Thoughts on the 2014 Rematch between the Moonballer and the FlatHitter

by gboycottnut1 Wed 25 Jun 2014, 8:07 am

For the eagerly anticipated second round clash between the moonballer and his 2012 Arch-nemesis and conquerer, who will come out on top in the rematch later this week. I personally believe that the Flathitter will blast the moonballer right off the court just as he did in their first clash back in 2012. Also if the moonballer does get past his 2012 Arch-nemesis, in which round will he get a chance to avenge his defeat to his 2013 arch-nemesis Steve Darcis of Belgium?

by FedsFan Wed 25 Jun 2014, 11:48 am

There is far too much hype around Nadal and how his performance will be at this years Championships. People are expecting an upset like the last two years but I do not think it will come. Nadal is more determined to than ever to erase those memories.

As for the Rosol match, it will be a straight sets crushing. Why? Because Nadal is one of those players who relishes the chance to take revenge on an opponent. They had not played each other prior to that so Rosol was an unknown quantity. Rosol went into that much probably with little expectations. He had a brilliant day on serve and just could not miss, just as Stakhovsky had last year vs Federer.

This time round you have talk of Nadal being vulnerable and now people are expecting a classic with Rosol. Rosol himself goes into this match with pressure to do something and that will be his undoing.

I recall Nadal's 2010 FO encounter with Soderling in the final. People expected the Swede to repeat what he did 12 months earlier but it was a poor match from Soderling. I also recall all the statistical similarites between Nadal's 3rd match with Bellucci at RG in 2010 and the stats when he played Soderling the previous year in that same round and lost.

Lightening will not strike centre court twice. Nadal to win this match in 3.

by kneel_before_nadal Wed 25 Jun 2014, 12:04 pm

Soderling beat Nadal at 2009 Roland Garros 62 67 64 76.
Nadal beat Soderling at 2010 Roland Garros 64 62 64.
Nadal beat Soderling at 2010 Wimbledon 36 63 76 61.
Nadal beat Soderling at 2011 Roland Garros 64 61 76.

by **JuliusHMarx** Wed 25 Jun 2014, 12:28 pm

Deja vu (the match and the post)

by CaledonianCraig Thu 26 Jun 2014, 8:39 am

FedsFan wrote:There is far too much hype around Nadal and how his performance will be at this years Championships. People are expecting an upset like the last two years but I do not think it will come. Nadal is more determined to than ever to erase those memories.

As for the Rosol match, it will be a straight sets crushing. Why? Because Nadal is one of those players who relishes the chance to take revenge on an opponent. They had not played each other prior to that so Rosol was an unknown quantity. Rosol went into that much probably with little expectations. He had a brilliant day on serve and just could not miss, just as Stakhovsky had last year vs Federer.

This time round you have talk of Nadal being vulnerable and now people are expecting a classic with Rosol. Rosol himself goes into this match with pressure to do something and that will be his undoing.

I recall Nadal's 2010 FO encounter with Soderling in the final. People expected the Swede to repeat what he did 12 months earlier but it was a poor match from Soderling. I also recall all the statistical similarites between Nadal's 3rd match with Bellucci at RG in 2010 and the stats when he played Soderling the previous year in that same round and lost.

Lightening will not strike centre court twice. Nadal to win this match in 3.

I totally agree. thumbsup

by kneel_before_nadal Thu 26 Jun 2014, 9:14 am

I posted an interview with Uncle Toni regarding Rosol on the "Is Nadal Now The Wimbledon Favorite?" thread, but I should have posted it here. So I will-

Emo

"That defeat cannot affect the match," said uncle Toni. "I think Rafa is better now than he was in 2012."

"It's a different Rafa Nadal than two years ago," he said. "A better Rafa Nadal. In 2012, he had many problems when he arrived at Wimbledon."

"Rafa struggled in every practice, he couldn't go down on his knees, which is important on grass, and his mentality was not good enough for that reason."

"But now he has good movement and not much pain. He is the number one in the world and that should give him some confidence. "

"Of course, Rafa can lose because Rosol is a good player and he has a good serve, but I hope Rafa is good enough to beat him."

"For us it's very important to play here, it's a dream for us," said Toni Nadal.

"When Rafael was young my dream was that he could win at least once here. Every year when we come here it's a dream, and we'll try to keep coming."

"If we play bad this year we'll come back next year, so still we have a little chance to make a good tournament when we come here."

