i love how you summed up murray there. you're absolutely right :D

good blog too (as always). i generally forget that rafa (and to an extent, nole and murray too) are still young. i can see them carrying on for a good while yet (provided nothing drastic happens). i think the same for federer too though, despite him being older. i think he'll continue at least until after london 2012

oh... and del potro seems to be making a successful comeback too. which is brilliant to see :)

cheryl,

Awww, I love this blog! I am so glad that you wrote it, because I was feeling a little bit of nostalgia as I watched Raonic and Harrison go at it. I was thinking of Rafa as a teenager and feeling that he is part of the established hierarchy of tennis now. Yet, as you say, he is a mere 24 years old.

I really like the fact that you have reminded everyone that Rafa and Fed are not true peers. Rafa turned pro three years after Fed and was just starting out when Fed was already establishing himself in the sport. It's strange to think of Rafa as older, when the simple truth is that Raonic is 20 and he is 24! I know he will become a quarter century old this year, but that's still very young in this sport. It's just that he started so young and it seems as though he has been around for a long time.

I love that you took a moment to write this and celebrate him, even as we had the pleasure of seeing possibly the next generation of tennis superstars!

haha cheryl, you're such a fangirl! no need to justify your decision to write about Rafa, it's your blog so you can write what you choose! an embedded Armani video might have helped get your point across tho! *runs off to youtube*

Yeah, it is so annoying when the media talk about the end of Fed-Nadal dominance as if even Nadal is past his prime.
Just because he has been Fed's peer in talent, the journalists are confused, I suppose.
Poor Nadal has also had to point out gently in the past that he is not Federer's peer in age and expects to play for many years.

Ha ha Stu.

Cheryl, right on the button again. I remember when Isner took a set off Rafa at IW last year and someone said the youngster had done well to take a set off Rafa and I pointed out that Isner is actually almost a year older than Rafa.

This why there is no point in comparing Fed's 16 GS with Rafa's 9, because Rafa has another 5 years to make up that number of GS titles.

almost 25 now....june 3 is not that far away......would be great if he keeps playing at his current level till 28-29 atleast.....there aren't many things more exciting than seeing rafa nadal play tennis.....i dont know how would i live after he retires....SCARY THOUGHT...

I think stu likes Rafa as long as he is not playing Nole!

For what it's worth, I agree about embedding an Armani video! That could never hurt!:)

NNY, i liked Rafa more before he became invincible, because I tend to root for the underdog. there's no denying the appeal of that video tho!

that Armani video? half of the total views for that one is me.

great blog cheryl, like sib69, i laughed out loud at the murray bit. prob not very nice of me though..

stu - LOL at the Armani video. I mean, technically speaking, it has nothing to do with the blog, but that's OK. :D

on del potro....it'll be interesting to see if he can stay injury free...it's unfortunately pretty obvious that he's prone to them.

ah come on cherylmurray. what better way to prove his youthfulness?

jokes aside, provided Rafa stays healthy, the Milos and co. era will be even more formidable than the Nole-Muzz-Rafa one. can't. wait.

"technically speaking" .......when did that hold anybody back........;)
U wait u doubters Andy'll surprise u all......and me.....;)

I'll play the devil's advocate here.

Nadal will be 25 in the summer. How many years, can he continue at the top level? To be sure. mileage - more than age - is usually decisive for career longevity. Nadal does have a lot of matches on those legs considering he had so much success so young. Historically the teenage tennis prodigies haven't accomplished as as much in their late twenties. Certainly Nadal losing/retiring in slams because of injury is alarming. Clearly his slam losses in the past 2 years. have more to do with his injuries than they have with his opponents.

Nadal's long term slam haul should depend on his scheduling and injury management. He has a huge advantage over other players on clay and grass. On hardcourts it's obviously close between several players i.e Fed. Nadal, Djokovic, Delpo and Murray.

So Nadal would do well to compress his schedule, save himself and protect the channel slam where he should win barring injury. Maybe he could do that for the next 2-3 years. So he might win between 3-5 F.O and Wimb and maybe an odd hardcourt slam. This would take his total in the Sampras range, and put him in the top tier of Sampras, Laver and Federer!!

Anyway, let's hope he plays as long as possible..

