BH. While inconsistent relatively, on a good day Stan can't be outlasted, he has to be weathered.
Of course Tsonga. There wasn't a big difference between Nadal-08 and Nadal-09.
As a defensive pusher he just has no answer against on-fire big-hitters outside clay.
Nadal sometimes has a tendency to makes big hitters look good and the overall quality of a match look a lot better than it would be or should be.
When people say watch the Verdasco match or whatever, it's because Nadal made Verdasco look good and thus the match seem high quality. Nadal allowed him to play that way.
Just like Nadal allowed Fognini to look like that. And Tsonga in 08. And so many more examples!
Nadal makes them look good. He allows them to play that way, creating the illusion that a match is high-quality. Nothing more. There is nothing high-quality about it. We all know match-ups dictate everything.
There was nothing high-quality about Nadal-Verdasco.
The level Murray showed in that AO12 SF was enough to beat anyone. However, peak Stan would probably beat him there. It would be certainly close. This is mostly about match-ups imo. Peak Murray is more likely to beat peak Nadal than peak Stan imo.
The AO 2009 Verdasco wasn't the usual Verdasco you usually see. He played great tennis throughout the tournament, not just against Nadal. He also beat a very good Murray in that tournament.
Of course Nando was playing in the GOAT mode. Everybody who watched his matches at AO-2009 knows it. That SF with Nadal is one of the most beautiful matches ever. We can understand why Djokotards are trying to underestimate Verdasco and overestimate Wawrinka :lol:
Over 5 sets. And Murray wasn't anything special then.
Nadal allowed them to play well and that's simply what happened. He overcame an opponent he allowed to play great tennis. If that's considered high-quality, then okay.
Nah, I think his 2008 AO match was more beautiful. Tsonga wasn't just GOATing, he was BOATing.
It's really amazing how some can't see that the way Nadal had played allowed Verdasco to look and play that way.
If an opponent allows the other opponent to play really well yet still ends up winning, is it really a great and high-quality match? I guess that depends on how one looks at it.
between Wawrinka and Nadal. I think Wawrinka, Nadal's peak is basically 1.2 matches (vs Verdasco, 5th set vs Djokovic in 2012) and Wawa has a handful of great ones.
between Wawrinka and Nadal. I think Wawrinka, Nadal's peak is basically 1.2 matches (vs Verdasco, 5th set vs Djokovic in 2012) and Wawa has a handful of great ones.
He played great all tournament at the AO09, he barely dropped games until the SF.
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