'Rome is WAY more important for Nadal. With one of the more brutal draws I?ve seen on clay in a while, the Spaniard is slated to run into in-form players Thomaz Bellucci (the same one who nearly beat Nole in Madrid), David Ferrer, Roger Federer and possibly Djokovic in the final. If Nadal can get through the first three and win Rome (even if he doesn?t play Djokovic in the final), his prospects for the French will improve.'

I beg to agree and disagree with you there, Cheryl. I agree Rome is important but not in the way you put it. I think it is important for Rafa to hone in his preparation for RG......win or lose. He needs to go deep but he does not need to win the tourney at all costs. I think he needs to approach Rome the way he approached Rome.......go deep, get match practice but do not spend too much time on the court. If he gets to the final and Nole is on the opposite end of the net and Nole wants to go gang-busters, then let him have it. Better to conserve energy for RG. And I am not implying here that Rafa gave Nole Madrid on a platter, Nole outplayed Rafa fair and square....what I am saying is Rafa was wise not to fight to the death because it was clear Nole was on a different level.

So, I agree that Rafa needs a positive result in Rome I do not agree that result has to be a tournament win. Rafa can handle another loss to Novak, he is that strong mentally. As long as he keeps his focus on the REAL prize (RG) and he maintains his focus on his game (he has said himself he needs to change some things to match Nole), he will be fine.

Rafa loses RG then I really start to worry for him........

sorry typo...........he needs to approach Rome the way he aproached Madrid.

I am not worried at all about Rafa. He could be #2 again for all I care. Last year he swept all clay court masters and RG, and then went on to win Wimbledon.

The reason the "Rafa Slam" was such a big deal was, as Rafa put it, "almost impossible to do". And he predicted that he wouldn't do it again this year.

Rafa is the King of clay, not the GOD of clay. He can be beaten. Clay tennis is still tennis, not some other sport where all of a sudden all the world's best except him become completely useless.

Nole's streak is impressive, no doubt. He is at the peak of his career, fit, strong, full of confidence and deserves to be on top of the world. That's good for tennis because we do need competition. Rafa needs a challenge to improve, and Nole is ready to provide that. But even if Rafa fell down in the rankings or if he didn't win as often, he would still be him and we would still love to watch him play. He has already accomplished enough to be alongside the all-time greats at the age of 24. He doesn't need to win everything to be a superstar and to have the admiration of the world. As the title of one of you blogs rightly expresses it, "Vamos Rafa, No Matter What!"

as big a fan as i am of djokovic, i disagree that he's even a co-favorite, regardless of what happens in rome. nadal has lost like..ONE match at RG in the last five-six years, if that doesnt call for an 'overwhelming favourite' status then i dont know what does.

@rafaisthebest However strong a player may be mentally, if he is defeated by the same player again and again, he is bound to be affected. Rafa should not lose to ND again as it is a part of human nature that he will be affected.

Rafaisthebest,
So you're suggesting that Nadal saw he couldn't win so he stopped playing his absolute best? Like Nadal's clay streak didn't matter to him, or the fact that he'd lost to Djokovic twice before in brutal 3 setters. He just conceded that he couldn't win? It's insulting not only to Djokovic fans, but also to Nadal fans to imply that Nadal might not concentrate on the task at hand and not "fight to the death because it was clear Nole was on a different level."

@rafaisthebest:"Rafa can handle another loss to Novak, he is that strong mentally." u mak it sound lik rafa is mr-supernatural- infected-mentally humain beinng !! that 's just nosense even rafa said " nobody lik to lose " so for sur this lost affect him , i m not gonnna say DEEPLY cuz not !!! but make Djokovic in Nadal?s head now that certain
for ROME ,i think the most important , not he had to win the title , but he must win som game showing his new stratigy , serve , etc.. conclusion he must show how he gonna deal with nole's level in RG . also psychologically how can be !!
and i m goona mak it clear : NOLE DESERVE HIS MADRID TITLE CUZ HE WAS THE BEST , HE WORKED FOR HIS WIN NOT GIVING UP TO HE !!!

uninfected* @cherly murray : i m SOO waiting ur prediction in the next rafa-nole final ;))

yoya1108 seems to be an annoying kind of a fan. Childish and annoying.