"When he's good, his knees and his body, then grass court is a good court for us, and he is good now."

"We'll always come back, the knees are not an issue in that, sometimes he has played with problems in the past, and we could do that again."

"People said Rafael doesn't play well here, but maybe that's because people have a short memory."

"We made the final in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011."

"Five finals and then we have problems, with the knees."

and Rosol's thoughts:

Thoughts on the 2014 Rematch between the Moonballer and the FlatHitter 3559488474

"It's Nadal who has to win, I have nothing to lose," Rosol told Czech media at Wimbledon.

"I can create another surprise. I want to impose my style on him. The shorter the rallies, the better for me."

"Two years ago, everything was perfect, my head was clear and when I am like this, I am very hard to play against. I convinced myself that I was very hard to beat,"

"Nadal is the king of clay," "But he is more vulnerable on other surfaces, especially grass. If you want to beat one of the big stars at a Grand Slam, the early rounds are the best."

"When we see each other, we say hello. That's all but I don't have any problems with him," said Rosol.

by TopoftheChops Thu 26 Jun 2014, 9:15 am

Rosol's win last time was a 1 in a million. 3 sets for Rafa

by Jahu Thu 26 Jun 2014, 9:41 am

6:4, 6:3, 6:1

by FedsFan Thu 26 Jun 2014, 10:21 am

Rosol can talk up his chances as much as he likes and this whole idea of 'he has pressure to win I don't' is probably far from the truth,. In his mind he is probably thinking, I have to win this, I have to back up 2012 and not make it look like a fluke. At the end of the day he knows that if he does not get a win here, 2012 will be put down to Nadal being injured or whatever and that will take the gloss of that famous win.

However, I shall contradict myself and the previous post. I remember Fed lost to Canas in 2007 which was a shock loss. A week later Canas did it again!

And another thing...2012 was an evennig match. Cooler conditions and it rolled on into the night with the roof eventually being closed. I think that helped Rosol.

by kneel_before_nadal Thu 26 Jun 2014, 10:28 am

FedsFan wrote:Rosol can talk up his chances as much as he likes and this whole idea of 'he has pressure to win I don't' is probably far from the truth,. In his mind he is probably thinking, I have to win this, I have to back up 2012 and not make it look like a fluke. At the end of the day he knows that if he does not get a win here, 2012 will be put down to Nadal being injured or whatever and that will take the gloss of that famous win.

I never thought of it that way. If Rosol is thinking this way, then he's probably going to be full of unforced errors. And I suspect you are right.....Rosol probably will feel like he has to win it, or risk having his 2012 win discredited (rightly or wrongly).

by Guest Thu 26 Jun 2014, 10:37 am

If Rosol flukes this I will eat my hat!

by **laverfan** Thu 26 Jun 2014, 10:52 am

legendkillarV2 wrote:If Rosol flukes this I will eat my hat!

Hope it tastes of Strawberries and Cream. Wink

by Guest Thu 26 Jun 2014, 11:09 am

laverfan wrote:
legendkillarV2 wrote:If Rosol flukes this I will eat my hat!

Hope it tastes of Strawberries and Cream.

I don't have a hat so strawberries and cream would be a delightful substitute Laugh

by kneel_before_nadal Thu 26 Jun 2014, 4:27 pm

46 winners
11 unforced errors
11 aces
0 moonballs

by ChequeredJersey Thu 26 Jun 2014, 4:31 pm

High winners for Nadal's average

by TRuffin Thu 26 Jun 2014, 4:37 pm

rosol showed it was no fluke. Nadal prevailed but it was certainly close. 1 point away from being two sets to love down-- that shows Rosol had a real chance and was giving Nadal all he could handle. Frankly- Rosol flinched in that tiebreaker- Nadal was very ordinary. I think Rosol was a little sharper last time and the conditions were better for him. today showed that if he did find his top level for an entire match again- he would have been all Nadal could handle.