Don't understand how the era of Raonic and whoever can be more formidable than Rafa/Nole/
Murray/Delpo. Check the ATP website, Rafa and Co are definitely more promising when
they were at the age of Raonic, Harrison. Rafa aside(as he is exceptionally good at a young age), Nole at age 19 was already top 5 and won a Masters title at Miami. At 20 he'd already won three Masters titles, won the AO and being to the final of the USO. Delpo at 20/21 had already won a slam; Murray at 21 had already won two Masters title and a finalist at the USO. Not forgetting all four(including Rafa) had beaten the no.1 player Fed when they were either teenagers or 20/21 yo, and they were contesting in Fed's domineering era. How then are Raonic and Co more formidable than Rafa and Co? They haven't even proven anything yet!

luckystar, the reason Nole and Muzz are considered to have been born in the wrong era is because they had to win against two all-time greats, Roger and Rafa, to be able to make a name for themselves. The Milos generation not only has to compete with these two legends (as long as Roger is still around), but ALSO Novak and Muzz, playing much better with the experience they have gained from fighting at the very top. I think tennis in general is just way more competitive now than it was say 5 years ago.

great post imjimmy....im also hoping he plays as long as possible....and all that ultimately depends on his management and scheduling....it would do him a world of good if he avoids playing 2-3 weeks in a row on punishing hardcourts......

Stu, so is not the Milos era, but rather the Rafa or Nadal era that is more formidable! Rafa has to deal with Fed's peers, his own peers and now the up and comers. Fed during his TMF days had to deal with his own peers and Rafa's generation. He had only an aging Agassi to deal with, and may be Moya and Kuerten on clay. Who were those who were five years older than Fed at that time who were world beaters? Rafa had to deal with the world no.1 TMF who was in his prime when Rafa was just an upstart, and also the likes of Hewitt,Roddick,Safin,Blake.Ferrero,Nalby,Davy.

Rafa's era (which I believe started last year, in fact should be mid 2008, but was stopped abruptly due to his injury mid 2009) would be a tougher one, for both Rafa's peers and the up and comers, as the old king, Fed, is still around to so some damage.

I guess it's a matter of perspective. We don't know what the next generation following Milos and co. will be like, so maybe it isn't fair to make a comparison just yet. I think it's an enormous challenge in today's tennis world making it to (and beyond) the QFs of an event. The top 3 are always good, and consistently go deep. Then there are Muzza, Soda, Delpo, Roddick, etc who will be clear favorites against up-and-comers. All I'm saying is that there aren't as many opportunities to break through as Roger, and to some extent even Rafa may have had. For us, as viewers tho, it's great!

Raonic and Co will outlast Fedal(as I think Rafa won't play into his thirties). Will their era be more formidable than Fed's or Rafa's era? Don't know but I think most likely not, unless they have two all time greats like Fed and Rafa. I don't see anyone among Raonic's group winning that number of slams Fed won, they most likely may share among themselves. Of course it's still early days now to talk about that, only time will tell.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-0315-dwyre-20110315,0,7857077.colu mn

worth a read..

hate these randomly generated spaces between URL'S

http://goo.gl/IO31s

this will work

Thanks for that article, Vrael. It does amuse when people write like they're just discovering him ... when there are many of us who've been fans for eyars.

Which goes back to your article, Cheeryl. Rafa has been on tour for years - he turned pro ten years ago, in 2001, when he was 15. He's been doing this a long time, and he's got a fierce competive drive even as he's an even-tempered "old soul" offcourt.

I was thinking that the other day -- I think he stands out in a youth-obsessed culture of adolescence because there are so many things that combine to make him seem older than he really is.

Even my mom was asking, "Is he really just 25 in June?" :-)

vrael,

I had read about that incident in the cafeteria on another site. That's so typical of Rafa, just being like everybody else and never thinking that he deserves special treatment!

I was thinking of the first time I saw Rafa play at the 2007 Wimbledon. I thought he was in his twenties at least. Then when I found out that he had just turned 21, I was completely shocked. His demeanor, calm and poise on court was amazing for a young man of that age. There is an old world kind of charm and grace in Rafa that I find exceptionally appealing.

I know Rafa will always try to please the public. Some of those injuries may be blessings in disguise, forcing him to take breaks when he would rather play and not disappoint the fans who demand his presence at every event possible.
Hopefully as time goes on he will be able to take those breaks without the need of an injury to remind him.
I agree that he has a lot still in the tank. Just recently he has started his new knee treatment and it seems to be working. The stupid photo shoot in Dubai made him ill and indirectly cost him the AO. It was unlucky, but he's recovered now.
I agree that over the next few years he could easily win 3-4 French opens and 2-3 Wimbledons, which might end up placing him right between Roger and Pete in total number of Majors won. Plus he will widen his absolute record of Masters and might win another Olympic Gold, specially if the Olympics are played on Wimby grass. Plus add to his future trophy room a few more Davis Cup titles, a few more doubles and you will have a final tally equal to none.
Rafa has been playing tennis for so long, it's incredible to think he has so much potential for winning even more in the years to come. Let's hope to see these victories and more.