If Rafa loses at Rome again to Djokovic, then Nole will be the clear favourite for RG.
He actually already is the joint favourite, IMO

Who cares who is the favorite? What matters is who wins.

If Rafa was not the clear favourite going into Roland Garos - that is not the end of the world - might even take the pressure of Rafa as being no1 and defending so many points this year is a huge pressure on him to maintain
If Djokovic gets to no 1 this year He will have all the huge points to defend next year and then He will know the real pressure in his matches Its good for tennis either way

So you're suggesting that Nadal saw he couldn't win so he stopped playing his absolute best? Like Nadal's clay streak didn't matter to him, or the fact that he'd lost to Djokovic twice before in brutal 3 setters. He just conceded that he couldn't win? It's insulting not only to Djokovic fans, but also to Nadal fans to imply that Nadal might not concentrate on the task at hand and not "fight to the death because it was clear Nole was on a different level."
ts38
, 5/9/11 11:45 PM


Thank you for your comment, ts38. I am curious, why did you choose to ignore the following part of my post, which precedes the words you picked?:

'And I am not implying here that Rafa gave Nole Madrid on a platter, Nole outplayed Rafa fair and square....what I am saying is Rafa was wise not to fight to the death because it was clear Nole was on a different level."

Much easier to cherry-pick the words which would conform to your stereotype of a Rafa fan isn't it rather being honest and quoting my whole sentence?

I stand by my earlier post. There was no disrespect to Nole there, rather tacit acknowledgement of his current superiority. It is a pity some of Nole's fans are too stupid to notice when praise is given. I cannot help there, sorry.

As for you, yoya1108, I would like to engage you, seriously, but I just cannot understand your gibberish! It is clear English is not your first language, that is okay. If this is the case, may I suggest you post in your first language, we can then have a go with "Google translate" and see what happens? For all we know, you could be a reasonable, intelligent person, but right now it's hard to tell with all that gibberish you post!

Sigh......

What if Nole never loses another match, ever?

rafaisthebest, true indeed...

anyway, even if English is not our first language we sure can be polite and reasonable...I just do not understand SOME of Nole's fans who are acting arrogantly stupid constantly attacking Rafa's fans...you will just bring bad luck to Nole with your insulting comments...I think you should be proud fans not offensive and disrespectful...why don't you look up to Zare and other intelligent Nole's fans who are the true proof that Serbians are nice and civilized people...

Well if Nole is unstoppable and goes on to win the French Open, Wimbledon and USO, then he's truly done something that Fedal failed all these while. What others have to do is to step it up and counter this force that is Nole.

It'll be interesting to see whether Nole can actually do that. With Fed aging physically, Rafa having problems of his own, Murray is still Murray, ie unpredictable, Delpo down with injuries, and all others not up to the mark to stop Nole. In all likelihood, Nole may be the one who actually goes on to win all the slams this year. After seeing him playing like this so far this year, it's hard to see anyone stopping him. If Rafa can't fixed his own problems and stops Nole on clay, can he and Fed stop Nole on grass? USO may be easy meat for Nole if Delpo is not back to his best yet and Fedal ending in the same half of the draw. So for me, fingers crossed, I'll wait and see how Rafa deals with Nole on clay going forward, and how Fedal and Murray deal with Nole on grass, and how everyone deals with Nole come the USO.

It's getting exciting now, and rather ironical, that what Fedal , the two greats of this era, can't achieve in their career so far, someone else goes on to achieve it (ie the calendar slam) right in front of their own eyes. I wonder how Fedal feel if that ever happens. As a Rafa fan, I certainly hope that Rafa can defend all his slam titles this year and stops the Nole Express. Please excuse my post if you find that I'm talking nonsense here.

I don't think Rafa is the only person who could stop Nole...but I agree that the other four Fed, Murray, Delpo and Sod are less of the threat to Nole than Rafa...and if Rafa is unable to solve his own issues we may witness the greatest achievement Nole could have: a calendar slam...I must agree the things have so far been working in his behalf as his opponents are not being at their best, including Rafa...and if Nole is able to continue like he has been in the first four months of the season than he truly deserves to mark the history...

