[luie]

Originally Posted by Clay Death

murray hit an astounding number of winners considering it was a 3 set match. he blasted a total of 53 winners.

you cant beat nadal by hitting 100 winners. verdasco hit around that many against him at Oz in 2009 and still lost the match.

you have to win the critical points.

why dont you call it like it is louie: clay warrior too showed up with some improvements at the u.s. open.

and there may be a lot more in store. he is just 24.

and most certainly murray is improving. i am very happy for him. he needs to take it to the next level.

they are all improving to some extent with some notable exceptions actually. even fed continues to improve.

his movement is more crisp now than it was earlier in the year. and his serve is as potent as it has ever been.

Nadull serve & DTL forehand has improved.He is still the favorite for the AO imo,but Murray has also improved.Its no secret that to beat nadull you have to win the big points regardless of your stat sheet he is a monster in big matches.
My point is overall nadull serve will win him many free points against most players but against fed one advantage he has over fed is the accurate lefty serve out wide. With increased pace your accuracy generally tends to fall, thus giving fed "more" looks @ his second serve. In london fed went after the serve & nadull served 71% for the match.
Before with fed just starting the point to set-up the forehand with fed was good enough.

[paseo]

The Nadal fans are awfully confident. At least 2 slams guaranteed?

[Clay Death]

Originally Posted by luie

Nadull serve & DTL forehand has improved.He is still the favorite for the AO imo,but Murray has also improved.Its no secret that to beat nadull you have to win the big points regardless of your stat sheet he is a monster in big matches.
My point is overall nadull serve will win him many free points against most players but against fed one advantage he has over fed is the accurate lefty serve out wide. With increased pace your accuracy generally tends to fall, thus giving fed "more" looks @ his second serve. In london fed went after the serve & nadull served 71% for the match.
Before with fed just starting the point to set-up the forehand with fed was good enough.

that is a good point and it must be noted.

i also think that nadal was a bit flat. even the broadcasters were saying the same thing in his match against murray. they said he looked tired and flat.

fed was quick to pounce on that weakness as he should.

just think about how much nadal really has won this year and how deep he went into so many events. its not easy winning 75% of the slams on 3 different surfaces with his heavy topspin game that is so demanding. and he took all 22 matches he played on clay.

he is limited to some extent with the mechanics of those strokes. in other words, those mechanics suggest very clearly that he needs more time than those who do not hit like him.

fed served huge and lost just 13 points on his serve the whole match. yes fed served great but coincident with that is the fact that nadal returned very poorly as he nearly always does on indoor hard courts.

he finally hit the wall and didnt have much to give towards the end but equally, his mechanics limit his ability to return well.

so there is chance that fed would have won the 3rd set anyway with the way he was serving even if nadal had not been flat.


that being said, clay warrior will continue to work hard to make some improvements in his game. that is what he does. he is driven like that.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by paseo

The Nadal fans are awfully confident. At least 2 slams guaranteed?

guaranteed...

[BigJohn]

BTW, these polls really should be public.

[luie]

Originally Posted by Clay Death

that is a good point and it must be noted.

i also think that nadal was a bit flat. even the broadcasters were saying the same thing in his match against murray. they said he looked tired and flat.

fed was quick to pounce on that weakness as he should.

just think about how much nadal really has won this year and how deep he went into so many events. its not easy winning 75% of the slams on 3 different surfaces with his heavy topspin game that is so demanding. and he took all 22 matches he played on clay.

he is limited to some extent with the mechanics of those strokes. in other words, those mechanics suggest very clearly that he needs more time than those who do not hit like him.

fed served huge and lost just 13 points on his serve the whole match. yes fed served great but coincident with that is the fact that nadal returned very poorly as he nearly always does on indoor hard courts.

he finally hit the wall and didnt have much to give towards the end but equally, his mechanics limit his ability to return well.

so there is chance that fed would have won the 3rd set anyway with the way he was serving even if nadal had not been flat.


that being said, clay warrior will continue to work hard to make some improvements in his game. that is what he does. he is driven like that.

Everyone who hold a racquet knows the strategy to beat nadull but execution is the problem,his defense is immaculate,he gives up no real estate.
Fed was 3/3 on break points, mentally held it together in the decider & thats all see wrote.
So he played the big points better, what does this mean overall, not much except his form was good enough for him to execute his gameplan.
For fed to have a 50/50 chance with nadull in a GS final he has to get his B game up.
Its extremely difficult for some-one to play attacking tennis in a best of five though-out the match.to keep the intensity up,to battle nadull.
I hope they meet in doha that should give a better indication of his progress or lack of.
However imo nadull has to avoid an in-form Murray to stand a chance we shall see.

[Clay Death]

Originally Posted by BigJohn

guaranteed...

just keep rolling your eyes ejaculon. its is going to be real funny when he snatches the next 3 slams.

i really believe he is going after them.

french open and wimbledon are a lock from my vantage point. he is usually too tired and mentally worn out during the latter part of the year.

so i am not really that sure about the u.s. open. he may just target the next 3 and call it a year. a great year.

he is a natural on natural surfaces.

we all should have learned that by now.

[Clay Death]

Originally Posted by luie

Everyone who hold a racquet knows the strategy to beat nadull but execution is the problem,his defense is immaculate,he gives up no real estate.
Fed was 3/3 on break points, mentally held it together in the decider & thats all see wrote.
So he played the big points better, what does this mean overall, not much except his form was good enough for him to execute his gameplan.
For fed to have a 50/50 chance with nadull in a GS final he has to get his B game up.
Its extremely difficult for some-one to play attacking tennis in a best of five though-out the match.to keep the intensity up,to battle nadull.
I hope they meet in doha that should give a better indication of his progress or lack of.
However imo nadull has to avoid an in-form Murray to stand a chance we shall see.

great post Louie.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by Clay Death

french open and wimbledon are a lock from my vantage point. he is usually too tired and mentally worn out during the latter part of the year.

so i am not really that sure about the u.s. open. he may just target the next 3 and call it a year. a great year.

he is a natural on natural surfaces.

we all should have learned that by now.

[Clay Death]

get your head out ejaculon so you can see the light. and learn to relax. this is not the place to for stupid pics.

louie and i will educate you for free.

lets just talk tennis if you dont mind.

[RedHotRafa]

Man you crazy if you think its another 1 Roland Garros slam year, those are long over.

[Snoo Foo]

SIX


















ao, rg, wimbledon, uso, and two more they will have to invent just to feed the beast and keep him from eating hyundais as snacks and decimating several small spanish fishing villages while practicing his dance moves

[RagingLamb]

There are no guarantees. But he seems to have both matured and improved relative to '08. So, if there are no injuries, you have to really like his chances.

[SheepleBuster]

Originally Posted by Rafa is the GOAT

If he is healty and at his best in inporntant moments then he is gonna win all the 4 for sure
So my pick would be 4 slams
If he is healty and not tired he will be unstoppable in slams
Vamos Rafa!!!!!!!!
PS: please do not predict Rafa injuries.
Just think of how Rafa has been since 2010 april

1 at most

[Clay Death]

Originally Posted by Snoo Foo

SIX
















ao, rg, wimbledon, uso, and two more they will have to invent just to feed the beast and keep him from eating hyundais as snacks and decimating several small spanish fishing villages while practicing his dance moves

too good.