Today- like most lower ranked players- he just couldn't redline for that long.

by kneel_before_nadal Thu 26 Jun 2014, 4:37 pm

2014 French Open Final: Nadal 44 winners, Djokovic 43 winners.
2013 French Open SF: Nadal 61 winners, Djokovic 54 winners.

by kneel_before_nadal Thu 26 Jun 2014, 4:40 pm

In 2012 Nadal played too one-paced.
In 2014 Nadal varied the pace, sliced more too, and that is why Rosol was unable to time the ball as consistently.
Also, Nadal moved better this time, got to some balls that he could not get to in 2012.

by ChequeredJersey Thu 26 Jun 2014, 4:43 pm

We all know that a redlining big hitter with a good serve can power through Nadal on a top day, because of the defensive way that Rafa plays if he is forced onto the back foot or not feeling very confident. Last time, Rosol could play at his best and got through. This time he faltered, lost his stride and it didn't work even though he tested him. No differently to Soderling IMO

by kneel_before_nadal Thu 26 Jun 2014, 4:45 pm

Rosol faltered because Nadal played a completely different match this time. Nadal played with far more variation this time. And, just as Uncle Toni forecast, Nadal's movement is a lot better now than in 2012, and it showed today.

by naxroy Fri 27 Jun 2014, 12:41 am

the moonballer has reached 11 slam finals and 15 masters finals off clay

by kneel_before_nadal Fri 27 Jun 2014, 2:12 am

^ Yep, more than half of Nadal's slam finals have been away from clay. Just imagine if 2 of the 4 slam events were on clay.....

by FedsFan Fri 27 Jun 2014, 10:28 am

kneel_before_nadal wrote:^ Yep, more than half of Nadal's slam finals have been away from clay. Just imagine if 2 of the 4 slam events were on clay.....

The numbers would have been higher but the fact that he has 9 FO and 5 on other surfaces just shows away from clay slams are not easily picked up. I firmly believe he would not have had a wimbledon title if the courts had remained the same speed it was in the 90s or early 2000's. The fact that there was no Spanish winner since 1966 only strengthens that argument. Had Nadal been right handed would he have had as much success as he has had? Probably not.

by Calder106 Fri 27 Jun 2014, 10:43 am

FedsFan wrote:
kneel_before_nadal wrote:^ Yep, more than half of Nadal's slam finals have been away from clay. Just imagine if 2 of the 4 slam events were on clay.....

The numbers would have been higher but the fact that he has 9 FO and 5 on other surfaces just shows away from clay slams are not easily picked up. I firmly believe he would not have had a wimbledon title if the courts had remained the same speed it was in the 90s or early 2000's. The fact that there was no Spanish winner since 1966 only strengthens that argument. Had Nadal been right handed would he have had as much success as he has had? Probably not.

Under the same argument how many would Federer have. I would guess less than 7. It's all supposition. However it is acknowledged that the courts had started slowing down before his first win in 2003. When was the last Swiss winner before Federer ?

by **JuliusHMarx** Fri 27 Jun 2014, 10:52 am

Imagine if all 4 slams were on wood or carpet.

by Guest Fri 27 Jun 2014, 11:23 am

JuliusHMarx wrote:Imagine if all 4 slams were on wood or carpet.

All great champions adjust Laugh

by kneel_before_nadal Fri 27 Jun 2014, 11:54 am

FedsFan wrote:
kneel_before_nadal wrote:^ Yep, more than half of Nadal's slam finals have been away from clay. Just imagine if 2 of the 4 slam events were on clay.....

The numbers would have been higher but the fact that he has 9 FO and 5 on other surfaces just shows away from clay slams are not easily picked up. I firmly believe he would not have had a wimbledon title if the courts had remained the same speed it was in the 90s or early 2000's. The fact that there was no Spanish winner since 1966 only strengthens that argument. Had Nadal been right handed would he have had as much success as he has had? Probably not.

A lot of people firmly believed a lot of theories.

3 hardcourt slams (2 US Open and 1 AO) is a lot considering Nadal has only just entered his hardcourt prime. I have Nadal on target for the all-time US Open record of 5. I have Nadal winning his 3rd US Open this year, and continue to rule beyond. Nadal is the best US Open player in the world now, and his mental edge over Djokovic, Murray, Federer at the slams is growing. And we'll have to wait and see what he does in Australia, but he's obviously a contender and I bet he's more determined than ever for that double-career-grand-slam.

by **JuliusHMarx** Fri 27 Jun 2014, 11:57 am

I have Murray on target for 7 USOs - his hard court prime begins in August (on or about the 7th)

by Calder106 Fri 27 Jun 2014, 12:08 pm

legendkillarV2 wrote:
JuliusHMarx wrote:Imagine if all 4 slams were on wood or carpet.

All great champions adjust

When I switched on the Wimbledon coverage on the bbc this morning. That was one of the first things they said. Coincidence or have they been reading this site.

by kneel_before_nadal Fri 27 Jun 2014, 12:12 pm

Speaking of adjusting......Nadal is the only man ever to win slams on Clay, Grass and Hardcourt in a calendar year.