We are definitely very lucky to have Rafa to enjoy for so long and hopefully many more years to come.

Thank you vrael for the article. Rafa is very special, he doesn't have the superstars entitlement mentality. Funny thing is if that happened to me I wouldn't be too happy. After waiting in a long line and they closed the line on me and have to wait in another long line. Rafa is definitely a better person than I am and I'm no superstar.

Cheryl has hit the nail on the head as usual. From the outset he has always had that amazing maturity for his years which contributes to our sense he is much older than 24.

deuce, 3/16/11 7:52 PM

Not as as surprised as he will be ;-)

ed, naughty..;)

Seriously though, I haven't given up hope on him just yet but he had better PHFO toute de suite!

deuce and other UK viewers:

After weeks of anticipation, Red Nose Day is finally upon us! A host of comedians, actors and musicians are gearing up for the big night of TV which kicks off at 7pm on Friday 18th March on BBC One with Michael McIntyre and Claudia Winkleman at the helm.

In the first part of the evening viewers can look forward to special mini episodes of Doctor Who, Ruby Wax, Outnumbered, featuring ANDY MURRAY, and Comic Relief Does Masterchef starring Miranda.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/rednoseday/news/2011/170311_red_nose_night_sc hedule.shtml

nadline, cheers for that. I did know Andy was appearing with the Outnumbered cast. One of his favourite progs apparently. Should be on Youtube eventually I guess.
ed, am still keeping the faith but admit, joking aside, it's very, very hard :( I fear unless something dramatic happens, he's just not gonna do it :(

Fair points, but Nadal is very much close to Federer in tennis life than he is to Dolgopolov, Harrison, Raonic, etc.

I expect Federer and Nadal to end their careers around the same time, or at least in terms of being successful.

Somdev, for example, is OLDER than Nadal (which is harder to believe). But is YOUNGER in tennis life and will be around longer than Nadal will be. That's just one example.

Ah, interesting, Andy is the "youngest" of the top 6 and I can live in hope because he has more "tennis time" ;)

Ricky, even if you count tennis life from the time they turned pro ( from age 15 for Rafa and 17 for Federer), Rafa has 3 years more than Federer and I don't see how you can say they will end their careers at the same time or at least in terms of being successful. Three years is huge in tennis terms.

Ricky's post is in line with what I said earlier. In tennis MILEAGE rather than absolute age matters more. Of course we would all love to see Nadal hang around for as long a time as possible, but it's unreasonable to expect him to last till he's 28-29. He's been around since 17 and was ranked #2, SIX years ago!!

Then there's also the matter of how Nadal plays his tennis. Today's match against Karlovic was a perfect example.

Nadal's passion is unmatched and he has made a living defying odds. He regularly pushes himself to the brink of his physical/mental reserves and takes tennis fans to a thrilling ride. That 3rd set TB against Dr Ivo was EPIC and it took every ounce of Nadal's mental fortitude to prevail.

How long can Nadal keep this up? Given his intensity and his sheer physicality, I just hope he doesn't prematurely burn out physically or emotionally for that matter.

That's why in his case, scheduling is even more vital. He needs to protect the slams (especially the ones on clay/grass) at the expense of smaller tournaments.

Ricky, you are making Cheryl's point that because of his achievements his tennis age is about 29/30 but his real age is only 24. The fact that he could turn pro at 15, earlier than anyone else is because he was ready to start competiting with the big boys at that age and others weren't. He was too good for the juniors. If Davverman was as good as Nadal was at 15 he would have turned pro at that age.

I don't know how you know that Somdev will be around longer than Nadal in the game though. People have been saying Rafa would burn himself out by age 25 for ages, I think he'll go on much much longer.

Actually, deuce Andy is a week older than Nole.

nadline, not in this tennis time zone we're talking. Andy turned pro a year after Nole.

Sorry, didn't realize you were talking tennis age.

nadline :)

So Rafa is supposed to burn out by 2013, age 26-27? We shall see. I believe Rafa and his team know better than anyone of us here where Rafa is at now at this stage of his tennis career and where he should be when he gets older.

