Every sportsman reaches its peak. Remember Sachin’s remarkable back to back 100's at Sharjah against New Zealand and Australia (India won the cup). He was at its peak then. You cannot expect similar form from him anymore. Mentally or talent wise he could, but physically NOT. Similarly Federar was at his peak for all these years. Don't expect him to reach another higher level from here. Nadal is at his peak or can he reach another level ? Fact is that he is been improving his game all this while, whereas federar was just there and there. If he goes one inch further then you can expect Nadal to demolish all the players for the next 2/3 years.
RE:Is Nadal at his peak and still improving !!!
by SaiSubramanyam Thoota on Jul 07, 2008 04:51 PM
Federer's game is graceful and he relies mostly on the placement of shots whereas Nadal has power in his shots... The sheer power of Nadal made life difficult for Federer in yesterday's match... Nadal is only 22 now but when he gets older, we should see how his game improves... He may also be prone to injuries with this kind of game he has... Hope he maintains his fitness and takes his game to the next level... For sure, Roger will catch up with Rafa in the next Wimbledon...
RE:Is Nadal at his peak and still improving !!!
by Calspadeaspade on Jul 07, 2008 04:58 PM
That happens to every body. Even players who depend on high precision lose that after some age. In fact they lose it faster. Nadal is just not only ppower. He also places intelligently. Only area where he could improve is his net play. If his net play was good he would have finished it in 3 sets. It was very obvious when he took Roger out of the court with his 1st service he could have come to the net and finished his point right there. Instead he played at least 4 more shots.BTW Nadal is still improving.
RE:Is Nadal at his peak and still improving !!!
by nitesh salvi on Jul 07, 2008 05:05 PM
he(Nadal) should also improve his service a bit..He is not very strong at taht
RE:Is Nadal at his peak and still improving !!!
by SaiSubramanyam Thoota on Jul 07, 2008 05:03 PM
See... Roger is only 27 now and still has lot of tennis left in him... He will come back next year with a definite game plan...
RE:RE:Is Nadal at his peak and still improving !!!
by SaiSubramanyam Thoota on Jul 07, 2008 05:06 PM
Players with high precision will lose faster??? You have examples of Lleyton Hewitt and Ferrero... Rafa is also of the same type... Remember Rafa runs round the court like a 100 meter sprinter... He cannot continue with this style of play for long... Fitness won't improve as age increases... Rafa is at his peak now... But one more fact is only he can beat Fedex in Wimbledon...
RE:Is Nadal at his peak and still improving !!!
by Calspadeaspade on Jul 07, 2008 09:47 PM
These days of play you have to be a super athlete first brfore anything else. Nadal has lot more skills and weapon than Hewitt and Frre who are just athletic. Federer is also very athletic. Marath Safin has all the goods but not quick on his feet. That is why he loses. These days you cant hi a beautiful shot and just stay there admiring it.
Federer may be down after losing two finals to rafa....but he will bounce back strongly.....he has an excellent allround game and is definitly the best ever
RE:Federer - Greatest Ever !!!!!!!!!
by dilip vig on Jul 07, 2008 04:48 PM
Kappori this is tennis and not cricket...you indians cannot think beyond Cricket
RE:Federer - Greatest Ever !!!!!!!!!
by SaiSubramanyam Thoota on Jul 07, 2008 04:52 PM
Rightly said... People who speak bad about him are jealous of Fedex...
RE:hi
by vipul m on Jul 07, 2008 04:07 PM
No, last night the match showed how federer can be tamed. I could not keep myself awake after 2AM and went to sleep. But whatever I saw it was Nadal going all the way. He always proved stronger to Roger-physically as well as mentally and yesterday's match was a battle of stamina and craftmanship in which there is no one better than Rafa.
RE:hi
by sarfraz shaikh on Jul 07, 2008 04:25 PM
you said it in your comments itself.......nadal is a muscle player who will not be known for his finnese....but only for accuracy........ Federer is the all time great simply for the fact that on his day (read last 5 years ) he can hit any shot from any angle. It is not Nadal is improving in his game....he still prefers baseline game on grass courts.....
It is Federer whose game has dipped over the year ....maybe a bit complacent...........
RE:hi
by SaiSubramanyam Thoota on Jul 07, 2008 04:56 PM
Nadal's powerful backhand made life difficult for Fedex yesterday... We should see how Rafa plays when he gets older... Sampras and Federer dominated Wimbledon because of their finesse in the game (not to forget their powerful serves). It seems like Nadal is prone to injury when he gets older...
RE:hi
by Calspadeaspade on Jul 07, 2008 05:08 PM
Not complacent. His game is high precision which goes down faster with age. Just like John MKcenroe. John faded faster than other base liners. Roger has also goone to play from base line. He is not exactly Serve and vollyer now. But his net play is superb. If nadal is half as good as Roger in the net yesreday's game would have been over in 3 sets.
