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Nadal for the Clay SeasonWill Nadal remain undefeated during the clay season this year?
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Gators-Rox
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I say no there are way too many tough clay courters out there that could pull an upset and then there is also Federer who is trying to find the advantage he needs to defeat Nadal on clay.
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leftys_rock
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i also say no, as it is very hard to remain undefeated for two seasons in a row......i think federer is coming closer to beating nadal(yes, it has taken a while, but i think it will happen).......and nadal has a tendency to lose earlier matches, so he will be a bit more vulnerable in the early rounds...
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J-man
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i say no. but i say no because i think federer will eventually this season edge a tough win over nadal. but for the sake of other clay courters, i can't see them beating nadal
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dav6789
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| leftys_rock wrote: | | i also say no, as it is very hard to remain undefeated for two seasons in a row......i think federer is coming closer to beating nadal(yes, it has taken a while, but i think it will happen).......and nadal has a tendency to lose earlier matches, so he will be a bit more vulnerable in the early rounds... |
He wasent undefeated last year during the claycourt season. 2 people beat him last year on clay...before he started his streak...
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x.doublea
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The way Nadal has been playing, I'm not sure how anyone can beat him on clay. However, these streaks often end at the bigget surface tournaments, so, even though I voted for him to retain his perfect record on clay, he has a huge chance of losing at least once on clay.
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beachjm
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Nadal certainly could go undefeated during the clay court season, but it wouldn't be the worst thing for him if he dropped a match or two. A lot depends on how many events he plays. I read a quote by Mats Wilander that a lot of guys burn themselves out by playing too much before the FO and the 3 times he won it he usually didn't play that great or too much.
Nadal is close to unstoppable on this surface but this is something he might want to consider, not to overextend himself and play too much before the main event-French Open.
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dav6789
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| beachjm wrote: | Nadal certainly could go undefeated during the clay court season, but it wouldn't be the worst thing for him if he dropped a match or two. A lot depends on how many events he plays. I read a quote by Mats Wilander that a lot of guys burn themselves out by playing too much before the FO and the 3 times he won it he usually didn't play that great or too much.
Nadal is close to unstoppable on this surface but this is something he might want to consider, not to overextend himself and play too much before the main event-French Open. |
He dosen't usually play too many events in the claycourt season. Most top players only play the 3 masters events, and the French Open.
Nadal plays the 3 masters events and the Barcelona Open, then the French Open. Some players play more events, like Gaudio. I think Nadal only needs to play 4 events, it's not too much, and it's enough match play on clay to prepare for French Open...
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x.doublea
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Yes. He certainly isn't playing as much as last year. I think he'll still play at the clay court tournaments after Wimbledon, such as the Mercedes Cup.
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dav6789
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| x.doublea wrote: | | Yes. He certainly isn't playing as much as last year. I think he'll still play at the clay court tournaments after Wimbledon, such as the Mercedes Cup. |
Last year, he played
Open de tenis Valenciana
Masters Series Monte-Carlo
Barclona Open
Italian Open
Roland Garros
(he missed Hamburg because of a cut hand)
This year, he is playing
Masters Series Monte-Carlo
Barclona Open
Italian Open
Masters Series Hamburg
Roland Garros
Either way, he has played enough events to prepare him properley. More than most top players...
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x.doublea
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It's good that he's playing Hamburg in stead of Valenciana, though. If he can win Hamburg, he will really have confidence, because Hamburg's Federer's clay court tournament.
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dav6789
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| x.doublea wrote: | | It's good that he's playing Hamburg in stead of Valenciana, though. If he can win Hamburg, he will really have confidence, because Hamburg's Federer's clay court tournament. |
Yes Federer owns that event. That clay suits his game better. It is very damp, and slow clay. It's not very nice to watch though...it suits flatter hitters of the ball. The clay in Paris, Monte-Carlo, Rome, has more speed, and zip off the ground which suits Nadal's topspin. That type of clay is better to watch true claycourt tennis. The damp clay gets boring after a while because the rallies are so boring...
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x.doublea
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Yes. The players also suffer from the cold weather. It certainly suits Federer though...I think he wished Roland Garros was in Hamburg!
