I think Nadal s best time has already ended, he can­ not fight like last year and before because his ­ knees
are spoiled, he is only 23 years old but with­ knees of 33 years. He stil can win some­ tournaments but from now on, he will lose­ frequently against other top players. He may ­ retire at 26. Each year he will face young ­ players that will obligate him to wear his body ­ faster and at 26 he will be old for tennis. He­ could win when he was younger than Federer and­ others, but now his main rivals will be his­ same age (but with healthy knees) or younger.

No.136 James W.....two words.....LOVE IT!!!!!

END OF THIS THREAD, BEGINNING OF THE NEXT: BRILLIANT­ DJOKOVIC THRASHES MONFILS

Novak Superior.

pssssst

Anyway, when Tsonga fall, I said nothing can stop Novak­ to take the title in Paris, and he will take the title­ no matter Paris audience.
@ Ray V, if you really are­ Nadal fan, you should take a better look at this great­ sportsman, and learn man..never is to late !
llom at­ Ashit G.. a die hard Roger fan, but has honor to admit­ and congratulate ! cheers :-)

People do you honestly see anyone more capable to be­ the next number one, when the time comes ? :-)
I was­ pointing this many many times here.. Novak had his ups­ and downs in a meantime, but few people here never­ stopped believing.. and I’m finally very satisfied with­ how the "whole picture" looks now.
Novak is a­ grownup finally, but someone who can enjoy the game - a­ man, not a machine, very mature, with improved focus,­ fitness.. technical and tactical level never were the­ problem.
This was MAYBE the best Novak`s match so far..­ I don’t agree, people use to have shallow memory..
I’m­ sorry for Nadal`s fans, but Nadal is not what he used­ to be !
At least, old Nadal would make this match more­ dramatic; It is hard against opponent playing so­ precise - but Rafa seems like he lost his magic at some­ point...
Don’t know is he saving his body, obviously­ not running for every ball now..but also his­ determination, great anticipation to produce the best­ in hardest moments is just gone.
I really hope he can­ be back on track for the sake of tennis !
This doesn’t­ deny Novak`s great great play yesterday, and the whole­ month (would be just perfect with better first serve,­ but whatever) .
This Rafa`s great anticipation, dear­ James W, made a difference in clay encounters between­ those two,
remember those between Novak and Nadal in­ last two years - Most of the victories where not so­ easy for Rafa .. do you agree ? ;-)
From last 6 matches­ on clay and grass, Novak was pretty close in 5 (thou­ you can not anytime say it for sure when playing Rafa),­ but Novak really dictated the tempo !
And on the other­ side, whenever Novak beats Nadal, it was in convincing,­ or very convincing way. don`t forget this folks !
What­ Novak suffered from those clay defeats, no one can­ tell, but definitely he suffered much being so close,­ many times, and just couldn’t make it.. But more­ important at the end – he learned the lesson, flaying­ hogh now, maybe stronger then ever !

pssst

Professor giving speed lessons alive

NOLE, follow ZIKI & DANY and take this Masters.

Nole will finish the year in the 2nd place!

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Nole is better in hard and clay. Rafa is the best in­ clay and in grass. Roger is very good in all surfaces,­ especially in gass in which I believe he could be­ beaten only by his bad performance.

Nadal seems to rely on hard hitting and aggressive play­ . He has no Plan B . He is obviously struggling and may­ never get back to his peak level from last year . He is­ not alone . Federer is not playing well either and­ losing to inferior players . I think it could be time­ for change of the guard . I would NOT be surprised if­ Nadal or Federer or both dropped out of the top three­ altogether as early as next year . It is up to­ Djokovic,Murray and Del Potro to step up and take over­ !!

At 22 Nadal had 36 titles already won on all surfaces­ except indoor carpet.
And if Nole is so fantastic why­ has he never triumphed on grass?
And playing so many­ tournaments and only winning half of them is no reason­ to be proud of...he should start winning the big­ tournaments as Roger and Rafa have 3 times as many­ Masters and GS.
Hope his form holds true because beyond­ your peak there is a gradual decline in prowess...and­ the likes of Murray and Del potro will pounce...even­ thought Delpotro also appears to be hampered by many an­ injury...

Rafa and Roger are still the yardstick!!!

NADAL HAS TO STOP PLAYING DEFENSIVE AND START TO PLAY­ AGGRESSIVE LIKE HE DID IN THE PAST !!! COME ON RAFA !!!­ NO MORE MISTER NICE GUY !!!! TAKE CONTROL AND ATTACK­ NOWWW !!! SHOW THEM WHO IS THE BOSS !!!!

JW: Good comments brother!!

Nole...win Paris and­ London and you are number 2 with just a 200 point­ margin providing Rafa loses all 3 round robin matches­ and you win without any round robin defeats...
Let us­ not count the chickens before they hatch...you were in­ this same situation in May 2008..when you were a win­ away from usurping the number 2 position from­ Nadal.
and number 2.
After almost 3 years I suppose you­ have groveled enough??
Time will tell and of course­ London.

Someone said "Novak wins the tournaments that­ others don't care about"... wrong... RF, I am­ sure, wanted badly to win in Basel last week...
And,­ then, the comments about the Nole's physical­ endurance and ability to play 3 set matches and not 5­ set matches... there is some truth in it, but, on the­ other hand, he has played these year more matches than­ any other top player and I cannot remember him retiring­ recently for health reasons... on the other hand, Andy,­ Rafa and Rodick, all being physically stronger than him­ have spent quite a time on a bench this year... the­ reason is that they had 3-4 difficult months in the H1­ and then broke down... the similar thing happened to­ Nole in 2008, but there was a very little understanding­ for his problems at the time...

lol, peri, you made me chuckle, and James W, you made­ me crack up. good stuff.

Nadal is taking time out to manufacture the Anti-Nadal­ Nadal. He wants to be taller than he is wide, not run­ like a rabbit but stand his ground, dictating play from­ the dicky-seat. From time to time they wheel him out­ for a field test then back to the drawing board.­ Objective: to play from inside the baseline, to be­ quicker, more agile, less bulky, with more whiplash­ than muscle in his strokes.
The Antí-federer Nadal has­ done its job, and is now obsolete. That was a weapon­ honed specifically to hunt down, corner and destroy the­ reigning Nº1. Now they have realised that this Nadal­ will not do at all against the new breed as represented­ Delpo, Murray and Djokovic. Nadalator Mark II is still­ in the prototype stage, but when it is finally wheeled­ out for action in the Clay season 2010 it will strike­ fear into the hearts of the most stalwart, turn men­ into puling babies and make grown women cry. Nadal­ finished? He hasn't even started yet!

Has anybody ever watched Dragonball Z? Novak really­ reminds me of the character Vegeta 'cause he­ divides opinion so much (love or hate). I must admit­ though Novak is getting to RF and RN making them scared­ the way he is taking over. I just hope he can perform­ where it really matters, Wimbledon and French open.