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The 2016 Australian Open |OT| 18th January - 31st January
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perfectchaos007
Member
Venus is definitely retiring after this season. She has to. I imagine the Olympics and then US Open will be her last 2 tournaments
perfectchaos007
Member
The mens teenagers have had an abysmal showing. Coric, Chung, and now Zverev have been outclassed majorly. To be fair, Zverev and Chung played top 2 seeds, but no excuse for Coric getting worked by an unseeded player like he did. This is the future I guess....weak era incoming
Kotetsu534
Member
While this was a horrible week for Coric, I think Chung and Zverev can take some positives. The scoreline in the Murray/Zverev match doesn't reflect how well he played - opened up several BPs and dug out his holds well against an opponent who gave away precious little. He fought till the end, the final set lasting not much less than an hour, and his backhand landed some good blows. He's on the right path, though he needs to develop physically and at net. Chung did well against Djokovic too, better than plenty in the top 100 would've, although he needs to learn how to attack the net. Hopefully they won't draw Murray and Djokovic R1 in the Slams later this year.
We're overdue for a genuine breakthrough, but I wouldn't blame the teenagers - it's Dimitrov, Thiem, Nishikori, Raonic etc. who collectively should have achieved more by now. I think (or maybe just hope) Kyrgios might be starting to get his priorities in order...
We're overdue for a genuine breakthrough, but I wouldn't blame the teenagers - it's Dimitrov, Thiem, Nishikori, Raonic etc. who collectively should have achieved more by now. I think (or maybe just hope) Kyrgios might be starting to get his priorities in order...
Kotetsu534
Member
Nadal misses a regulation return at 5-5 in the tie-break then double-faults at 6-6 before Verdasco serves out to take the first set after ~70 minutes. He won a crucial rally at 4-5 with some superb defense before pulling Rafa out wide with his backhand. Didn't see the set till just before the TB.
It's been a well known issue for years now, that article wasn't exactly news.
AdventureRacing
Member
Pretty sure that was already the case before today, not sure what about this match cements it any further. The only question was whether or not he has it in him to challenge for the French once more. I'm inclined to say no chance but I'm not prepared to write him off 100%.
Nadal out of the AusOpen. 
This isn't the best example of Nadal not being up to his usual best considering how well Verdasco played. Could have easily been a quarter final match. There are other cases that have shown Rafa's decline more clearly.
This isn't the best example of Nadal not being up to his usual best considering how well Verdasco played. Could have easily been a quarter final match. There are other cases that have shown Rafa's decline more clearly.
Last year could have been a one off bad year e.g. Murray 2014 or Fed 2013 but obviously not.
lazybones18
Banned
Adios Nadal
While I am not a Nadal fan, as a Tennis fan, it is sad watching him play lately...
He clearly clearly clearly needs to get rid of Uncle Toni, or just hire another pair of eyes on his box if he has a chance of coming back...
I dont think his problems are so much in the physical department rather than the psychological one. (we all know that Nadal has some serious issues coping with his mental demons)
Losing from 2-1 sets up in the first round of a Slam (again!) is just heart breaking, when you factor in that this guy has won 14 slams...
Lets see what else is in store for the Australian now.
He clearly clearly clearly needs to get rid of Uncle Toni, or just hire another pair of eyes on his box if he has a chance of coming back...
I dont think his problems are so much in the physical department rather than the psychological one. (we all know that Nadal has some serious issues coping with his mental demons)
Losing from 2-1 sets up in the first round of a Slam (again!) is just heart breaking, when you factor in that this guy has won 14 slams...
Lets see what else is in store for the Australian now.
It's starting to look like it (on hard at least). On clay, the jury is still out, IMO. When he loses to Murray or Federer at RG, THAT'S when I'd say that he's totally done.
edit: But as valkyre said, maybe he needs a new coach. Uncle Toni has been Nadal's only coach. So Nadal might possibly benefit from a new voice and some new ideas.
? do tell
Zhang's playing pretty well against Halep. Wouldn't mind Halep going out in round one.
And LOL at Tsonga asking the umpire to warn the Greek fans backing Baghdatis yesterday. That's pretty rich coming from someone having the nastiest "fans" cheering for him during Rolang Garros.
If results of his performance time and again with certain players at certain periods isnt enough proof of that (like losing 7 straight finals to Djokovic in 2011 where he himself said that it has become a mental issue) , or the fact that his serve ritual is a crazy mix of OCD patterns, you can do a simple google search and you will get tons of results. If I recall correctly Uncle Toni himself called him a maniac in one of his interviews a couple of years ago.