What's strong with how Rafa played today against Karlovic. Even if it is Ferrer, Simon, Fed, Nole or Murray, if they are given the chance like Rafa today, they'll also fight it out in the tie break. Imjimmy talks as if only Rafa can fight or have to fight this way to win, others would also face the same problem dealing with Karlovic's serves, unless you think they will fold and walk away defeated.

Jimmy Connors didn't burn out at 25. *shrugs*

I don't know how long he can play for...any player on the tour could suffer a career-ending injury at any moment. It's the nature of the sport. That being said, Rafa has already proven that he's no Lleyton Hewitt. I don't know why everyone is expecting him to just fall apart at age 26.

ATP World Tour on Facebook...Gotta be one of the best matches of 2011... Rafael Nadal weathers 23 aces from Ivo Karlovic to win 57 61 76(7) and set a SF with del Potro at BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells Tennis Garden

for years now the match that involves Rafa has been picked to be the match of the year...and there sure will be more of those...Aren't we lucky to have him...and he is not going anywhere...he will stick around and beat all the predictions of his early 26-27 retirement...

Exactly Cheryl. To think that Rafa has only up to 2013 for his tennis career is simply hard to believe, now that he has found the new treatment for his problematic knees. It's like Rafa is given a second life after the new treatment. He is also working to be more aggressive and shortening the points whenever possible. Rafa is one motivated person because he, like Fed, has the strong desire to be great and deep down he knows he has not realized his full potential yet. His game still can be improved, even we as fans can see that, eg he can hit his backhand better, esp his DTL shots, his serve still can be improved, his volleying, his slice, etc and etc. I'm sure Rafa knows better than any of us what he needs to improve, should improve and still can improve. Unless by 27 he realized that he can't improve anymore, or he has already achieved whatever he wants and can achieved or breaks whatever records he wants to break, or (touch wood) his career is being cut short by injury, I don't think he wants to stop at such a young age.

Didn't Rafa say a few months ago that he wants to play a long time... and would only stop if he can no longer play close to the top (or perhaps something closer to what you said, luckystar: can no longer improve much on anything... while others are catching up to him).

I think that these scenarios - baring major injuries - are a few years out.

I remember clearly how in 2006 when Nadal was turning 20 many people (read: haters) were predicting that he would burn out in a year, or at most two years.

I think Rafa has at least another 3 very strong years.

holdserve - I'm not talking about "time they turned pro." That has almost nothing to do with it.

I'm talking about wear and tear on the body.

well, RickyDimon....let's talk about wear and tear on the body. I don't know if you're old enough to have watched Jimmy Connors play, but that man put unbelievable wear and tear on his body. He played in a very physically demanding way...and yet he was still playing well into his thirties.

Different bodies handle wear and tear differently. Take Guga for example. His body could not handle the wear and tear, nor could Mario Ancic's. Rafa's body is holding up pretty well, all things considered.

Ricky, if you are talking of wear and tear, I don't know how you can assume it puts 5 years more on Rafa. Already last year, Rafa had a very successful year but Fed could not reach the finals of the last 3 slams. So, success wise, they did not end together.
Rafa has at least 4 more slams in him, whereas Fed may not win anymore. Talking of wear and tear and additional mileage is fine but 5 years of Rafa's prime is half a lifetime in tennis terms. Unless Rafa has a career ending injury, just wear and tear is not going to cut his tennis life in half. Clearly he has kept himself motivated not by external goals like records but by internal goals like improvement and learning new things. Chances of his burning out are small.
Hewitt could just not match the new tennis breed in power and desperately tried to build his body to keep up. In Rafa's case, so far his skills and strengths are comparable with that of the current top level and the upcoming breed.

Steve Tignor has also raised the question of Rafa's age. All of a sudden everybody feels Rafa is old or at least showing signs of aging. I think, for too long people have thought of Rafa and Roger as peers and seeing Roger aging has made them automatically think of Rafa as aging. I hope all this will not affect Rafa because a lot of what we are or what we feel depends on what we think.

CherylMurray - Nadal has "held up pretty well" ?????? What sport have you been watching the last six years. Get off the mushrooms that have you floating in the waters of Mallorca and come back to reality.

If you want to see someone who has held up pretty well, take a look at Roger Federer.

@RickyDimon, 3/18/11 5:14 PM
Federer has had back problems at least since y.2003. He has withdrawn due to that from many tournaments. He has withdrawn from many tournaments due to exhausting. He has had other injuries.