Sorry but Fed a less of a threat then Nadal?? Maybe on clay but not on grass and fast hardcourt. I agree that he is playing really well, but in a best of five at Roland Garros or WimbledonI still give the edge to Nadal an Fed. Djokovic has only been winning on slow courts and all his matches against Rafa and Fed ( except AO ) were 3 set matches, that' s a whole other story then best of five! I still think that Wimbledon will be won by Rafa or Fed. For the US open i think that it will be Fed ( if he is playing better then he has done latley ), Nole or Delpo if healthy.

Like Natashao said both Fed and Nadal are playing at 75 % at the moment. I still think that a 100% Nadal or Fed beat a 100% Nole.

I do believe Fed and Rafa's A-games are better than Nole's, on clay and on grass. However I'm not sure that Fedal can bring their A-game to the slams this year, that's my point. I've seen nothing of the A-games from Fedal so far this year on clay, while Nole has shown his A-game since the start of the season. Will they all bring their A-games where it matters most, ie in slams? I certainly hope so.

PS. Why isn't Rafa one of the favorites at the USO? He made two semis there, losing to Murray and Delpo; had not met Fed there, not even once; and had beaten Nole in the final. Based on past three years' results, he was ranked no.2 after Fed. Nole no.3, and Delpo no.4. How can Rafa be not among the favorites to win there? Unless we are basing on current form, which doesn't make sense as USO is a good three months away.

Actually, I would have been quite thrilled if Djokovic could achieve the calendar slam. But, irrational though it might be, it is hard to look forward to it now after reading the disrespectful remarks toward Rafa by some of the Nole fans.

As for yoya1108, I am no longer trying to read or understand the gibberish.

Talk of a calendar slam is rubbish when you consider we have only finished one slam so far. On the other hand, this kind of form from Nole was long overdue. Those two dreadful years when he just didnt seem to be able to play good tennis were a crime.

Nole was a very good player ever since he cracked the top ten and over the last one year moved up to become a very, very, very, very good player up by three notches. Apart from making the least UEs of the top four, he has the new service that has improved placement and accuracy without losing speed. He is lighter and fitter than before and moving much better than before. He is also positioning himself in the middle rather than a preferred corner like Nadal and Federer because his FH and BH are equally strong. With increased accuracy, better serving, better cross court rallies he is able to move his opponents sideways to win the points. He is winning them withot resorting to fancy stuff like drops, slices, inside outs but simply returning balls with interest just like Nadal did while playing Fed in the recent past at W2008 and AO2009. He is at the moment at his very best. He will lose only if someone plays all sets of a match at the level Belluci played in the Semi of Madrid Masters last week or he must have a very bad day in office suddenly falling in form.

I'm sorry I don't think Rafa beats Fed at Wimbledon and AO just by returning Fed's balls with interest. He certainly didn't play a defensive game at Wimbledon and the AO. Though his incredible passing shots are his trademarks, he hit some excellent winners using his lethal cross court backhand at the AO.

Fed and Rafa can beat Nole playing their all round game, however they have to be cosistent with their game plan; staying at the baseline and trying to outrally Nole won't work, unless you are Delpo, or you're a top form Rafa with both forehand and backhand functioning well. To beat Nole, you need to play an attacking game.

PS why do I feel that Nole is playing more like old version of Rafa and curent version of Murray, only better? Nole's baseline game almost foolproof, whilst Rafa's andMurray's are more vulnerable at the forehand corner.

