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Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

18K views 210 replies 104 participants last post by  Kiedis 
#1 ·
http://www.tennispanorama.com/archives/35199

Nadal: “The 25-Second Rule Will Harm the Fans”



Rafael Nadal Tennis Panroama News

By Barbara Galiza

(February 12, 2013) São Paulo - Returning to Brazil for the first time since 2005, Rafael Nadal will play the ATP 250 São Paulo this week. In his pre-tournament news conference, the world No. 5 commented on the improvements on his health and the new enforcement of the “25 seconds between serves” rule.



“People want to see long matches, competitive rallies and amazing shots. For me to play in a high level for four hours, I need more than 25 seconds,” said the Spaniard, famous for taking long between serves. ”I don’t think players are happy with the new rule. The umpire will have to decide when it’s up to follow it or not. Because if it’s something mathematical, it will harm the fans.”



Nadal returned to competition last week, in Chile, after being away from tour for seven months because of a knee injury. He was the runner up in Viña Del Mar, losing to the Horacio Zeballos, ranked 73th.



“I’m not ready to think about titles, I’m thinking about playing day by day”, he said. “I’m not worried whether this (the injury) is going to be a problem for the future, I’m worried about the time it will take (to be 100%). Last week was a positive result. There are days my knee limits me physically, but there are days it’s better. Every week, I have less bad days.”



To Nadal, part of the blame for his injury is the length of the hardcourt season. The surface isn’t ideal to the body.



“I find hardcourts the worst for the body. You don’t see footballers playing on hard fields, or any other sports with aggressive moments (being practiced on the same surface). They’re the most harming for articulations, knees, backs.”



“I don’t think a change to more clay and grass tournaments will be possible in my generation. The ATP needs to be more careful to prolong their player’s careers. I want to be able to still practice sports after I retire. Tennis careers are very important, but life is more,” said the 26-year-old player.



Even though he said to be taking tournaments day by day, the Spaniard admitted that the next Olympic Games is something in his mind:



“Being in Rio 2016 is a big goal of mine. I want to be there in condition to compete and also win what could be my last Olympics.”



Nadal also reaffirmed his stance on public records of the anti-doping controls held by the ITF. To him, if blood tests and urine tests are kept private, tennis is at risk.



“We need to know the person on the other side of the net is in the same condition as you are. Sport needs to be example to kids and an example of hard work. Everyone needs to know how many blood test and urine tests we go through or we will have the same problem as cycling”, he said.



Barbara Galiza is a journalist from Rio de Janeiro covering the Brasil Open as media in São Paulo for Tennis Panorama. She likes tennis and writing. Sometimes she blogs, most of the time she tweets. – @fiercetennis. Follow her São Paulo updates on @TennisNewsTPN.
 
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#38 ·
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

Fuck this pathetic moonballing mug named Nadull complaining about the ATP not catering to his gamesmanship and time wasting skills.

Of course the pathetic Nadull-tards on here nod their collective empty heads to anything Nadull spews out of his mouth.

Nadull has cheated his way to winning matches simply by taking 45 seconds between points and now he's whining he can no longer cheat.
 
#60 ·
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

Fuck this pathetic moonballing mug named Nadull complaining about the ATP not catering to his gamesmanship and time wasting skills.

Nadull has cheated his way to winning matches simply by taking 45 seconds between points and now he's whining he can no longer cheat.
After watching what happened between him and Rosol at Wimby, I'm convinced that he supports gamesmanship and I'm not surprised with all these incessant whining. His true colors revealed when things didn't go his way. :zzz:
 
#39 ·
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

Rafa's ideal season
January: a few clay events followed by first Slam (clay surface in South America)
February - April: Clay season
May: RG
June: Wimbeldon (for now still grass but perhaps change colour to red-clayish, no?)
July-August: 2nd half of clay season
Spetember: Last slam of the year...Mallorca, Spain (clay)
October-December: Rest and recover for next season

Rinse, repeat
 
#40 ·
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

Badminton, volleyball, handball and many other indoor sports are played on some sort of hard courts. Tennis is overall not a sport with that many injuries compared to other sports. I would assume the risk of serious injury is much higher in football, which Nadal compares to tennis.
 
#44 ·
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

Badminton, volleyball, handball and many other indoor sports are played on some sort of hard courts. Tennis is overall not a sport with that many injuries compared to other sports. I would assume the risk of serious injury is much higher in football, which Nadal compares to tennis.
Of course ... but to Kneedullita Tennis is the sport with the most injuries :facepalm: Kneedull at it again :rolleyes:
 
#43 ·
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

He shouldn't care at all. His first serve is no different to his second serve anyway.
 
#45 ·
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

http://www.tennispanorama.com/archives/35199

Nadal: “The 25-Second Rule Will Harm the Fans”

“People want to see long matches, competitive rallies and amazing shots. For me to play in a high level for four hours, I need more than 25 seconds,” said the Spaniard, famous for taking long between serves. ”I don’t think players are happy with the new rule. The umpire will have to decide when it’s up to follow it or not. Because if it’s something mathematical, it will harm the fans.”
:facepalm:

“I find hardcourts the worst for the body. You don’t see footballers playing on hard fields, or any other sports with aggressive moments (being practiced on the same surface). They’re the most harming for articulations, knees, backs.”
:facepalm:

:haha: Someone please tell him to stop playing Tennis if he couldn't cope himself with the rules.
It will be good enough if he just stops talking.
 
#52 ·
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

It will be good enough if he just stops talking.
Or you just stop reading it? :shrug:


This is a collection of quotes, pasted together from a press conference. It would probably be better to read the entire press conference in full.
He said it better in the interview with L'Equipe.
 