He's also the only man ever to win Roland Garros, Queens and Wimbledon in a calendar year.

by **JuliusHMarx** Fri 27 Jun 2014, 12:22 pm

That's true - Federer's never won Queens.

by Guest Fri 27 Jun 2014, 12:24 pm

Speaking of adjusting Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe are the only players to have won titles on Clay, Carpet, Grass and Hard in a calendar year.

by kneel_before_nadal Fri 27 Jun 2014, 12:29 pm

^ That's an impressive non-slam feat. Almost as impressive as Nadal winning 2 Clay Masters and 3 Hardcourt Masters in 2013.

by Guest Fri 27 Jun 2014, 12:31 pm

^ Thats good, but it's not quite Carling.

by FedsFan Fri 27 Jun 2014, 12:36 pm

legendkillarV2 wrote:
JuliusHMarx wrote:Imagine if all 4 slams were on wood or carpet.

All great champions adjust

As said by Billie Jean King!

by FedsFan Fri 27 Jun 2014, 12:43 pm

kneel_before_nadal wrote:
FedsFan wrote:
kneel_before_nadal wrote:^ Yep, more than half of Nadal's slam finals have been away from clay. Just imagine if 2 of the 4 slam events were on clay.....

The numbers would have been higher but the fact that he has 9 FO and 5 on other surfaces just shows away from clay slams are not easily picked up. I firmly believe he would not have had a wimbledon title if the courts had remained the same speed it was in the 90s or early 2000's. The fact that there was no Spanish winner since 1966 only strengthens that argument. Had Nadal been right handed would he have had as much success as he has had? Probably not.

A lot of people firmly believed a lot of theories.

3 hardcourt slams (2 US Open and 1 AO) is a lot considering Nadal has only just entered his hardcourt prime. I have Nadal on target for the all-time US Open record of 5. I have Nadal winning his 3rd US Open this year, and continue to rule beyond. Nadal is the best US Open player in the world now, and his mental edge over Djokovic, Murray, Federer at the slams is growing. And we'll have to wait and see what he does in Australia, but he's obviously a contender and I bet he's more determined than ever for that double-career-grand-slam.

Nadal would have to win 6 to set an all time record at the US Open. Currently u have Federer with 5 consecutive, Sampras with 5 and I think Jimmy Connors is on 5 as well. Can Nadal win another 4? Not impossible unless the younger generation step up and start to challenge him more.

by Guest Fri 27 Jun 2014, 12:51 pm

US Open stats

Djokovic 45-8
Nadal 41-8

I think that makes Djokovic the better US Open player.

by kneel_before_nadal Fri 27 Jun 2014, 1:15 pm

FedsFan, I didn't say Nadal would set an all-time US Open record, I said "I have Nadal on target for the all-time US Open record of 5." As in, I think Nadal can equal the record. More likely he'll finish with 4 US Opens, but I believe he can reach 5.

legendkillar, if we're talking win/loss record, then obviously Federer has is a better US Open player. But I'm not talking about records, I'm saying if Nadal and Djokovic (and Murray and Federer) set foot on the US Open court tomorrow, Nadal will win.

by FedsFan Fri 27 Jun 2014, 1:25 pm

kneel_before_nadal wrote:FedsFan, I didn't say Nadal would set an all-time US Open record, I said "I have Nadal on target for the all-time US Open record of 5." As in, I think Nadal can equal the record. More likely he'll finish with 4 US Opens, but I believe he can reach 5.

legendkillar, if we're talking win/loss record, then obviously Federer has is a better US Open player. But I'm not talking about records, I'm saying if Nadal and Djokovic (and Murray and Federer) set foot on the US Open court tomorrow, Nadal will win.

Ooh, I would be cautious in making a statement as bold as that although not entirely far from the truth. I was pretty sure when Nadal stepped on the court this year at the AO Final he would win that. For a set and a half he was outplayed and then he made that lunge at managed to get the back spasm. You just cannot predict how these things go. I mean Federer was expected to reach 20+ slams 5 or 6 years ago and he ended up with 17.

by kneel_before_nadal Fri 27 Jun 2014, 2:24 pm

Well I never at any stage expected Federer to have 17 slam titles. 17 is 2 more than I expected. It was surprising when Federer won Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2009.

