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Author Topic: Rafael Nadal  (Read 88366 times)
flowerpower
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Re: Rafael Nadal « Reply #2835 on: December 06, 2012, 12:17 PM »
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/dec/04/rafael-nadal-australian-open-return

Nadal is waiting for the clay season....
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Emma Jean
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Re: Rafael Nadal « Reply #2836 on: December 06, 2012, 02:26 PM »
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You know what this means - this means, he wants to win both RG and Wimbledon, his two favourite slams. So he's skipping the entire hard-court season, the next four months so not to burn himself out. Besides, he might feel healthy and mentally strong after the long break but after he's out there, especially on hard courts, where there are too many contenders and the surface being his worst, I don’t think he fancies his chances coming back “strong” at the start of next year. On the other hand, clay will come very easily to him since he’s a natural on it and won’t require long practice. And Wimbledon is right after.
Having that said, I see RG being a lot more open this year than the previous years. I don’t think it’s a sure for Nadal going into the future anymore.
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ProdigyEng
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Re: Rafael Nadal « Reply #2837 on: December 06, 2012, 02:28 PM »
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He is playing the AO....
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Emma Jean
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Re: Rafael Nadal « Reply #2838 on: December 06, 2012, 02:36 PM »
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I thought he's out of AO? I read about it on another forum. Perhaps he'll play AO and then skip rest of the season before clay. He sort of did that last year too.
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Sabine
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Re: Rafael Nadal « Reply #2839 on: December 06, 2012, 02:38 PM »
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Today, I read in a newspaper that he is unfit to play AO and will mostly give a miss.
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ProdigyEng
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Re: Rafael Nadal « Reply #2840 on: December 06, 2012, 02:38 PM »
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The headline on various sites said he MAY miss it but in the article he is quouted as saying he probably won't be able to compete at the best of his standards and it's unlikely he will win it.
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Emma Jean
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Re: Rafael Nadal « Reply #2841 on: December 06, 2012, 02:45 PM »
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This is what he says in the article and I take it as a No.

"I have the goal of returning in Abu Dhabi but neither Abu Dhabi nor Australia are the end of the world for me. I will only come back when I am fit. I won't come back worrying about my knee.

"Miracles do not exist and I am unlikely to return and compete for the Australian Open. The results will not worry me in the first tournaments back."
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xxdanixx
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Re: Rafael Nadal « Reply #2842 on: December 06, 2012, 03:15 PM »
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I had thought by "compete" he meant be a serious contender for the win?

My understanding was that he was merely pointing out that even if he is medically-pronounced fit to compete,he won't automatically turn up and be one of the favourites to win like usual,and he won't just be back in action and able to play at his best.I had thought when I read that he was just trying to quieten the expectations.But I could well be wrong.
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Elena
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Re: Rafael Nadal « Reply #2843 on: December 06, 2012, 03:52 PM »
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Quote from: xxdanixx on December 06, 2012, 03:15 PM
I had thought by "compete" he meant be a serious contender for the win?

My understanding was that he was merely pointing out that even if he is medically-pronounced fit to compete,he won't automatically turn up and be one of the favourites to win like usual,and he won't just be back in action and able to play at his best.I had thought when I read that he was just trying to quieten the expectations.But I could well be wrong.

That's what I thought too Dani.

Post on his facebook today says:He visto que han salido recogidas declaraciones mías de manera errónea con respecto mi calendario. Me estoy preparando para los torneos inicialmente previstos de Abu Dhabi, Doha, Melbourne y Acapulco para empezar el año. Por ahora es lo que tengo en mente.

Bing translation:I've seen that they have left mine collected statements incorrectly with respect my calendar. I am preparing me for initially anticipated tournaments of Acapulco, Melbourne, Doha and Abu Dhabi to start the year. For now it is what I have in mind.
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TheMadHatter
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Re: Rafael Nadal « Reply #2844 on: December 06, 2012, 04:25 PM »
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He's down for Acapulco in February and the two Masters following are mandatory so he can hardly miss those.
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ProdigyEng
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Re: Rafael Nadal « Reply #2845 on: December 06, 2012, 04:43 PM »
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Dani is right. The Tabloids are having a field day with those comments to try and feed the fetards.
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Emma Jean
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Re: Rafael Nadal « Reply #2846 on: December 06, 2012, 05:00 PM »
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I am reading two things out of what Nadal has said so far:

1. He will only play if he's fit.
2. If he plays, he's not expecting to win (of course this lengthy break aside, he's been known to put the pressure back on to someone else even when he's super fit)

So if he plays, he will have to play those mandatory events as well. So my guess would be that he will skip AO and all related tournaments afterwards and start with clay season.

He's definitely keeping his both options open. Let's see what happens.
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Katie
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Re: Rafael Nadal « Reply #2847 on: December 06, 2012, 05:06 PM »
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I'd be very surprised if he skips the AO. Then he'd be looking at having had 9 months off the tour which would be very hard to come back from - he can't just expect to start the clay season in top form having played no tournaments beforehand.

From his latest comments, he seems positive about returning in Abu Dhabi, and then playing Doha and Australia. He's realistic about not expecting to win, but playing is still a good idea to give him much-needed match practice ahead of the clay season. He's hoping to be back at his peak level in Monte Carlo, which is when he usually plays his best tennis.
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Emma Jean
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Re: Rafael Nadal « Reply #2848 on: December 06, 2012, 05:17 PM »
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"I want to be 100% in Monte Carlo and then prepare well for Roland Garros," Nadal said. "I will hopefully be ready for Australia but I am only looking at tomorrow and continuing my recovery.

"I have the goal of returning in Abu Dhabi but neither Abu Dhabi nor Australia are the end of the world for me. I will only come back when I am fit. I won't come back worrying about my knee."

^^ What he is saying is pretty clear to me. He wants to be 100% for Monte Carlo and then RG. Those are his priorities. There are risks involved if he plays hard court tournaments; that's why he doesn’t sound as sure. Also, if he skips it, it won't be as big a deal to him.
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teejay1
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Re: Rafael Nadal « Reply #2849 on: December 06, 2012, 06:10 PM »
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Quote from: xxdanixx on December 06, 2012, 03:15 PM
I had thought by "compete" he meant be a serious contender for the win?

My understanding was that he was merely pointing out that even if he is medically-pronounced fit to compete,he won't automatically turn up and be one of the favourites to win like usual,and he won't just be back in action and able to play at his best.I had thought when I read that he was just trying to quieten the expectations.But I could well be wrong.

That's basically what I thought Nadal was saying too, i.e. that he won't be putting any pressure or expectation on himself for the AO, he's not going to worry about the results, but he wants to be right for the clay season.

Having said that, I wouldn't be in the least surprised if Nadal doesn't play the AO. I just have a feeling. Something just doesn't feel right in the things that are being said. It all sounds positive, but to me there is a feeling of wishful thinking as well. I might be wrong.

I wonder how Rafa is going to do when he comes back to be honest. The length of time he has been out will surely be tough to come back from. I know he will pose a threat to a lot of players even if he is not his best, but you have to wonder about those at the top. Nadal had a tough time against Djokovic last year, Andy's game has come on in leaps and bounds this year, along with his mindset, and then there is that other bloke. I suppose what I'm getting at is the game hasn't stood still since Nadal last played, and I just wonder if he might find coming back, at least as he was, quite hard going. I suppose we'll see.
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