[MaxPower]

Toni CAPTAIN OBVIOUS Nadal at it again.

Soon he will tell us other secrets. Maybe Nadal tries to hit it vs Rogers backhand side? Stay tuned

[Ash86]

Originally Posted by stewietennis

Did he say slow down the points - as in don't hit the balls fast and flat so the points slow down. Or did he say slow down the games - as in take your time between games walking around.

Points. But I think he means the game overall. Said: ""Cuando enfrentábamos a Roger la idea siempre fue bajar la velocidad de los puntos"." Speed of the points is effectively making sure the match doesn't run away from you. For Nadal himself when he was younger he actually, believe it or not, had a problem with playing too fast. Toni and his other coach when he was younger devised techniques to slow him down such as picking up 3 balls and then choosing one to discard etc. so that he took the time to regroup and think and did not rush as much as he did.

An article on tennis.com today mentions how fast Nadal's game was when he was 13 (cool article looking at the Gasquet/Nadal Petits As final from 1999 and what it tells us about the players http://www.tennis.com/news/2012/10/c...le-aces/39651/) and similarly in a documentary which followed Nadal at Miami 2004 his coach mentions how he had a tendency to rush things. (see around 1:30 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMZ6Ztfm5QE). So obviously by 17 they'd implemented changes which helped.

Don't think it's a tactical "make sure you wait as long as possible between points" more than a "play at your speed" and don't go along with the fast Roger blitzing style.

[TigerTim]

Daymn. Roddick should have double faulted vs. Roger and lobbed in rallies. That way the h2h would he 21-2 in his favour!

[Ash86]

For those interested in more of what Toni had to say - from @raulfiber:

" Juan Martín del Potro is a very complete player, hard to beat and to move around. He is an aspiring world n1"

"Juan Monaco has improved a lot this year. He is a player that lacks punch in key moments but is very complete and hard to beat"

"David Nalbandian is one of the classiest and better skilled in the Tour. He is capable of the best tennis, but not a fighter"

On Spanish Golden Generation: "Money is important but the most important is the personal effort from every sportman." "Sometimes it spontaneously appears, but watching your neighbour progress right next to you shows you you can do it too"

On Nadal's fame - some more facepalm quotes.

"No one is that big when you saw him grow. We've seen him come of age and know he is like the rest of us" "My nephew hasn't got the success of Borg or Lendl but had his share, all and all being a normal guy" "I think that everybody who feels special, the only special thing about them is its' head that's not working well" "The only special thing about my nephew is that he is a good tennis player and goes to a fancy hotel. Rafael is a normal guy" "It's true that he has a lot of money and is well known but Rafael knows what's important in life which is the same for everyone" "Those driven by success lose their north in life. We live in a society that praises success way too much" "It is normal that Rafael is impressed about his success. I insist that an obedient person and well guided does better in life" "Dont like calling someone a star when they do things well. My nephew's no star in tennis"

Get his point that he doesn't think hitting a ball makes you a star but whether he likes it or not, Nadal is a star. And don't get me started on not having the success of Lendl. Borg one can debate as Borg was the first real tennis superstar. But Nadal's definitely a bigger star than Lendl.

[Topspindoctor]

Not Nadal's fault Noserer's attention span is similar to a 3 month old poodle and his game is 'disrupted' because someone took a few more seconds to serve.

[Honestly]

Translation: "When facing Roger the idea was always to apply as much gamesmanship as humanly possible. Whether it means pushing, moonballing, taking more than the allowed time between points, faking injury and taking ITO's at crucial junctures in the match, receiving coaching from me in the stands, grunting, anything aside from playing fair tennis and letting the best man win. Because lets face it, Federer is way better than Rafa and we also want our moment in the spotlight."

[Topspindoctor]

Originally Posted by Honestly

Translation: "When facing Roger the idea was always to apply as much gamesmanship as humanly possible. Whether it means pushing, moonballing, taking more than the allowed time between points, faking injury and taking ITO's at crucial junctures in the match, receiving coaching from me in the stands, grunting, anything aside from playing fair tennis and letting the best man win. Because lets face it, Federer is way better than Rafa and we also want our moment in the spotlight."

18:10

[stewietennis]

Originally Posted by Ash86

Get his point that he doesn't think hitting a ball makes you a star but whether he likes it or not, Nadal is a star. And don't get me started on not having the success of Lendl. Borg one can debate as Borg was the first real tennis superstar. But Nadal's definitely a bigger star than Lendl.

On the last sentence, I don't think he said Lendl was a bigger star than Nadal. He contended that Lendl had more success. He said success which is ambiguous and can be taken several ways.

Success in terms of tennis results:
– Rafael may be on par with Borg (equal majors, close weeks at #1)
– Compared to Lendl it's probably debatable. Lendl has more weeks at #1, more majors finals appearances, more YEC titles, more Masters (equivalent) titles, more titles overall. Whereas Nadal has three more majors. Personally, I believe Rafa has had more success but Toni may view it the other way.

Success in terms of fame and cash:
Borg at the time was a superstar. Lendl was a foil to McEnroe during the era of the cold war. Both of them were very well known. Due to technology, Nadal is probably better known on a global scale. In terms of cash, Nadal clearly has had more success.

[atennisfan]

Originally Posted by pepita1964

Everyone knows that even Federer knows but he already does not care because he does not like to go down to the level of stupidity of Nadal. All players know that Nadal is a dirty player.No dignity or whatever but he wants to be respected.

This.

Humbalito.

[atennisfan]

Originally Posted by Topspindoctor

Not Nadal's fault Noserer's attention span is similar to a 3 month old poodle and his game is 'disrupted' because someone took a few more seconds to serve.

More like a minute more, to pick his hair, his face, his ass.

[pepita1964]

Nadal will need more than a minute not just for his ass,hair,face but for his prostate as well.

[Honestly]

Originally Posted by pepita1964

Nadal will need more than a minute not just for his ass,hair,face but for his prostate as well.

[Tag]

toni controls the weather and the courts too

machiavellian genius, this elder nadal

[Johnny Groove]

Toni Nadal for ATP commissioner.

[Topspindoctor]

Originally Posted by TigerTim

Daymn. Roddick should have double faulted vs. Roger and lobbed in rallies. That way the h2h would he 21-2 in his favour!

Rodmug should have acquired a proper ground game, if he hit more ground stroke winners than Wozniacki in an average match, maybe he would have won more than the slam USTA gifted to him. Being Noserer's bitch on such an epic scale is downright hilarious and pathetic. Such titan of the game fit quite snugly in into Noserer's impressive era alongside Hewitt and Nalbandian