[Mg1990]

As players continue waiting, hoping father time makes Rafa mortal at RG. Now a peak clay Rafa who just straight setted his rival might only have to wait 7 months for the inevitable 21.

 

[guidepost]

...or retire for 21 after AO 21.

 

[skykisser1]

just hand the trophy to him, no need to hold the whole event,just the trophy giving ceremony

 

[nolhman]

Rafa should try his best to get 22 slams and more

 

[SithLord]

Even if it is cancelled, I'm most certain they will mail the trophy to Rafa.

 

[Terrible--one]

Rafa better win that one for his 35 th birthday, because after that mark, nothing's guaranteed anymore; every victory might be your last.

 

[juan77]

Nadal is good for another 3-4 titles at RG plus 1-2 hard court slams if the draw opens up for him. 25 slams is very much possible by the time he hangs up his racquet. While it seems so routine for him to win at RG every year, this kind of dominance deserves a special kind of respect. If all it took was for a player to just show up at his favorite slam, every player would do it.

 

[nirvana]

Now he must focused on Paris Bercy and later on AO... win any of them and RG is not incompatible. But yes, RG is near and he's the favourite more than ever.

 

[ballbashingmug]

Nadal is the favourite of course, but he just played his best clay match in a decade Sunday. He’s not going to repeat that level every day, so I think people saying he is unbeatable based on one perfect match are wrong.

 

[nolhman]

Next year conditions will favour Nadal more anyway. This was the best chance to be Nadal tbh

 

[phase3]

Even if it is cancelled, I'm most certain they will mail the trophy to Rafa.

😁😁😁😁 GOOD ONE

 

[phase3]

Next year conditions will favour Nadal more anyway. This was the best chance to be Nadal tbh

No it wasnt. Nadals B game beats EVERYONE. Under any conditions. And Nadal played his A game. He was never gonna lose no matter what the conditions.

 

[phase3]

Nadal is good for another 3-4 titles at RG plus 1-2 hard court slams if the draw opens up for him. 25 slams is very much possible by the time he hangs up his racquet. While it seems so routine for him to win at RG every year, this kind of dominance deserves a special kind of respect. If all it took was for a player to just show up at his favorite slam, every player would do it.

25 slams I doubt. 22--23 is possible yes. We dont know when the permanent decline will come. Injury has always been Nadals Achilles heel.He would probably already have 23 to 25 slams. Had he never been injured.

 

[BodyServe]

I wonder what kind of handicap will Dominic Thiem have this time around?

 

[Budadiii]

Rafa just got done warming up for RG 21

 

[Fargif]

The USOpen and RG showed everyone that Tennis could be played with stricht rules.
But if played Rafa is the clear favorite.
Unless the change the ball again to an even harder ball? Or make Rafa play right handed.

 

[phase3]

I wonder what kind of handicap will Dominic Thiem have this time around?

Thiem is crap. He made the mistake of running his mouth about being Federers record defender. After barely scraping his first slam victory. He wont beat Nadal anywhere near his best EVER.

 

[florentine]

He will then be the RG oldest winner ahead of his late compatriot (RIP 9 October 2019 ) Andres Gimeno, 49 years later.
Andres Gimeno 06/04/72 Roland Garros 34y 10m 1d

 

[Justiciar]

I wonder what kind of handicap will Dominic Thiem have this time around?

What kind of handicap did he have this time around? Don’t quote his draw because first of all, in hindsight, its difficulty was massively overestimated, second of all, he made light work of Cilic, Sock and Ruud, beating all of them in straight sets. If having to beat Gaston and Schwartzman are considered a handicap/tough draw, how do you expect him to beat Nadal in the first place? Because he will have to go through Nadal to win the FO, no matter what. He is also much younger than Nadal and one of the fittest players on tour, I don’t accept a busy schedule as an argument in his case either. At his age Federer played over 80 matches per year while battling with a peak Nadal on big tournaments regularly.

Don’t get me wrong, Thiem is one of my favourite players and would love to see him becoming a dominant force. I was hoping for him to go deep in the tournament this year too. But if he is to win the FO, draws, challenging circumstances or busy schedules can’t be used as ready-made excuses because that’s not how winning is done and that’s not how champions are made.

 

[NADALalot]

...or retire for 21 after AO 21.

No chance of that, because Nadal said in an interview this year that he'd like to retire with 25 slams.
We are only just getting started....