I don't think that Rafa's body is worse.

Augustina - anyone who plays pro tennis for more than a few years has physical problems every now and then. It's the nature of the sport. Federer has had AMAZINGLY FEW throughout his long career.

His withdrawals are precautionary. When was last time he withdrew or retired from a slam? Yeah, NEVER.

Augustina, whenever Ricky has said anything bad about Rafa, the opposite has happened. So, this means, Rafa will have many successes and a long career.
If he had said Rafa's career will not be as durable as Roger's, it would be somewhat credible. But claiming that Rafa's career will end at the same time as Roger's is arbitrary and Ricky can only claim gut feeling and no rational basis for such a claim.

Come'on folks. We would all want Nadal to continue as long as possible. But let's be realistic here. Historically speaking his career has been a collection of great runs followed by an injury down time and then again another run. His list of injuries is larger than Bretty Favre's retirements.

We saw what happened in the AO 2011 and even before in 2009. For the past 2 years, most of Nadal's slam losses have more to do with injury than with his opponent. Every slam in which he's healthy, he's won. It's been a recurring theme of him getting blown out of a slam match because he is operating on one leg. Clearly, Nadal is an injury prone athlete with a taxing style who needs some significant time off between long draw out slams especially during the offseason. Not someone who can be back on court 5 days after winning a hardcourt slam. Unfortunately, it seems that the Nadal camp does not realize this and he keeps overplaying and getting injured.

The point is Nadal's success is built on a foundation of qualities that also occasionally prove to be his achilles heel. Taxing style, explosive movements, workrate, physicality, attrition, excessive match-play...and a lot others things. But without these he wouldn't be the great player he is today. And it's not a free lunch..and he has to pay the price. It's been six years since he became World #2 and he has played at the top level for 8-9 years already.

With Federer over all these years, his fitness has never let him down, even if his game has. With Nadal it's exactly the opposite. His game has never been the issue, it's always his body that lets him down. Nadal's longevity will depend on injury management and scheduling. But given the miles he already has it would be unreasonable to expect him to compete at the top level after 2-3 years.

That's why everyone says that while Nadal is young in absolute years, he's much older in terms of tennis years that he's already put on the tour. He's not of the same generation as the similarly aged youngsters..

Rafa started playing top level tennis in 2005, so it's about six years now and not eight-nine years. Fed at age 28, ie 2009-2010, had also declined from his TMF days, though he still can win one slam a year. I see Rafa playing top class tennis for at least two years, ie 2011-2012, winning maybe two slams a year(maybe even three slams in one of these two years), thereafter, he can concentrate his efforts on clay and grass. That way, his body won't suffer too much from pounding too much on the hard courts. If Rafa manages his body and his schedule well, he may be able to play till he's 29 and wins one slam a year like Fed. I don't foresee him playing into his thirties(I take his words for that).

When Rafa was 20 they said he would only last till age 25, now that he is closing in on 25, how long do you give now, imjimmy? When he had problems with his knees last year most said that was it he would never be the same again - he had his best season after that.

I don't understand why people won't just let him be, what's the point of predicting his demise, it's of no use to anyone. Let's just enjoy him now and take it from one year to the next.

@RickyDimon, 3/18/11 6:32 PM
---His withdrawals are precautionary---

It's the proof that he (Fed) hadn't been healthy.

Augustina - wrong. Look up "precautionary."

holdserve - even more wrong

Luckystar: Nadal was in the top 50 in 2003 itself. And won his first matches in 2002. He was #2 in 2005. So his top level started in 2003, and he turned pro in 2002. So given that, he spend 8-9 years on the tour at the TOP level with his taxing physical game..

nadline: Nadal is the player I root for and I want him to continue for as long as possible. Who knows how long he might last? I bet even he (or his camp) do not know exactly. As I said before his longevity would be determined by his scheduling and injury management. But saying that he will be competing at the top level, after say, 2-3 years seems unlikely. So in that sense perhaps he can be considered a contemporary of Federer.

My pt was that Nadal is a veteran on tour, and he cannot be compared by guys in a similar age bracket of 23-25. Rafa himself has said that the number of years on tour are more important than the age when one hangs his racquet. It's mileage and not the physical age which matters in tennis.
How many teenage prodigies have you seen playing in their late twenties?

W.r.t injury record Federer has never missed/retired from a slam. Even his hyped up mononucleosis of 2008, did not cause him to miss any important tournament. Not even a single one!