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Chelsey
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He certainly is dominant on the surface, so if he continues to be consistant I don't see why not.
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x.doublea
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He is only a match away from setting the record for the most dominant stretch of clay court tennis.
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Chelsey
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And he will get that record tomorrow.
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Benchwarmer1
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do you mean tie it, or break it?
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Chelsey
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You may be right he may tie it tomorrow.
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Benchwarmer1
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well, nadal is an incredible player, that's one for the recordbooks
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Chelsey
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And he is still only a teenager and I bet he will be breaking more and more records in the future.
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Benchwarmer1
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and has the potential to extend that record a long ways
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Chelsey
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He could be the Federer in lets say 7 years with all the slam titles with maybe just Wimbledon being the one that excluded him.
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x.doublea
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That's the tournanment he really wants to win. Perhaps he can win it when Federer retires....
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Benchwarmer1
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how far along do you think that will be?
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x.doublea
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I'm saying 5-6 years...
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Chelsey
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Isn't Roger around 26 or 27 right now so that sounds right about 6 years till he will probably hang up his touring racquet.
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Benchwarmer1
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do you think he will join anything like WTT?
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x.doublea
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He's 24, but I'm not sure he will be able to sustain this level for more than 7 years....
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Benchwarmer1
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but 7 years is a really long time...
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x.doublea
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True...at the rate he's going, he will get a lot done in those 7 years, but 7 years can pass by quickly....
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Benchwarmer1
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do you think he will pass sampras grand slams by a lot?
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x.doublea
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It's hard to say. If he continues at the rate he goes, than yes, he will. Like, think about it. It's very likely that, by the end of this year, he will overtake Agassi (unfortunately) for most Grand Slams for current players.
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Benchwarmer1
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how many does he have anyway?
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x.doublea
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Federer has 7 (already), and Agassi has 8.
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Benchwarmer1
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wow that's incredible, when did he win his first
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PSALT
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I know I might sound crazy, but barring injury I think Nadal will retire with more slams than Federer. think about it, how old was Federer when he won his first slam? 21. Nadal? 19. Nadal will dominate RG and win (barring injury) at least 5. He will aslo have a great chance at the AO with it's slow rebound ace. he will get at least 3 there. he has a great chance for a couple USO. It remains to be seen if he can win Wimbledon. Remember C.Martinez? Who would have thought a clay courter like her could have won Wimby? it's possible.
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x.doublea
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That's certainly possible...it all depends on how things turn out. I'm not sure how Nadal will do when he loses a step....
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Chelsey
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I really think Nadal has a better shot at winning Wimbledon with the slowed down sand grass than Federer winning on the Red Clay in the future.
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x.doublea
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Yes, I agree. And it's not like they're going to speed up the clay or anything.
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PSALT
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The only timne Federer will ever win RG will be if Nadal isn't there. Then when he retires he will constantly hear "he wouldn't have won it if Nadal was there"
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x.doublea
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Yes. It will be amazing if Nadal can win it like five times in a row....
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Benchwarmer1
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that there would be incredible
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Chelsey
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Nadal winning the French Open 5 times in a row is very quite possible. He is so dominant on the surface there would have to be someone that comes out and proves themselves big time or he would have to come up with an injury making him miss the event (which I hope would not happen).
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Benchwarmer1
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to have a GS cut short by injury must really suck
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Chelsey
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Nadal has one more match to break the consective clay court win streak by Vilas. he should have no problem getting that with his first round match this week.
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x.doublea
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Although I'm sure Haas won't lose without a fight....
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Chelsey
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That's right he has Haas in the 1R what a tough 1R match for the #2 seed. Haas is an experienced player.
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x.doublea
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It's sort of unfair that they have to play so early...both are exceptional players. Haas should be seeded....
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Chelsey
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Or at least play a 1R match against another unseeded player.
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x.doublea
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Yes. I'm actually surprised that Haas is ranked not as high as he should be...I guess he has had tough breaks such as meeting Federer at the AO in the R16 instead of a later round and having to retire from Indian Wells in the fourth round....
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Benchwarmer1
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you guys are right he should be ranked and given some more credit
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x.doublea
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Yes, he is one of the talented players on tour...unfortunately, he's a bit injury prone and he can have let downs against not so great players.
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