Sinner at AO. Nadal everywhere else. The RG final would be similar to the beatdown he put on fed. He was unplayable on clay during that period

 

2008 Nadal bar AO. I don't see 2025 Sinner besting 2008 Nadal at FO and Wimbledon. Even 2008 USO Nadal wouldn't be beaten by many players honestly, Murray played an incredible match.

 

That's one of Andy's best matches and it needed to be. I can't remember him hitting his Forehand so well, so attacking. I wish he played that way more often through his career, it's not like he couldn't he chose not to, this match was proof of that

 

Did Rafa ever lose 7/8 matches to a rival when he was 24 or younger?

Don’t even compare Sinner to the GOAT. It’s an embarrassment

 

This thread is about Sinner and Nadal, not about Djokovic.
Sinner vs Nadal would've been a different match-up than Sinner vs Alcaraz.

 

but AO 8-2 Sinner
RG 8-2 nadal
Wimbledon 7-3 Sinner
US open 7-3 Sinner

 

Bull got whipped by a green Mugray at USO, Skinner was annihilated by Peakcaraz.

Maestro also didn't show up to Wim just like Alpaca but Rafito was choking the match until bad light saved him...

 

Maestro also didn't show up to Wim just like Alpaca but Rafito was choking the match until bad light saved him...

Indeed. He was up 2-0 in sets and DFed a MP in the 4th set tiebreak. If Federer had come back to win, we might have had the unusual narrative of Nadal being a choker and Federer having great mental strength (for a while at least)!

 

Put 2025 Sinner in 2008 conditions, and it's 4-0 Nadal
Put 2008 Nadal in 2025 conditions, and it's 4-0 Sinner

It's like comparing Djokovic of 2011 vs Sampras of 1994; the tennis is a different sport now compared to 2008

 

Maybe it’s changed significantly over 30 years, but I’m pretty sure nadal was still winning with a racket from the 2000’s even in the 2020’s. I’ll agree the average journeyman is better now than 10-15 years ago, but the top 5-10 was stronger then

 

Advantage Sinner at Wimbledon? Lmao. Nadal beat Federer and Murray that tournament and you think he's losing to Sinner?

3-1 to Nadal anyway. Sinner wins AO then gets smoked at the other 3 tournaments.

 

Advantage Sinner at Wimbledon? Lmao. Nadal beat Federer and Murray that tournament and you think he's losing to Sinner?

It was pre-prime Murray in the QF stage (in his maiden Grand Slam QF, not even ranked top 10 yet) and Federer was playing poorly in the first couple of sets of the final.
Sinner was good both in terms of serving and at the net against Alcaraz and we all know how difficult it is to look good at the net when Alcaraz is on the other side. Unlike Federer's one-handed backhand, Nadal wouldn't be capable of exploiting Sinner's two-handed backhand which is more solid against topspin. He'd still be better from the baseline than Alcaraz, but his 1st serve wouldn't be as lethal.
So yes, advantage Sinner at Wimbledon. Without a doubt.

 

I stopped reading at "the new nadal"... :/

 

Then how else would you call him? The new Verdasco? He seems to be stronger than Verdasco from a mental standpoint.

 

The first match between Sinner and the new Nadal took place today, with Sinner winning comfortably 6-2 6-2. This match made me think a bit about how this Sinner would've fared against one of the best versions of OrigiNadal, the one that won 2 Grand Slam titles back in 2008.

If 2008 Nadal played against 2025 Sinner in every Grand Slam tournament, what would be the final outcome of this match-up?

I think there's basically no question about Sinner winning at the Australian Open and Nadal winning at the French Open, most likely straight-set wins in both cases (Sinner was great at this year's French Open, but 2008 French Open Nadal was out of this world). So the main questions are about Wimbledon and the US Open.

Both players brought some of their best tennis to Wimbledon in these respective years. The level required to beat absolute prime Federer at Wimbledon wasn't easy to summon. While Sinner may have not been as good as 2008 Federer at this year's Wimbledon, he'd be a tougher match-up for Nadal than Federer. Sinner's serve and net game at this year's Wimbledon final would make it difficult for everyone to break his serve frequently. While Nadal's 1st serve wasn't as lethal as Alcaraz's, his baseline game would probably pose a bigger challenge for Sinner, who would have to work harder to finish points from neutral - he'd get less errors on crucial points.
This match likely wouldn't be done in straight sets. I see Sinner winning at least 2 sets in this match, so the question is about the order of the sets. If Sinner has a 2 sets to 1 lead after 3 sets he takes the match. If Nadal is the one who gets 2 sets to 1 up, Sinner only has a slim chance if he wins the 1st set and the match isn't too physical come the 5th set.

The US Open is the more interesting case, as both players were relatively subpar at the US Open in their respective years. Nadal wasn't fresh and ran into a red-hot Murray, Sinner struggled in terms of 1st serve percentage and faced a clinical Alcaraz.
Without the serve being a factor for either player, I'd say Nadal would have a slight advantage from the baseline - Sinner was more errant than usual in the final. But maybe with Nadal playing behind the baseline Sinner would feel like he has more room to execute.

Here is my final verdict:
Australian Open - Sinner in dominant fashion
French Open - Nadal comfortably
Wimbledon - advantage Sinner
US Open - advantage Nadal

What do you think the Grand Slam H2H between 2008 Nadal and 2025 Sinner would look like?
Discuss.

Seriously @YonaMX you consider Tien to be the new Nadal? And based on a match in a 500 event?

 

2008 Nadal was not yet winning hard court slams.
I’d go 2-2, but it would be close, bar RG of course.

 

Seriously @YonaMX you consider Tien to be the new Nadal? And based on a match in a 500 event?

Not based on a match in a 500 event but based on numerous things they have in common as shown over multiple tournaments at different levels:

Left-handed ✅
Weak serve ✅
Heavy topspin ✅
Excessive annoying/ugly grunt ✅
Pigeoners of Medvedev ✅
Djokovic's pigeons on hard courts ✅

These are only some examples of course.

 

The last two are invalid if we the stages of the players under discussion. The commonalities I notice are with style of play and mannerisms. But it basically ends there.

 

Nadal wins 3-1. 2008 Murray in USO played at much higher level than 2025 USO Sinner. Let's not kid ourselves. That was a great Murray but was unfortunate to meet a peaking or near peaking Federer in the final. I can see Sinner winning AO however.

 

Tbh, I'd put Nadal GSs 2008... 4-0 everywhere.

Even at AO, people don't remember JWT's level of play in this SF?
Or, it's just the recent bias?