Where as Nadal has withdrawn from 3 slams, retired in one and underperformed to injury in several others.

Of course Federer has been extraordinary lucky w.r.t injuries in his career, still the comparison is stark..

imjimmy, are you serious? In 2003, Rafa spent half the tine playing challengers. His full year in the main tour started in 2004. In 2004, he wasn't in the top level, losing early in many tournaments, and he only managed to win one clay tournament,ie Sopot. If that's top level to you, then practically everyone is in the top level when they are in the top 50 even though not winning anything. Well maybe your definition of top level differs from mine.

@imjimmy, 3/18/11 7:47 PM
--- Even his hyped up mononucleosis of 2008, did not cause him to miss any important tournament---

So what !? He & his fans keep saying that he lost to Rafa on 3 GSs tournaments due to that illness !
Last year, he lost at Wimbledon due to his back and leg issues.

luckystar: Nadal was playing challenger level tournaments in 2003, but he finished the year in Top 50. Isn't top 50 good enough at the start of your career. I would certainly start Nadal's pro career at the top level since 2003. It doesn't make sense to consider him only after he became #2. Lot of great players don't even make it to #2 anytime in their career!

Ricky, you are saying I am even more wrong without saying why. This just like the your prediction about Rafa's career ending with Roger's.

One way of looking at mileage is to look at no. of matches played todate. Rafa has played almost six hundred matches, Fed 900+, Roddick I believe 800+. Rafa still has at least two to three years to catch up with Fed or Roddick in terms of mileage, which matches the fact that Rafa started three years later than Fed in the main tour. So while Rafa is ahead of Nole and Murray in terms of mileage, he's behind Fed. He's caught between Fed's and his own generation.

In fact Rafa's path to success matches that of Fed's, if we compare them based on no.of years in the tour or no.of years they have competed in slams. Rafa won 9 slams by 2010, he started competing in 2003. Fed won 9 slams by 2006, he started competing in 1999. By 2006, Fed had won 45 titles; by 2010, Rafa had won 43 titles. Not much separates them at the comparable stage of their career. We'll have to see within these two to three years, how things go for Rafa. Can he keep pace with Fed or even move ahead.

Fine imjimmy, if that's your definition. To me top level means going deep in tournaments, at least not losing in the first two rounds. Maybe your top level means competing in top level events, like the Masters and the slams.

Agassi had a very physical style, turned pro at 16 and was still in the top 10 at age 36.

In the skit with Murray on Comic Relief, some children asked to have their photograph taken with him, and one of them asked if he could have the picture taken again because his friends wouldn't believe he was Andy Murray because he was smiling.......priceless.

Someone was suggesting that Rafa would be scared if he had to play Joachim now that he is back on tour, but I've got news for you - he's retired:

Updated: March 18, 2011, 2:54 PM ET
Joachim Johansson retiring again


STOCKHOLM -- Joachim Johansson, once ranked as high as No. 9, is retiring again after a recent comeback in Davis Cup because he lacks the motivation to stay on the tennis tour.

The 28-year-old Swede first retired in 2008 because of injuries. He changed his mind but hardly played again. This month, he helped Sweden beat Russia 3-2 in the Davis Cup.

In Friday's edition of the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, Johansson said he is fit and injury-free but no longer passionate about tennis. As for life on the tour, he said he "realized that I'm done with this."

Johansson reached a No. 9 ranking in 2005 after winning his third career ATP title, but his career immediately unraveled because of shoulder and elbow injuries.

@imjimmy, 3/18/11 7:47 PM

I add to my post of 3/18/11 8:09 PM:

I have also read that reportedly Fed lost at the AO2009 (to Rafa) due to his back problem and because of the same reason at the USO 2009 (to Del Potro).

Nice touch Cherryl...
Sometimes I think about Rafa-Fed era and it's so easy to forget how much younger Rafa is. It seems that they are forever there...

sad about Pim-Pim, though understandable since he was hurt when he should have been at the height of his career.

Augustian08: There's always a laundry list of excuses for each player once they lose. The bottomline is that if you take the court, you're fight to play. By that measure, Fed's AO 2008 loss to Djokovic, UsO '09 loss to Delpo , AO '09 loss to Nadal and Wimb '10 loss to Berdych, were all perfectly legitimate even if there were minor maladies.