His Uncle was a Barca Legend, Now he goes on to support Real Madrid.. What kind of a nutcase would do that...Anyway there are few in the game who are as consistent as Nadal its a shame actually Federer couldnt find any rythm..
RE:Hate Nadal,
by Abhiram Jy on Jul 07, 2008 05:19 PM
what a nut case you are. Just because uncle played for somebody doesnt mean his nephew has to suppport that club. The nephew has a mind of his own.
RE:Hate Nadal,
by SaiSubramanyam Thoota on Jul 07, 2008 04:58 PM
Man... Remember... The match lasted five sets and not a mere three sets... Unfortunately, there has to be a loser and more unfortunately, it was Roger yesterday...
All tennis fans would have been priveleged to see a match of this quality. Federe the perfect serve and volley player tailor made for grass and Rafal the ultimate baseline player like Agassi,Lendl. A great win for Nadal but dont count Federe out yet at next Wimbledon!
RE:Great Match
by shubhankar sharma on Jul 07, 2008 03:26 PM
i am sorry gopal but federer is not a serve and volley player. he is the greatest ever, that is another matter. serve and volle players are not found anymore. becker, edberg, mcenroe, samprs, stich etc were serve and volley players. but definitely federer is the greatest ever to play the game.
RE:Great Match
by Calspadeaspade on Jul 07, 2008 05:13 PM
No. Not really. You may say Sampras and Rod Lever. You can say some one is the greatest if they won on all surfaces. That is a more objective criteria. In terms of style I would rank Stefan Edberg as the greatest.For consistancy Roger had to rely on his base line game.
RE:Great Match
by shubhankar sharma on Jul 07, 2008 07:09 PM
calspade whatever what the hell did u just say? edberg greatest? are u mad? u really are crazy man! have u ever wtached a tennis match in ur life? have u ever picked a tennis racket?
RE:Great Match
by anselm carvalho on Jul 07, 2008 03:23 PM
The days of Federrer r over,One cannot go on and on to win such prestigious tournamnets year after year.If one remebers Nadal thrashed Federrer at the French open and now he lost on the grass as well,so the days for Federrer r over ad out.
RE:Great Match
by Calspadeaspade on Jul 07, 2008 06:34 PM
There is no need to run down Federrer now. He still is the greatest. He has a booming serve followed by a piercing net play. It gives nadal a motivation to improve these 2 aspects of his game. Nadal himself said after winning Roger is still the best in Tennis now.
RE:Great Match
by shubhankar sharma on Jul 07, 2008 03:28 PM
anselm, you have just told everyone how pathetic your knowledge of tennis is. federer loses 2 grnadslam finals and his days are over? have u lost your marbles? he will be back with a bank and will at least win 5-6 more grand slams in his career.
RE:Great Match
by SaiSubramanyam Thoota on Jul 07, 2008 04:59 PM
Even Sampras lost the 1996 Wimbledon but he went on to win the next 4... Fedex is only 27 now and he has a long tennis career left in him...
RE:I don't think Nadal is going to be the next Federer.
by Sriram Govindarajan on Jul 07, 2008 03:19 PM
dude Nadal is jus 22,whereas Federer in 26,he has many more years left and can easily catch up...federer has dominated grass for so long and now that has been halted....
RE:I don't think Nadal is going to be the next Federer.
by SaiSubramanyam Thoota on Jul 07, 2008 05:01 PM
One loss won't matter a lot man... Even Sampras lost the Wimbledon 2000 but he went on to win the next 4...
RE:I don't think Nadal is going to be the next Federer.
by vimalesh singh on Jul 07, 2008 03:14 PM
Only Indian cricket players will burn out not the guy named Rafa hahahaha.....Mr VS firstly you must know tennis is a Individual game and secondly Rafa could easily escape from burn out by playing only in majors and playing lesser tennis ( but he is only 22 and can still play whole year for atleast next four years). It's not cricket where you are forced to play every match day in day out!!
RE:I don't think Nadal is going to be the next Federer.
by Calspadeaspade on Jul 07, 2008 05:16 PM
Nadal is only 22. He is the king of clay. Remember within this age of 22 he is French open champ 4 times. Now he has wimbledon also. If his knee does not wear out he has another good 3 years at keast.
Rafa deserve Royal support as he was really unstopable in the final and yes he needs this kind of support to beat the like of Federe on Centre Court at Wimbeldon!! But I guess Federe will come back again next year with more stamina and vigor to gain his lost pride specially to prove himself in Freanch Open and regain his respect at Wimbeldon!!