Whereas Nadal is in his hardcourt prime at age 28, so its no surprise as he continues to rack up the slams and moves closer to his FOURTH year-ending #1.

by **JuliusHMarx** Fri 27 Jun 2014, 2:25 pm

"Nadal is in his hardcourt prime"

I think you get bonus points for repeating that phrase 3 times or more in a day.

by Johnyjeep Fri 27 Jun 2014, 3:05 pm

Hardcourt Prime. Are we talkin about paint? Thought this was a tennis forum. Is there a DIY forum somewhere!?

The stuff on here is brilliant. This kneel before Nadal is just what these boards are missing in the absence of Hawkeye!

by antonico Sat 28 Jun 2014, 3:10 am

legendkillarV2 wrote:US Open stats

Djokovic 45-8
Nadal 41-8

I think that makes Djokovic the better US Open player.

Three US Open meetings (all Finals) between Nadal & Djokovic:

Nadal - 2
Djokovic - 1

Hard to make the case Djokovic is a better US Open Player than Nadal when you consider them relative to each other. Further, Nadal missed the US Open in 2012. Which would make his US Open winning percentage higher than Djokovic overall.

by invisiblecoolers Sat 28 Jun 2014, 3:37 am

Rosol actually played pretty good, that one minute blip or I would say panic cost the match for him, had he some how sealed the 2nd set Rafa's nerves would have cracked.

But saying all that fortune favors the brave, Rosol was so brave in 2012 that he went for everything and he fortune favored him, this time around its the opposite when down a set and a break Rafa started to play more aggressively and bravely and Rosol once panicked really had no chance after it.

I guess a part III would be interesting. I am pretty sure Rosol wouldn't be happy with the score line while most would have seen that has a great performance, something says me he will get his revenge back Very Happy

Lighting may not strike consecutively on the same place twice, but can strike more than once for sure, and with Rosol's performance it was clear cut it wasn't lighting it was actually the man's big heart.

I guess calling the win as lighting is an insult to Rosol given his awesome play again, he could actually become Rafa's Paul Haahuis of Sampras. While I appreciate Rafa's great win please do credit Rosol's performance, yes he panicked but who hasn't against Rafa? he will bounce back, I am starting to become his fan for him and feel sorry for his loss.

by invisiblecoolers Sat 28 Jun 2014, 3:43 am

Johnyjeep wrote:Hardcourt Prime. Are we talkin about paint? Thought this was a tennis forum. Is there a DIY forum somewhere!?

The stuff on here is brilliant. This kneel before Nadal is just what these boards are missing in the absence of Hawkeye!

I agree Kneel Before Nadal is a great addon to the forum, he is polite yet counters all arguments against Rafa in a very civilized way, A Rafa fan version of Nole's HMM. Hug

But something says me he is "Amritha" aka "Red" aka "armchairemma " , while Amritha was great at the start he couldn't live upto that level and started to go over board, I wish that wouldn't be the case with KBN kiss

by kneel_before_nadal Sat 28 Jun 2014, 11:20 am

antonico wrote:
legendkillarV2 wrote:US Open stats

Djokovic 45-8
Nadal 41-8

I think that makes Djokovic the better US Open player.

Three US Open meetings (all Finals) between Nadal & Djokovic:

Nadal - 2
Djokovic - 1

Hard to make the case Djokovic is a better US Open Player than Nadal when you consider them relative to each other. Further, Nadal missed the US Open in 2012. Which would make his US Open winning percentage higher than Djokovic overall.

Plus there is this very minor detail:
Nadal has won TWO US Opens.
Djokovic has won ONE US Open.

But, I wasn't talking about their stats anyway. I'm saying that if Nadal and Djokovic step onto the US Open court right now, Nadal will win. And I'll say that about ALL FOUR slams, including Australia.

by **JuliusHMarx** Sat 28 Jun 2014, 1:02 pm

invisiblecoolers wrote:
Johnyjeep wrote:Hardcourt Prime. Are we talkin about paint? Thought this was a tennis forum. Is there a DIY forum somewhere!?

The stuff on here is brilliant. This kneel before Nadal is just what these boards are missing in the absence of Hawkeye!

I agree Kneel Before Nadal is a great addon to the forum, he is polite yet counters all arguments against Rafa in a very civilized way, A Rafa fan version of Nole's HMM.

What do you think HMM? Do you see a mirror image of yourself when you read kneel''s posts?

by Guest Sat 28 Jun 2014, 3:50 pm

Well I would like HMs version of facts!

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