Nadal, on the other hand, has outrightly missed participating in at least 3 slams (F.O 2004, AO 2006, Wimb 2009) and has retired from atleast one slam (AO 2010). Then obviously there are several others in which Nadal took to the court, but severely underperformed because he was clearly nowhere close to 100% ( UsO '07, F.O '09. UsO '09, AO '11) for ex.

As I said before, in the past 2 years, Nadal has mostly won slams when he was 100%. His losses since '08 have more to do with injuries than his opponents.

nadline, the skit was gr8 wasn't it? Do hope it goes on Youtube and people can see how relaxed and at ease with himself Andy really is :)

pim-pim played a great match in davis cup last week. trained hard for 6 months and was really fit and good. only to stop again. a bit weird... this time for good i hope, so this guy gets some peace.

@imjimmy, 3/18/11 10:36 PM
---There's always a laundry list of excuses for each player---
I introduce a list of Fed.
<<Injury will keep Federer out of Davis Cup vs. U.S. Federer, a 13-time Grand Slam singles champion, announced Tuesday that he was withdrawing from the Swiss team for those matches because of a lingering BACK injury>> [NYT, February 17, 2009]
<<Federer had a BACK problem after the Australian Open at the beginning of 2009, an event marked by his substandard play in the losing the fifth set of the final 6-2 to Rafael Nadal and his subsequent tearful loss of composure during the presentation ceremonies. He then withdrew from the hard court tournament in Dubai before playing the hard court events in Indian Wells (losing to Andy Murray) and Miami (losing to Novak Djokovic). He has said that his BACK got better and he finally had free movement starting at the Italian Open in May /---/ Now, after four out of five weeks on hard-court at events in Montreal (a loss in the quarterfinals), Cincinnati (a victory) and at the US Open (a loss in the final), it appears as if the BACK is again a concern.
Certainly the stats from the US Open final indicate Federer's serving might well have been affected by the back. His first serve percentage was a meagre 50 per cent. /---/ Doing commentary of the final for CBS, John McEnroe mentioned during the fifth set how Federer seemed to be having trouble getting his ball toss high enough on the serve - maybe now we know the reason why." >> [The G&M, September 25, 2009]
<<Roger Federer has withdrawn from next month's Japan Open and Shanghai Masters in order to get some rest, the Swiss confirmed on Friday.
"After consultation with my team and doctors, I decided to take the difficult decision to withdraw from both tournaments so that I can give my body a chance to rest, rehabilitate and fully recover from a physically challenging year." >>[Reuters, Sep 25, 2009]

I repeat: I dont think that Rafa's body is worse.

terrible news. But Pim Pim needs to do himself a favor and RETIRE for good. When it's the end, it's the end. Have to realize it. Mario Ancic did and it will pay off in the long run.

Rafa peaked early physically , that is why he is also balding early
Peak early, retire early

Yet again luckystar shows bad she is at analysis. It is not number of matches played , it is number of hours played that counts!!!

nir, it seems that you like to pick on me and Rafa, heh? So tell me how many hours Rafa spent on court for his 500+ matches vs Fed's 900+ matches? Rafa still has some way to catch up with Fed on that! Why don't you go and check by 2006, how many matches and how many hours had he played?

What has Rafa balding got to do with his tennis? A balding Rafa still looks better than Fed in my opinion! Stop predicting Rafa's early retirement, you better worry about your idol being beaten thrice in a row by a red hot Nole!

Um...Davydenko....? ;)

nirv, Rafa did not peak early. He peaked at age 24, the same age at which Federer peaked. Both entered their primes at around 21-22. Rafa got slams before he was 21 because he was much better than the others at pre-prime age just as Becker was on grass. But that does not mean , he peaked early. He was still developing his game and in 2008, he was able to blow Federer off the court on clay and defeat him on grass. He went on in subsequent years to complete the career slam.
Just because Agassi won a slam at age 33, you cannot say he had peaked at that time or that he was in his prime. To determine a player's prime, you have to find which were his best years and to find when he peaked, it would be the best year. For tennis stars as per study done by sports scientists, peak is at age 24. Prime would a few years on either side of the peak.
The fact that your prediction is based on wishful thinking and not scientific analysis is apparent from your talking about Rafa's baldness.

lol nirv02! The comment about balding and retirement is hilarious! Pray tell, what is the relationship? The players who lose hair must burn out earlier...or when a player peaks he loses hair? Makes no sense to me.

