[MinioNole]

Originally Posted by duarte_a

I've learned to not underestimate nadal and especially his doctors.

They seem to work wonders with his career threatening injuries. So I expet nadal to do his usual stuff and win RG, MC and barcelona at least next year.

[GSMnadal]

Probably not, but he will become the best player in the world again.

[Slasher1985]

Originally Posted by GSMnadal

Probably not, but he will become the best player in the world again.

This is like saying 1 + 1 = 2, but may also equal 1 in certain cases.

[GSMnadal]

Originally Posted by Slasher1985

This is like saying 1 + 1 = 2, but may also equal 1 in certain cases.

Oh come on, we all know these two things are entirely different. Rafa won't be scraping in enough points at all those hardcourt masters to be #1. But he can certainly dominate the slams again. What if he stands with 3/4 slams in his hands, but Nole has a couple of tournaments like toronto and paris to his name? He'd be a computer #1 just like Federer was this year

[Slasher1985]

Originally Posted by GSMnadal

Oh come on, we all know these two things are entirely different. Rafa won't be scraping in enough points at all those hardcourt masters to be #1. But he can certainly dominate the slams again. What if he stands with 3/4 slams in his hands, but Nole has a couple of tournaments like toronto and paris to his name? He'd be a computer #1 just like Federer was this year

Nole was #1 almost constantly this year in the Race. This was reflected in the YE standings. That is because Nole has made a lot of finals this year. If Nadal does the same next year, he may not immediately reach number 1, but will in fact be YE #1, allowing for 1 + 1 to be only 2. Also, it was a bit of a joke, don't take it seriously.

[henke007]

No claycourt specialist will ever be nr 1 again.

[buzz]

depends a lot on his knees, if he fully recovers and starts running like 2005-2010 again he will be very hard to beat. But I think its more probable he comes back wins some clay events maybe even some hardcourts but then gets injured quickly again...

[Sophocles]

If he can continue to dominate clay & the other surfaces are evenly split between Djoker, Murray, Fed, & him, then yes it's quite possible.

[atennisfan]

Originally Posted by duarte_a

I've learned to not underestimate nadal and especially his doctors.

They seem to work wonders with his career threatening injuries. So I expet nadal to do his usual stuff and win RG, MC and barcelona at least next year.

I agree with this

[out_grinder]

It's inevitable.

He will return to the tour better than ever.

[thrust]

Originally Posted by IOFH

Let me reiterate that I don't think Nadal would get to #1 even if he gave it his all to do so. I just don't think that should be his focus on the first place.

I AGREE. I think that this extended injury absence shows that Rafa is physically too fragile to ever be as good as he was 08-11.

[Orka_n]

Originally Posted by guga2120

Well that's certainly the truth. He's younger and better. He just happens to be extremely fragile and has the knees of an old man. He will be lucky to be in the top 3 or 4.

Funny how you Nadaltards always alternate between "RAFA IS THE TOUGHEST SPARTAN AND ALSO IS MENTALLY STRONGEST PLAYER EVER " to "his knees are too fragile & his parents got a divorce ".

[Looner]

God, I hope not.

[Tag]

i believe i answered this earlier, but for the benefit of those too naive to take it on board, or those who are too busy (and rightly so) to read every post:

no

no, he will not

his clay points keep him in the top 4

if he loses RG, he falls, massively

he will not gain enough points in the hard court slams or hard court masters, although he may pick 1 up if everything falls together

indian wells or canada are the most likely choices, thought miami is do-able, if he avoids djokovic.

i think it is better for nadal, both mentally and emotionally, to go into grand slams as no 4. he loves being the underdog, due to his conditioned childhood complex

anyway, to get to the point:

Australian Open: QF. 4RD exit or earlier is possible, he's rusty and never plays well here

French Open: Final at the very least. Against Djokovic or Del Potro, depending on the draw.

Also, it will depend on whether he retains Monte Carlo, and who wins Rome

Wimbledon: 4RD/QF. SF/F if things go his way with the draw. he is still a better grass court player than djokovic and murray, though murray is catching up.

Us Open: QF, early exit possible. shouldn't put too much focus on this, he has one already, the one he needed for the collection

as i said, he'll be ranked 4th unless he wins 2 grand slams, or 1 slam and 4+ masters. that is the simple mathematical truth

and, being ranked 4th, is what will get his best performances out of him

[stebs]

Impossible to answer without seeing how he comes back. If he returns playing well, then yes he has a big chance. There's no reason to believe he cannot bag up to 5000 points during the clay season. If he does that, and is fit enough to play almost all the big events, then he has a real chance.