Rafa out there hurtin
The Official Tennis Thread
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DALLASMAVERICKS
Pro
as of now i still have federer over nadal personally. with the exception of clay, nadal has never dominated like federer dominated in the early to mid 2000s.
nadal did kinda revolutionize the game though. i was in the 7th grade when nadal beat federer in miami and won the french. within a year all kids wanted to do was run around the baseline and whip forehands with a western grip.
nadal did kinda revolutionize the game though. i was in the 7th grade when nadal beat federer in miami and won the french. within a year all kids wanted to do was run around the baseline and whip forehands with a western grip.
So what's the best rivalry then ? Nadal - Federer or Nadal - Djokovic ?
Because low key, Nadal and Djoko have some classic matches :
- '08 Hamburg semi
- '09 Madrid semi
- '11 USO final
- '12 AO final
- '13 French semi
(maybe more, '13 USO final ?)
Because low key, Nadal and Djoko have some classic matches :
- '08 Hamburg semi
- '09 Madrid semi
- '11 USO final
- '12 AO final
- '13 French semi
(maybe more, '13 USO final ?)
Exactly why I have Fed over Nadal.
Which top 4 was harder though ?
- Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, Murray
- Federer, Safin, Hewitt, Roddikk (Nalbandian ?)
I feel like Federer did dominate in the mid 2000s (it's undeniable) but also because the competition was less consistent. The top 4 we have for the last 2/3 years is the most dominant ever and Djokovic and Nadal was both already present in the top 3 in 2007. I started watching tennis since 1996 and was a Sampras stan and even in that era the top 4 was not that consistent.
Don't get me wrong, I like Fed too but people will always oppose his GOAT title regarding the competition he had. Maybe Fed was too good for them but maybe they weren't not enough too.
I think he's still the GOAT at the moment but his title is on thin ice because Nadal coming for it running.
The top 4 in the last 3 years had too many classic matches and rivalries (Nadal/Fed, Nadal/Djoko, Fed/Djoko, Fed/Murray, Djoko/Murray) and Nadal was overall the best of the 4. What are the classics from the Fed era (before Nadal) ?
- Fed/Safin in the '05 AO semi
- Fed/Nalbandian in the '05 Masters final
- ... ?
I don't remember much because I didn't watch that much back in that era but I don't really recall many other memorable games.
Goat poster
KANG LIFE
Nikkas in here Giving Fed the GOAT title for dominating Andy Roddikk in the early 2000's 
DALLASMAVERICKS
Pro
agassi was also still very good when federer started dominating, they had a few classics. the top 3 now is stronger, fukk murrays boring ass. but those guys federer played against weren't no slouches, all were mostly in their primes. it was the fact that federer was so dominate which made those guys look worse than they were. it's hard for me to think back and recall many federer classics from that era simply because he ran through nikkas most of the time.Which top 4 was harder though ?
- Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, Murray
- Federer, Safin, Hewitt, Roddikk (Nalbandian ?)
I feel like Federer did dominate in the mid 2000s (it's undeniable) but also because the competition was less consistent. The top 4 we have for the last 2/3 years is the most dominant ever and Djokovic and Nadal was both already present in the top 3 in 2007. I started watching tennis since 1996 and was a Sampras stan and even in that era the top 4 was not that consistent.
Don't get me wrong, I like Fed too but people will always oppose his GOAT title regarding the competition he had. Maybe Fed was too good for them but maybe they weren't not enough too.
I think he's still the GOAT at the moment but his title is on thin ice because Nadal coming for it running.
The top 4 in the last 3 years had too many classic matches and rivalries (Nadal/Fed, Nadal/Djoko, Fed/Djoko, Fed/Murray, Djoko/Murray) and Nadal was overall the best of the 4. What are the classics from the Fed era (before Nadal) ?
- Fed/Safin in the '05 AO semi
- Fed/Nalbandian in the '05 Masters final
- ... ?
I don't remember much because I didn't watch that much back in that era but I don't really recall many other memorable games.
So we're going to ignore the fact that Nadal was going to finals on all the other courts and only losing to Federer in classic matches while Fed was in his prime. We're going to ignore Nadal winning 3 out of 4 majors with Fed still in his prime. We're going to sit here and act like Fed wasn't dominating players that are worse than Murray, Joker, and Nadal...
You guys needs to keep it a stack. Takeaway those 3 guys and put prime Nadal in Fed's era, who the hell is beating Rafa consistently on any of those courts
Or are we going to ignore Novak essentially stopping Nadal from breaking Fed's record ALREADY when he went on that crazy run of beating Nadal in every final
Come on, man. Fed has the most Wimbledon, Aussie and US Open titles. Take away Nadal's NINE at the French and he only has five for his career. Everybody knows clay is a funny surface and that's the lone tournament he's dominated during his career.
Is Nadal ever gonna make ten straight GS finals? 23 straight semis? 36 straight quarters? Most weeks ranked #1? Most consecutive weeks ranked #1?
You're down playing Fed's achievements, which are mind-blowing.
malbaker86
Gators
The tension that was on Nole's second serve on match point was 
I smelled that double fault coming.
As a Nasal fan, I REALLY want Novak to win RG at some point. He's too talented
I smelled that double fault coming.
As a Nasal fan, I REALLY want Novak to win RG at some point. He's too talented
DALLASMAVERICKS
Pro
i dont think federer was in his prime when nadal won those 3 majors in 2010. i will concede that djokovic and nadal made for a better top 3, but murray would've gotten dusted. to me, 2004 to 2006 federer was the best tennis player i've ever seen. federer of that period would consistently beat nadal on hard and grass, matches would be close but federer would win a good number of them.
I never said that Fed played against bums.
I'm just saying that the overall level of the top 4 players associated with Nadal is better than those with Fed. Fed was still in his prime in 2006 and 2007 (3 majors won each) and he was already losing to Nadal. Same Nadal who was finalist in Wimbledon both years
Hewitt was #1 once (in the weakest era of the last 30 years) but never had the talent to be a credible threat. Safin had the talent but didn't care about tennis like that. Nalbandian, talented as hell too but too fragile. Agassi was past his prime. Ferrero was a one hit wonder, Guga was already retired, Roddikk was never complete enough to beat Fed, same as Gonzalez. Ljubicic was a great player to watch but never top tier. Haas was too injury prone, Kiefer was a disappointment.
Apart from Haas and Safin (talent-wise), none of the above who were the same age as Fed were credible to threaten Fed. I objectively think that Federer was way above those players but it was also because it was a weaker era than the Sampras' or the Nadal's
If you look at Nadal's era. Delpo, Fed, Djoko and Murray are ALL slam winners who on a good day can obliterate Nadal.
Men lie, women lie, number don't !
First time they met in 2004, Nadal beat Federer in straights at Miami ! One year later, Nadal was leading 2/0 before Fed managed to win it in 5. In 2006, Nadal beat Fed in Dubai (hardcourt again !) and in Monte Carlo, Rome and Roland Garros ! Then Fed put the beats on Rafa at Wimby and in the Masters. Therefore, from 2004 to 2006, Nadal is 5/3 against Fed. 2/3 if you don't count clay but clay is a surface like others. We could say, let's play all the matches on hard court and every grass or clay matches don't count but you may want it one way, it's still the other way !
