[ugotlobbed]

i dont know from what ive seen in the past when youhzny is healthy and well, he gives nadal trouble, what do you guys think? it would definitely make tennis richer if the other teens challenged him , i.e. monfils youzhny etc etc

 

[jenanun]

nah.....

u also said in the past

nadal is a different player now.....
too strong for them.....

his real rivals are federer, hewitt and safin etc....

other teens... maybe few years later...
nadal wouldn't be upset by them at this stage...

 

[skel1983]

Teens?????

Youzhny has just turned 23???

I think Youzhny had and has potential but he is turning into a bit of a journey man for me.

 

[Yoel and co.]

They have met three times this year and Nadal has won all three. What makes you think this will change suddenly?

 

[Deivid23]

Youhzny is one of the most gifted players around but he lacks of consistency. He probably deserved to beat Rafa in AO but I don´t know if he can´t match him with him now, anyway Rafa´s win it´s not a lock at all. Last time I saw him was in Bastad I think and he played a good match against Robredo but looks like he´s a bit out of form lately so I think Nadal would beat him but Rafa first has to play Berdych and that will be a tough opponent.

 

[Castafiore]

I agree that Berdych could be a very tough opponent for him today and a lot will depend on how fresh Rafa feels after the week he has had.

 

[Papakori]

Youzhny is too inconsistent

 

[marcelwks]

Berdych has the potential to beat Rafa on hard

 

[lucashg]

Youzhny is too inconsistent

Yes, he's a good player, but so inconsistent. And I think he got thrashed by Nadal the last two times they played, didn't he?

I hope he at least can challenge him, but with his current form, gonna be tough to do even that.

 

[Deivid23]

Yes, he's a good player, but so inconsistent. And I think he got thrashed by Nadal the last two times they played, didn't he?

I hope he at least can challenge him, but with his current form, gonna be tough to do even that.

Wrong, Youzhny had a matchpoint in their match in Melbourne this season and missed an easy high-volley/overhead, it went long

 

[skel1983]

I don't get where this thread comes from, if your a big Youzhny fan that's fair enough, but Youzhny has done nothing all year, it's not as if he is on a hot run or anything. Nadal's rival you ask, i think he has other pressing matter's before he even think's of becoming Nadal's rival, like finding some decent form and trying to break into maybe top 20, he should concentrate on climbing the rankings.

 

[Galaxystorm]

In The Australian Open Youzhny deserved to win the match, from second to fourth set was the only player on court, dominating from the baseline and hitting winners ..Rafa was only a " marionette " running under Mikhail's dictatorship


Youzhny controled very well Nadal's topspin and Rafa hadn't weapons to hurt russian .. In those 3 sets Nadal wasn't able to win the points by himself, he had to wait a Mikhail unforced error to win points ...

Even in the fourth set Nadal saved a macth point when Youzhny sent an easy volley behind the baseline ... I also remeber that Mikhail played from the fourth set injured ...

In the fith set Nadal played aggresive dominating with his forehand and won the set easily...plus Youzhny physical condition was over

The main lesson of that match, is that even when Nadal plays horribly he's able to win the match because he's a fighter and in that match in Australia showed his mental strength

Nadal only had a bad day in Austalia against russian , and he has grown up a lot from Aus open, today is a better player, then i wouldn't give many options to Mikhail..

But the match against Berdych i think is quite dangerous for the spaniard because czech is very motivated after Bastad defeat , Tomas has great conditions to play in hard courts, plus Nadal isn't used to play against big servers in the last months, he isn't used to return amazing serves ( remember that in Montreal he had to face players who usually play from the baseline and not serve-volley players ) ..Nadal arrives to Cincinnati with physical problems , tired , even his coach has advised Nadal to pull out of Cincy but it seems he wants to play . So, it wouldn't be a surprise a defeat against Berdych .

 

[Deivid23]

In The Australian Open Youzhny deserved to win the match, from second to fourth set was the only player on court, dominating from the baseline and hitting winners ..Rafa was only a " marionette " running under Mikhail's dictatorship


Youzhny controled very well Nadal's topspin and Rafa hadn't weapons to hurt russian .. In those 3 sets Nadal wasn't able to win the points by himself, he had to wait a Mikhail unforced error to win points ...

Even in the fourth set Nadal saved a macth point when Youzhny sent an easy volley behind the baseline ... I also remeber that Mikhail played from the fourth set injured ...

In the fith set Nadal played aggresive dominating with his forehand and won the set easily...plus Youzhny physical condition was over

The main lesson of that match, is that even when Nadal plays horribly he's able to win the match because he's a fighter and in that match in Australia showed his mental strength

Nadal only had a bad day in Austalia against russian , and he has grown up a lot from Aus open, today is a better player, then i wouldn't give many options to Mikhail..

But the match against Berdych i think is quite dangerous for the spaniard because czech is very motivated after Bastad defeat , Tomas has great conditions to play in hard courts, plus Nadal isn't used to play against big servers in the last months, he isn't used to return amazing serves ( remember that in Montreal he had to face players who usually play from the baseline and not serve-volley players ) ..Nadal arrives to Cincinnati with physical problems , tired , even his coach has advised Nadal that he should pull out of Cincy but it seems he wants to play . So, it wouldn't be a surprise a defeat against Berdych .

Good post, I agree in most part of it.

 

[amierin]

I"ve never seen Youzhny play so I can't comment on his chances. I live on the East Coast of the US and see very little of the AO. I do know that if Rafa gets past him he plays Monfils I believe. That should be interesting to see. Not sure Monfils is ready for Rafa.

 

[Galaxystorm]

Good post, I agree in most part of it.

I see we were the only dumb spaniards that at 5 AM we were watching on TV Nadal vs Youznhy, when that match was " infumable "

 

[drf716]

youzhny's been plagued with injuries just when he is starting to get a little bit consistent. and it's hard to come back i think. he has to be consistent and maintain it like when he finished #16 i think.

 

[cleverdutchclogs]

Wrong, Youzhny had a matchpoint in their match in Melbourne this season and missed an easy high-volley/overhead, it went long

It wasn't easy at all! It was makeable, but not easy!

 

[lau]

Is Nadal going to be Youhzny´s next rival? :devil:

 

[d_b_prince]

Yeah, I wish Youzhny was still a teen. :lol:

For Youzhny to beat Nadal on any surface, he would need to serve great and come to net often. Even then, he'd probably have to hope for Nadal to be off. The fact that he didn't close out that Australian Open match when he had an easy put-away will probably always make this a tough mental match-up for him as well. I don't think he's ever beaten Nadal and I know that he's lost to him in all 3 meetings this year.

Anyway, one player who is looking like a rival for Nadal in the upcoming years is Berdych, who is currently serving for the match. He even challenged him on clay recently. Looks like his high-risk, hard, flat style of play takes Nadal's time away well.