#46 ·
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

People comparing tennis to a full contact sport like football and are surprised that football has more injuries, really? It helps that the guy you're playing doesn't come across the net and kicks you off the court in tennis, you know.

As for continuous strain on the body when you play on hardcourts with the sharp movements in tennis, it's definitely much tougher on the body than other hardcourt sports
 
#65 ·
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

People comparing tennis to a full contact sport like football and are surprised that football has more injuries, really? It helps that the guy you're playing doesn't come across the net and kicks you off the court in tennis, you know.

As for continuous strain on the body when you play on hardcourts with the sharp movements in tennis, it's definitely much tougher on the body than other hardcourt sports
Well, I was not the one comparing tennis to football. Nadal did. The point is that tennis does not have that many serious injuries hurting players after their careers end.

As many has pointed out already Nadal could have proposed faster courts and/or lighter balls if he was so concerned about the future of the sport when it comes to injuries. Nadal is only trying to make ATP have more important clay tournaments, which would benefit himself. Nadal has not won a hardcourt tournament since Tokyo 2010.
 
#48 · (Edited)
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

ah, Rafa strikes again. the ATP needs to customize their rules especially for Rafa. Nadal's been silly lately. He is better off not to give any interviews for a while. His PR team should know better.
 
#51 ·
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

ah, Raga strikes again. the ATP needs to customize their rules especially for Rafa. Nadal's been silly lately. He is better off not to give any interviews for a while. His PR team should know better.
Benito is too busy ruining interviews with Brazilian TV to be on this just at the moment.
 
#53 ·
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

All they need to do to hardcourts is to speed up them. That way points become shorter and thus less gruelling for the body. Also, faster HCs are easier for grinders bodies because if you rely on your defensive abilities, you lose earlier, thus play less matches and your body gets rest.
 
#55 ·
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

All they need to do to hardcourts is to speed up them. That way points become shorter and thus less gruelling for the body. Also, faster HCs are easier for grinders bodies because if you rely on your defensive abilities, you lose earlier, thus play less matches and your body gets rest.



this is hilarious, love it, too funny. This August dude is good :drink::lol::lol::lol:
 
#57 ·
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

Nadal must be an artist. Because, you know, most of what we know as Art stands in a fine line between Genius and Fraud.

His way of thinking and saying things is also artful, because the claims contain lies (or, let's say: re-arranged truth for his own convenience): the more improbable the information seems to be, the truer it appears to the one receiving this information.


No doubt his fans believe this kind of horse poopoo statement.
 
#58 ·
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

“People want to see long matches, competitive rallies and amazing shots. For me to play in a high level for four hours, I need more than 25 seconds,” said the Spaniard, famous for taking long between serves. ”I don’t think players are happy with the new rule. The umpire will have to decide when it’s up to follow it or not. Because if it’s something mathematical, it will harm the fans.”
You wouldn't believe a top player and one of the best players in history would say something like that :facepalm:
 
#59 ·
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

One of the least respectful players on tour... what should we expect from him? Guy doesn't care about the sport's history, doesn't care about the sport's tradition... but that's not the best part. The best part is when he talks about strategy in tennis. This is soooo funny coming from a guy whose only strategy is hitting moonballs to his opponents' backhands.
 
#62 ·
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

The umpire must to flexible with that rule. After an epic rally a player should be allowed to take a few seconds more to serve. Its all what he was saying and I agree.
 
#63 · (Edited)
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

The umpire must to flexible with that rule. After an epic rally a player should be allowed to take a few seconds more to serve. Its all what he was saying and I agree.
No, he shouldn't. This rule forces players to shorten rallies and pushes them to apply more agressive tactics thus make exchanges more attractive for the observer.
First of many steps to bring tennis back to the shape it had 10 years ago.
 
#64 ·
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

:facepalm::facepalm::facepalm:
 
#66 · (Edited)
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

We do? Did Rafa have somebody canvas the tennis watching public on a day I was out?

I wasn't aware that it was enshrined in stone that 'long matches' = entertainment. Doesn't necessarily equate that because a match was long, it was full of 'competitive rallies' and 'amazing shots'. Half the time they're error strewn borefests in which neither player apparently has the werewithal or the desire to change things in order to try and win the match. Hence, we have these manufactured dramas which acquire legendary status and are then held up as a shining example of just how exciting the game really is, when in reality they deserve no such exaltations.
 
#75 ·
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

We do? Did Rafa have somebody canvas the tennis watching public on a day I was out?

I wasn't aware that it was enshrined in stone that 'long matches' = entertainment. Doesn't necessarily equate that because a match was long, it was full of 'competitive rallies' and 'amazing shots'. Half the time they're error strewn borefests in which neither player apparently has the werewithal or the desire to change things in order to try and win the match. Hence, we have these manufactured dramas which acquire legendary status and are then held up as a shining example of just how exciting the game really is, which in reality, deserve no such exaltations.
Exactly. As much as I love watching tennis, nothing is more boring than watching a 5-hour GS final where Djokovic and Murray feed each other identical balls, bounce the ball and wipe sweat. When the match is over, you realise your sundays is spent, tomorrow´s work, and you wonder where the hell that 5 hours went, because you can´t even remember a single point that stands out.

Point is, I really don´t think fans want the matches to be any longer than they are. And certainly not if the matches are prolonged by toweling or picking the ass.
 
#72 ·
Re: Some more gentle comedy from Nadal....."25-second rule will harm the fans"

crybaby dull :bigcry:

who cares if he can't play other sports after tennis

whining about hard courts

stupid dull, as usual

his fans will blindly follow him :eek:
 
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