[WeakestTennisEra]

1) At present
2) In the past

1) At present I'd say Thiem, followed by Fognini.

2) Djokovic followed by Federer. Djokovic no longer poses a threat to Nadal on clay as evident by the last 3 matches seen. Federer was somewhat of a threat from 05-11 but not enough to beat him.

 

[umbrellapub]

Djokovic for sure.

Nadal likes to go out against Thiem in lesser events but when the RG comes calling thats that for Thiem. Thiem averages 2,69 games per set against Nadal @ RG so the fans who wish it was Mischa Zverev instead of Thiem against Nadal to make it more interesting have a good point.

 

[bhdtl]

Present: Djokovic, followed by Thiem, followed by Fognini.
Past: Djokovic.

Djokovic will always be in Nadal's head and be the most difficult match-up. Even when Djokovic was playing on empty last year, he was able to take Nadal to a deciding set at Rome.

Also, nobody has defeated Nadal more times on the clay, and nobody has defeated him in every clay masters and slam other than Djokovic.

 

[EkVraNaamEnVan]

Djokovic, Thiem, Fognini

 

[Bella&Mirka]

Fed would have made it very interesting at RG without the storm...

 

[doubletrollt]

1) At present
2) In the past

1) At present I'd say Thiem, followed by Fognini.
...

Fognini has entered his only RG QF in 2011 because his opponent (Montanes seed no.38) virtually granted him the victory in the fifth set, and that is all we really need to know when evaluating his matchup at RG vs CC goat.

Currently Fog could be Nadal's toughest matchup no.3 in bo3 clay tournaments, but nextgen-ers will probably take him down to no.4 or 5 when tennis resumes.

 

[rafa_maniac]

Djokovic, but I remember him always struggling against Gulbis in the past even when he was in great form.

 

[Fedjokodal]

At preset: Djokovic and Thiem.
In the past: Djokovic, by far.
In the future: I'd say Zverev and Tsitsipas are potentially problematic for Nadal.

 

[64794]

Djokovic, but I remember him always struggling against Gulbis in the past even when he was in great form.

god, that match against Goatbis at Rome, phew. Ernie was playing lights out though

 

[laughingcavalier]

You can count Zverev in there too.In particular during a best of 3 match.

Should've won the final in Rome when he won the 2nd set 6-1 and then led 3-1 before the rain came.His game has all the elements that you need to beat Nadal on clay a) Big serve= cheap points... b) Double handed backhand that he can fire winners off and not be hampered by the high bounce.

 

[bhdtl]

You can count Zverev in there too.In particular during a best of 3 match.

Should've won the final in Rome when he won the 2nd set 6-1 and then led 3-1 before the rain came.His game has all the elements that you need to beat Nadal on clay a) Big serve= cheap points... b) Double handed backhand that he can fire winners off and not be hampered by the high bounce.

That match still hurts. I wish Zverev had the consistency, especially at the slams. Unfortunately, he does not - yet.

 

[parerastarr10]

Fognini. His ROS, net game and aggressive play give Rafa the most problems. He approaches the match much-like Victoria Azarenka does against Serena Williams. No intimidation. All bravado.

 

[doubletrollt]

That match still hurts. I wish Zverev had the consistency, especially at the slams. Unfortunately, he does not - yet.

He would have more chances against Nadal & co. at masters if he again gave his 101 % therein, instead of trying to peak for the slams as they do, especially at Madrid/Rome combo before RG and Can/Cinci combo before USO.

 

[Bella&Mirka]

Kuerten, Muster, Agassi, Courier.... oh sorry I forgot we're talking about weak clay era.

 

[Ilg]

Soderling.

 

[64794]

amazing match from Gulbis, also his FH was original, not the fake one as he has atm

 

[bhdtl]

He would have more chances against Nadal & co. at masters if he again gave his 101 % therein, instead of trying to peak for the slams as they do, especially at Madrid/Rome combo before RG and Can/Cinci combo before USO.

I would prefer he peak at slams now. He already conquered the masters and ATP Finals. It is time for the next step.

 

[WhatdidIdo]

At present I would say thiem, at least in best of 3.
In the past djokovic, other than in RG(and even there he was nadals biggest threat for years) djokovic actually dominated nadal on clay during 2011-2014(djokovic was 4-2 against nadal in best of 3 on clay during those years)during 2015-16 djoker was the clear favorite in their matches even on clay). But now he is clearly not good enough on clay to actually out play nadal.

 

[doubletrollt]

Kuerten, Muster, Agassi, Courier.... oh sorry I forgot we're talking about weak clay era.

Muster has entered just two RG semifinals stages in career, and eight clay masters semifinal stages, Kuerten seven clay masters semifinals, Agassi three clay masters semifinal stages in almost 20 seasons, Courier two clay masters semifinal stages in career, Murray e.g. entered seven clay masters semifinal stages, Wawrinka five.

 

[Servebots=GOAT]

You can count Zverev in there too.In particular during a best of 3 match.

Should've won the final in Rome when he won the 2nd set 6-1 and then led 3-1 before the rain came.His game has all the elements that you need to beat Nadal on clay a) Big serve= cheap points... b) Double handed backhand that he can fire winners off and not be hampered by the high bounce.

His only problem is his forehand needs work but yeah good backhand and really strong shots off both sides are very important to beat Nadal and a good serve helps a lot as well. Djokovic improving his serve got him more wins against Nadal.