Only question now is...How long Nole can keep up?
Ppl are making a big story about it. It just a one record. If he loose... so what... that does not mean he will drop out of top 50...
He can take Rome and RG... but for me... in Paris Rafa is still favorite.
Novak would not be so delighted with his win, is he hasn't respect for Rafa.
So is he King... time will show... He is best player in the world for now... or in 2011 season... but he need to do muuuuuuch more to reach status of Rafa...
I hope he will.
Yoya 1108... Sorry mate... I think you are going to far...
You are new here... so you have to remember...Rafa and Nole are friends!
Lot of Rafans here respect Nole... and they are not like some Fedfans...( you should be here 2,3 years ago)
Since the departure of Mr Arrogant... atmosphere here is completely different and much more tolerable ...
So we can speak about tennis and pleasure and beauty of game ( except Mr Johan)
So cheer for Nole... respectfully... because such lovely person deserve god fans :)

" god fans"...hehe... ofc: good

@rafaisthebest However strong a player may be mentally, if he is defeated by the same player again and again, he is bound to be affected. Rafa should not lose to ND again as it is a part of human nature that he will be affected.
jaskarans
, 5/9/11 11:07 PM

here is my take.........Rafa, like all humans, gets affected by negative results. In fact, he owned up to being affected by his 2 losses to Nole at IW and Miami. He then goes to Madrid (clay, his favourite surface?) and loses to Nole......again. What I am saying is for any ordinary athlete, this would be curtains. But Rafa is no ordinary athlete, can we agree on that at least, seriously? His record attests to this, even a dyed in the wool Nole fan has to acknowledge this, c'mon!

It's all reletive my dear fellow. Look at Rafa's demeanour post defeat at Rome, does he strike you as a down and out, self-pitying soul? No. I fact, I have just watched his pre-Rome interview and you know what............I AM STILL PUTTING MY MONEY ON RAFA.........even if he loses Rome!

Oh, can I let you into a little secret? Nole's technical game beats Rafa's, but Rafa is a BEAST mentally. In spite of his technical short-comings, Rafa has been winning slams since what, 18 years old? Here's another little secret, maybe not too palatable to the rabid Nole fan...........Nole is now at his peak, and that explains his current remarkable success. His success is coming too late. This tennis era is too competitive for Nole to win as many Slams as Rafa or Roger. For a start, Nole does not dominate any particular surface like Rafa does, so his Slam wins will have to come against people who are at least as good as him, if not better. Also, he is almost 24, if not that already. Although he has achieved a lot already, it might be just a bit too late for him to be considered in the same league as Roger and Rafa, even if his career trajectory from here on follows theirs.

Sorry if I am bursting your bubble here but I strongly believe some people need a strong reality check. Yes, celebrate Nole's current incredible streak, because it is just that, incredible...............but, perspective please...........

Watched last year's Rome final between Rafa and Ferrer. Noticed how well Rafa strike the ball then, solid forehand and backhand, he was hitting the ball deep and flat, unlike his loopy floaty forehand shots we saw in Madrid. I hope to see that Rafa again in Rome this year, playing like that I'm sure he'll beat Nole.

Nadal is the favorite in RG whateva happens in ROme.

But Nole has the best chance in the world to really 'dethrone the king of clay'

I think nothing lasts forever... Rafa's dominance on clay might just end this year and more players will believe they can beat Rafa...

I don't think Rafa is gonna win 10 RGs . He'll be able to win easily on clay for the next 2 years and then he'll probably gets burned out.. we're talking about a kid who started playing in pro at 17.

and i think cherylmurray is secretly a Rafa fan... hehe

"His success is coming too late."...
Sorrv mate... that statement is simply ridiculous!
Same as I said Rafa's carrier came to early and he will not be able to continue for long!Fans can be strange sometimes... so what if he had lost in Madrid... he will win something else... same thing for Nole...

hehehe... look at pool...100% ...i was first :)

Too early to tell whether Nole is the new king of clay. He has just beaten Rafa once on clay and we are so quick to jump into conclusion that Rafa's dominance is going to end. Nole himself narrowly escaped a defeat in the semifinal. How often do we see Rafa narrowly escaping defeat on clay? Rafa is here to stay, no one moves better than him on clay, I don't see anyone matching him on clay. Nole won't carry on winning his matches forever, please be realistic. It's not like he's blowing everyone off the court, he has to work hard to win his matches too, so how long more can he narrowly escape defeats?

Why not patiently wait for things to unfold instead of jumping into conclusion basing on so little facts and info that we have?

Forget King of Clay -

Nole is the GOAT.