Its apparent that once Nadal gets a particular state of mind against an opponent, he is losing the battle inside his head. He recuperates eventually, but it is a slow process, slower than it should be at his level. I dont know if he doubts himself or if he thinks that Toni cant do it for him anymore.
Whatever the case, Toni needs to go. He cant teach Nadal anything else. Its been years now that Toni cant teach Nadal anything. Federer changed his coach when he saw the need for it, Djokovic added Boris on his team to help specifically in the mental department.
Nadal did no adjustments. I think he is kinda afraid of change.
Laughing Banana
Weeping Pickle
Stayed away from Tennis from a loooong time, just peeking in from time to time.
I am honestly really really surprised to see Fed is number 3 in the ATP ranking right now. I was expecting him to see him at maybe 10 or even lower... really am not expecting to see him at 3.
I am honestly really really surprised to see Fed is number 3 in the ATP ranking right now. I was expecting him to see him at maybe 10 or even lower... really am not expecting to see him at 3.
Worst of all is that now the entire Tour is not afraid of him anymore. They realize that he is quite "fragile" atm and they arent in awe of him anymore.
The Nadal situation is different. Toni is a second father to him. Getting rid of him is an extremely difficult decision to make. You also seem to consider things that made him what he is (his OCD patterns were, to me, one of his strengths, because that made him play every point like it was the last, and stay insanely concentrated) to be suddenly weaknesses. He's not going to become another person at 30 yo.
Personally, like I've always said here, I don't think the problem is just in his head. His tennis is incredibly physically demanding. Even at his best, Nadal gave 110% on each point, each stroke. When you approach 30 years old, it becomes difficult to be consistently this intense. The problem is Nadal NEEDS to be, he needs to be the guy who makes zero faults and plays deep and high during a whole match. If he can't do that, he becomes exposed.
I'm kinda happy Verdasco got his revenge from the legendary 2009 match, which he lost and as a result killed his career a little bit. They both deserved the win that day. One of my favorite matches ever, insane tennis.
perfectchaos007
Member
Fritz and injured Sock about to go to a 5th set.
Nadal has mental demons that trouble him more than other top players. That is something that he has admitted himself time and again. Just do a google search "nadal mental" and you will see a lot of interviews of him admitting he has trouble with those.
Toni Nadal did make Nadal a Champion. I never said the opposite. I am not undermining his contribution. But the thing is, there comes a time where you have nothing new to offer. Every top player has shuffled their coaching team in order to adapt to new challenges and improve aspects of their game that had -seemingly- peaked or left untouched, with long time coaches.
Nadal hasnt.
Federer adapted his game to be able to keep up with his old age and adjusted accordingly to be able to go toe to toe with top players.
Djokovic also adjusted his game and adapted and more importantly acted swiftly when he saw that his mental demons started to become an obstacle. He added Becker specifically to fill this position. And the results were outstanding.
The current situation with Nadal is clearly more mental rather than physical. But even if it is physical, then that also is a big hint that he needs to adapt his game. And its an even bigger hint that Toni needs to either go, or work together with a new person to help Nadal make the necessary adjustments.
In every scenario, either physical or mental, the only obvious thing is that Nadal needs new guidance and that will only come if he allows another person to coach him. He can keep Toni, but he needs another one as well.
Not her fault though. Zhang played the match of her life.
PedroPanache
Member
It's a shame, I really loved those Djokovic-Nadal battles circa 2011-13. They were both learning and relearning ways to beat each other. Fast forward to 2015, Roland Garros, what should have been a watershed moment for Djokovic was actually more a marker for the huge decline in Nadal's game. Everybody expected his body to give up sooner than his rivals, but it's a shame he didn't last that little bit longer. He's still good, and will win the odd tournament, but the signs are he's finished as a true top flight player. I hope I'm wrong, come Roland Garros 2016 we'll know for sure, all it takes is a tiny ember of his former self because you can't start a fire without a spark.
Feels like the end of an era to me. I've watched tennis since the 80s and it became routine for awhile, but it was Federer and Nadal snapping at his heels that brought me back from the slight apathy I'd built for the sport.
People go on about that 2008 Wimbledon final, but this was a much better, more consistent performance with few dips from both players. Incredible match that I remember fondly. Sad that Nadal lost today, but happy for Verdasco, in some very small way, vanquishing the demons from that match.
No 2 for most of last year.
Laughing Banana
Weeping Pickle
That was mightily impressive
Kinda putting his "rivalry" against Nadal in a perspective--the way people tried to diminish his accomplishments by saying he lost so many times against Nadal, I mean.
I'm kinda hoping for some fresh players from India/China to challenge the European guard. It's getting boring.
German ladies got mostly through. So that's nice.
Geez, Kerber got fit. Reminds me of Ivanovic's transformation.
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