If Nadal retires early it will be because of his physical style, increasing injuries and miles on his legs. Not because he's balding :)

If pros were so concerned about badling they could easily get hair transplant. That would be like pocket change for someone as rich as Nadal. Have you seen Andy roddick? He's also badling big time..

lololol, Deuce. I was thinking the same thing.

Haha Thanks for taking the bait holdserve, imjimmy and luckystar.

I am not idol of Federer but of Tennis !

Balding is related to the release of testosterone and early balding is sign of early release of it and early physical maturity.

No of Hours Nadal played 1784.71
No of Hours Fed played 1935

balding is mostly related to genetics. Some men who lead pretty unstressful lives bald in their early twenties and vice-versa.

But in the case of Federer there is an exception and nirv's rule applies: he is still in his prime and far from past it as he has not start balding yet :-)

nirv02 and chlorostoma have both written some bull about balding. Rather surprising considering balding is not exactly rare and one would expect people to be better informed. In case of chlorostoma, it is possible he was just writing in a lighter vein. But Nirv02 needs to read up on balding.

Injuries cannot be predicted but if it is wear and tear, I can safely predict that Rafa will not retire before his time and can if he wishes, play till 30 or 31. People have been predicting Rafa's demise for years but, Rafa's prime arrived at the usual time i.e. around 21-22 and now he is at his peak at age 24.
21-22 is not only statistically the age at which prime begins as per studies of past elite tennis stars but also physiologically, the bones achieve full strength around this age and muscle mass becomes maximum around 25. So, it is not surprising that while the prime starts around 21 or so, the players peak at 24-25 when experience, physical and emotional factors are all at maximum or high levels. Prime, i.e. the best playing years as per statistical studies is usually from 21-22 upto 27-28.There is nothing wrong with Rafa, i.e. he is not so physically decrepit that only in his case, his prime would end earlier than 27-28. So how can Ricky predict Nadal's successes i.e. his best performance would end before 27-28? Most people play at a high level for 2 or 3 years after crossing prime age 27-28, as we are seeing now in the case of Federer, Ferrer, Roddick etc . There is no reason why Rafa should be expected to defy odds and retire prematurely along with Federer who is 5 years older.

hahaha...I have never heard such nonsense as this that Rafa balding shows signs of premature aging...what a stupidity! I have friends in the gym who have been bald since 20 years old and they are in 10 years time stronger, fitter and more muscular than most of the other younger guys...maybe you should start analyzing Rafa's buttocks and how does it affect his early retirement chances...you may come up with more interesting stuff...

Haha, natashao, good one! Maybe analyzing Rafa's buttocks will show he will retire at the same time as Harrison, Dimitrov and Tomic's group?

holdserve,
I am glad you read correctly the change of tone between my first paragraph and the second. First one is more less factual, no? Baldness is caused primarily by genetical factors. (And yes, stress in life and perhaps other biological factors plays into it in some people's lives. I have a friend who lost all her hair in one night following some really terrible news the day before.)

The second sentence was of course just the only way you can read it.

But thanks for the insult all the same :-).

Correction: my friend didn't lose all her hair in that night. All her hair turn grey. I kid you not.

Chlorostoma, yes, your first para was factual. Second seemed tongue in cheek. Sorry, if you felt insulted. I did express my thought that your remark could have been in a lighter vein.
Hey, I haven't been in this forum for long. How do I know whose fan you are?
There was a chance you were a besotted Fed fan ready to believe he is never going to cross his prime and will keep winning till he is 100 or more.

Fed is also suffering from receding hairline...next time go observe him after he removes his bandana. Look at his forehead, especially on the right side.

Good thing about Rafa, after spending so much time on the court, he's still going strong and he's still in his youth and in his prime. Looks like he still can have another two very good years ahead of him, after that he can start to take it easy. Fed on the other hand, will be in his
thirties in a few months time, and he looks a bit slower now, especially during his match against Nole where obviously he can't match Nole's speed.(of course we have to take into account Nole being much younger).

Ha ha, Rafa at 24 certainly has deceptive youth. He looks rather boyish for his age. Nole, Murray and Cilic too, all look so boyish. Compare them with Fed, Davy or Hewitt a few years back when they were at Rafa, Nole's age, Fed and Co looked older. Talk about premature aging...

Rafa being such a beautiful specimen, will always look good, whether he has the hair cut of Youzhny or simply adopting the Agassi look!

This blog is SO funny! We've stopped talking technique, equipment, place in draw, number of years played, mental fortitude blah, blah, blah but no, we're talking BALDING as predictor of long term success :) What next? False teeth????