Fed turned pro in 1998, isn't he 17 then? Nole turned pro in 2003, he was 16 then. Rafa turned pro end of 2001, so effectively he started in 2002, age 15/16. So there's only one two years age difference in terms of when they started their professional career.

Fed himself was playing many matches while he was young, only after he became no.1 that he cut down on his schedule. Rafa has also played many matches because he's been very successful and goes deep in tournaments. His career win/loss record is the most impressive among active players. If Fed can play till 35, I do expect Rafa to play till 29 or 30. I suppose as they grow older, they'll reduce their work load even further.

Nole is not exactly young in his career since he started in 2003, he may catch up with Rafa in terms of no.of matches played should he continue with his winning ways. So, Nole has to make hay while the sun shines before the next batch of youngsters catch up with him.

nadline, LOL @Nole is GOAT and he's definitely not King of Clay, he'll need to beat Rafa in RG to do that

lucky, you are rite but like u said, Rafa has been a force in tennis since he started winning RG and he plays way lot of matches than Nole and Fed at the same age. It is probable that his body and mind is a lil bit tired from all this but of course nowadays there are technologies that can replenish his body just that his mind probably a bit tired from all the on-court and off-court things he did and now more soever that he is no.1

Even if Nole wins RG he will not be the King of Clay, Rafa has got far too many clay records under his belt, he is untouchable as far as that is concerned. Sod beat him at RG, and he can hardly be mentioned in the same sentence as Rafa as far as clay is concerned.

Torres, you may be right that Rafa is weary of keeping up mentally and physically. He's been there since he was 19 and it does take it's toll. Not that he is finished, but I think not winning the AO due to injury affected him mentally more than we realize, because it was out of his control. He says he's had a good season so far, being in all the finals except OZ and winning 2 titles so he will bounce back.

nadline, no way is Rafa finished. He's just a bit tired mentally from what I saw because it's not normal that he lost to Djoko in Madrid that way.

I mean, the normal Rafa would have at least hold his serve in that final game. And the last point Rafa just kept giving the ball back whereas in WTF final against Andy Murray he was the one who took his chances.

I think the illness and the injury earlier on during the year has affected rafa's fitness and thus his confidence. How often we see Nole outlasting Rafa on a tennis court under the hot sun(in Miami)? Rafa when fit and healthy, won't be so exhausted. He had played in worst conditions, eg at the AO, and he was not exhausted playing in those tough conditions. Adding to all these, there's the burden of defending so many points and titles, it's no wonder he may be affected mentally. Now when he's in tip top conditions there's no problem in him defending all those points, as shown during 2006-2008. It's when he's affected by illness/injury or personal problems that the defending of the points beomes a burden, like in 2009. So right now, he may be feeling like he's in 2009, rather than he's in 2006-2008.

Nadal is still -300 to win the French, and Djokovic is +350

based on those numbers, unless Nadal gets absolutely BLOWN OUT by Djokovic in Rome, he is going to be the favorite

Yes torres, that's why I say Rafa may be playing only till 29 or 30, and by that I don't mean he'll play a schedule like he's playing now. I feel that he'll skip Barca next year and stick to playing three masters before the FO, as there's the Olympics to consider. He's able to skip one Masters as he has more than 600 match plays now, so who knows he may skip one of Canada or Cincy. I don't think he would skip Paris Masters as he needs match play indoors before the WTF which are back to back from 2012 onwards.

Come 2013, I think Rafa can skip two Masters, as in addition to 600 match plays, he will be in the tours for more than twelve years. So from 2013 onwards, he may slowly cut down on his schedule and concentrate on the more important ones. So, playing till age 29-30 is possible if he cuts down on his work load. He has already being no.1 so he may just concentrate on winning slams instead of chasing for the no.1 position. He may also choose more clay events over the hard court events, especially the 500 events. I'm positive that as long as Rafa takes good care of his health and fitness, he still can play for four to five years more and gives us top class tennis, at least on clay and on grass.

