GENERIC THREAD OF THE DAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!!!!

[Stealth Maestro Agro Love]

YEEEEESSSSS!!!!!!

That's right, a debate that's gone on for a million years, that has been re-hashed over and over again, beaten, killed, and dug up from the grave to be battled out once more, I bring you the Federer vs Nadal slam debate!

Please explain your reasons as to who you think will win the most slams and why. Feel free to copy and paste old answers to this question from 606, you're bound to have at least 500 of them if you were on there for more than 5 minutes.

[socal1976]

It all depends on Rafa's health, if Rafa is healthy for a couple of years I think he will shoot by fed. But unfortunately he has been prone to leg problems, and that is very sad for one so young.

[kemet]

Well Nadal will at the very least win three more French Opens if he remains healthy until the 2015 season and he could add a few more Wimbledons as well, as I can't really see anyone who can challenge him on grass, so he can actually end up being Borgesque in terms of his domination of clay and grass.

So, in a word, yes, he can end up matching or overhauling Fed's slam total. That of course also depends on whether other players emerge who can challenge Rafa for slam honours consistently.

As of now, outside of Novak and maybe Del Potro (Murray needs to overcome his mental issues in order to be a credible rival), then Rafa will certainly be at the top of the men's game for a few years to come.

[Haddie-nuff]

Socal
Again I agree.. its not just been his knees has it ?, he wears supports in his shoes because he had a stress fracture in his foot some years ago, he has had a shoulder problem, a torn abdominal muscle, a tear in his thigh and the list goes on.
I have always believed that Rafa will have to retire early he is only 24yrs old but due to his physical game his body is much older. When (not if) the day comes he can´t play without pain or compete with the top players it will be the end for him. I am not optimistic that he will equal Fed´s tally of GS´s ... his Master´s record will take a lot of beating. I know the treatment he has received for his knees during this last year has got the problem under control.. but tendinitis is not cured its only treated. The older he gets the more telling hard courts will be. I´m just glad he fought back from all his injuries last year. Im not sure how long he will be able to do that. Lets make hay while the sunshines.

[Stealth Maestro Agro Love]

I know the treatment he has received for his knees during this last year has got the problem under control.. but tendinitis is not cured its only treated.

That's not quite true, I don't think. Tendinitis isn't permanent unless you've really gone and screwed it up. The problem lies more with how long it takes to recover from it. I assume Nadal will struggle with it at times because in all liklihood with the problems he had he probably didn't give it enough time to recover entirely; you'd be waiting years.

I believe that even chronic tendinitis, for all chronic is often considered permanent, is fully treatable. Footballers have shredded tendons, had surgery and never worried about it again, I guess some tennis players have too, but the healing time is just so stupidly long if you develop a major problem that I think some people prefer to just bite the bullet and manage with it after its recovered to a certain extent; you'd miss half your career otherwise.

At the end of the day, wear and tear gets to everyone somehow...

[Haddie-nuff]

Oh great well that gives me optimism ... cant seem to be rid of mine Ive had it for five years..

[socal1976]

That is why I keep harping on Nadal to just play 2 tournaments in latin America after the AO. That gives him a month less of hardcourt pounding. I often find for myself that if I have played the day before or for a couple of days on clay and then I switch to hard it is easier. Mainly because the footing is better and the ball doesn't take bad bounces.

I think Nadal's health is what will ultimately factor in terms of him maximizing his legacy and earning power, not to mention his quality of life. He should ditch Dubai and go straight to South America, play an easy two tournaments, collect a couple of trophies. 65 percent of the tourneys are on hardcourt I think by now he knows how to adjust to it.

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