Nadal was losing sets left right and center to scrubs that year. He got breadsticked by Federer of all people and lost a set to Pushwitt :haha:
So wawa would definitely have a chance. But Nadal-2006 would never fail as Djokovic in 4th set. Nadal in 5.
One thing is for certain, Nadal would get bagel-ed in the 1st set. He was very nervous in that set due to pressure of defending RG for the first time against Fed and made some uncharacteristic errors after failing to break Federer 1st game.
Also, Federer's backhand shankfest was the reason he lost the match. It got completely broken down by Nadal's relentless topspin mid-way through 2nd set towards most of the 4th set. Wawrinka would fare a bit better in the rallies in that case.
One thing is for certain, Nadal would get bagel-ed in the 1st set. He was very nervous in that set due to pressure of defending RG for the first time against Fed and made some uncharacteristic errors after failing to break Federer 1st game.
Also, Federer's backhand shankfest was the reason he lost the match. It got completely broken down by Nadal's relentless topspin mid-way through 2nd set towards most of the 4th set. Wawrinka would fare a bit better in the rallies in that case.
I bolded the key part of your post. The nerves were due to facing Federer, who btw would have straight setted 2015 Wawrinka too with hos 2006 form.
This should be a pretty fun thread actually, can't wait to see many people, particularly from one fanbase, try to hype Wawrinka as a similar clay threat to peak Nadal
Nadal physically and mentally I think would have found a way to defeat the Wawrinka onslaught. This is 19-20 yo old here, he will run everything down and eventually at some point Wawrinka will start to make some errors
My first instinct would be to vote for Nadal easy but, to be fair, Wawrinka's level in the RG final was the best I have ever seen from him. He would stand more than a chance against that Nadal. Though, because of the choking abilities I would go with Nadal in 5
What are you smoking, guys? Nadal in straights. Not like Nadal would allow Wawrinka to play like Nole did. Wawrinka would be like a wet mouse in the rain. Look at their WTF meeting, and this is 2015 Indoordal we're talking about...
Nadal lost sets to Hewitt and Mathieu and needed 6-4 to win the other 3 sets. He also got taken to a tiebreak by Ljubicic. But yea, Wawrinka would've got owned...
And please stop comparing apples to oranges. Clay is not indoor hard and Wawrinka played nothing at WTF like he did at FO.
But Nole was hampered and exhausted so you're right that Nole allowed him to play like that.
Wawrinka's struggled against 2015dal too- he doesn't like his patterns of play generally, so when he comes up against a top level Nadal you know it'll be far, far worse.
Wawrinka "peaks" like a few times a year. 90% of the time he is awful. He can struggle against anyone when he's off. But he can beat anyone when he's on.
Always hilarious to see those who weren't watching in 2006 pull facts off Wikipedia as if that somehow makes their argument more valid. Nadal would win in straights, this isn't really even a debate.
I'm surprised people think Wawrinka will win 2 sets.
Nadal is a nightmare matchup for Stan. Djokovic isn't.
Nadal was at his clay peak back then. Nadal would win in straight sets imo. 4 sets at best if Nadal plays as poorly as he did in the first set at RG final in 2006, but I doubt he would play poorly against Stan of all people.
Yeah, lost sets to Klizan and Brands, almost looked like Nadal would have lost even the second set against the German, but Wawrinka couldn't play his best after an epic five-setter against Gasquet the round before. So yeah Nadal really obliterated him and needed that match for the SFs against Djokovic :lol:
2015 RG Wawrinka of course. He's the best returner after the BOAT and can outpower even the BOAT, whereas dull just had to play against fraud on clay. Nothing special, Peak Nadal would nowhere be found on any list of Grand Slam champions if BOAT weren't so merciful back then and retired the most part of his matches he played. :shrug:
It's funny how noletards try to hype Wawrinka up in order to make Djokovic's performance at RG looks better. But did you watch tennis in 2005-2008? If you did, you perfectly know that Nadal was showing the best clay court tennis ever. He played with inexhaustible energy, ran for every ball, destroyed his opponents with a lethal forehand, had a huge level of confidence. You are very naive and even stupid, if you think that Nadal, like Djokovic, would allow Wawrinka to play his tennis. No. GOATdal would keep Stan outside the court by using high bouncing spins, so Stan would not be able to make many winners and would given up after 1.5-2 hours of tennis against GOATdal. 1 set for Wawrinka at best.
I dont find 2006 impressive in any way, just some brainless retrieving, nothing more. Nadal would serve as a punching bag. Fresh Nadal (2008, 2011-2014) on the other hand is the favorite in this match up.
The "Wawrinka was in God mode, no one would beat him that day" people should understand how tennis work, specially with Wawrinka.
You see, the swiss is the kind of player who GOATs when he is given time and clowns when time is taken from him.
It's true that, as I read here in this thread already, Novak Djokovic was not in his best physical conditions.
Just rewatch some of the match and see how the Djokovic strokes were lacking power, spin and penetration, allowing Wawrinka to have all the time in the world to hit those crazy shots.
Djokovic lost the french open against the player Andy Murray by allowing him to come back from a 2-0 lead. Not agaist Wawrinka. Wawrinka that day would lose to a fresh Djokovic en trois. It's no coincidence Djokovic won the first set and lost the remaining three. Much less fuel in the tank.
Nadal in 4. Defense in just way too good and opens the court with explosive play on the FH
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Mens Tennis Forums
18.5M posts
87.7K members
Since 2002
A forum community dedicated to male tennis players and enthusiasts. Talk about everything from the ATP, NSMTA, to college Tennis and even everything about equipment. It's all here!