Djokovic will be #1 in the next few weeks, and boy has he earnt it! I always thought he had the game to dominate the tour, but there was something missing mentally. His transformation has been remarkable, and it's really been about two things: fitness and intelligence. He far more fit than he's ever been. And he's playing smarter now - much more patient. He's waiting for the right moment to go for the Kill Shot. Which you have the confidence to do once you know you're fit enough to take on anyone in any setting anywhere. He's carved out a special place with his unbeaten run continuing up to now: neither Federer nor Nadal has started a year with an unbeaten sequence this long,and no one has beaten both Federer and Nadal 3 times on the trot in a single season. With his confidence levels off the charts,he is clearly here to stay at the top, and its great for him. He has thoroughly earnt it.

Yes tj. Beating Fed three times in a row now though impressive, still couldn't compare to beating Fed in his prime.( Rafa did beat Fed four in a row in 2006, Dubai on the hard court, and MC,Rome and RG on clay). To me the most impressive was beating Rafa, the no.1 player in the world, in his prime, three times in a row and one of which on Rafa's favorite surface. So, yes in that sense if Nole becomes no.1 then yes he truly deserves it, no question about that. Oh yes, Davy is another player who beats Rafa thrice in a row and Fed twice in a row during Davy's incredible run from late 2009 to early 2010.

Oh yes, I forget there's Delpo too, who beats Rafa thrice in a row on the hard courts and Fed twice in a row too. Delpo even did a back to back beating of Rafa and Fed in a best of five sets format at a slam, the USO 2009. Impressive! Looks like Fedal is not what it used to be nowadays.

I must point out that all of this seems somehow ridiculous to me to consider Nole favorite to win RG based on his wins in Madrid and may as well be in Rome...However, I can?t blame other people when we, Rafa fans, appear to be the harshest and most judgmental fans in the history, and I know where it comes from: we are just spoilt by Rafa's continuous success and if he fails to meet our expectations even at events that are less than GSs we start to question his chances at GSs while doing deep analysis of Rafa's game, looking for reasons and complaining about his performance...I confess I am one of those who do so...But, let's be realistic: how in a world Rafa's possible loss to Nole in Rome (I am saying possible although I do not see it happening!) can make us think that Rafa would not be fighting hard as ever to defend his RG title? I think we are forgetting the last year when he won everything on clay before RG and than made clear the RG title was more important than anything else...be sure he is going to play his best tennis there and it may surprise everyone how he is going to be mentally and physically on top of his game...I just know it...RG is his driving force...RG titles are his strength, their significance is not comparable with anything else and he is just not giving it up easily...whoever he faces in the finals (and I just know he is going to be in the finals) Rafa being hungry like a wolf will tear him apart...

And Rafa has three GS titles to defend...he is not going to destroy himself at Master events and then not be able to be at the top in RG and Wimby...he is losing to Nole who is a better player right now, but to expect Rafa to lose that easily in the GSs just shows that people do not know Rafa that well...VAMOS RAFA!!!

Nole will win 18 tournaments this year if you take what people like tj are saying, that would definitely be a first.

that cheryl murray writes this is the most uncertain clay season in a while shows just how superior nadal has been the past five years. Now there are two players who can win (to 99%), and we call it unpredictable. lol...

lucky, yeah Rafa needs to cut the tournaments, but is he going to? He seems to believe that he needs to play a lot to find rhythm and confidence altho last year he didn't play well pre-USO and still won USO. I think if he just believes in his abilities to win in GS without participating in tourneys too much, then he'll be fine.

I have a feeling Nole might just win RG if he stays unbeaten in Rome.

At least Rafa knows what to expect from Lopez or Khols.

torres, don't know about RG. Anything can happen there, nothing is for sure. Rafa certainly doesn't look convincing this season. As for Nole, whether he lose early here in Rome, reaches the final but lose, or simply winning the title, it has no bearings as to whether he'll win at RG. It's certainly very difficult to win a slam, for there's the luck of the draw, the form of the opponents, the court and weather conditions, and of course the player's own form.

We are so used to seeing Fed making it to the slam finals, since 2004 till the beginning of last
year, and his winning Wombledon and the USO seemed almost certain. We are also used to seeing Rafa winning at RG year after year, that we think the draw, the opponents and the weather conditions don't matter to Fed and Rafa. However all these do matter if you're not Fed or Rafa. Now that Nole is no.2, and who knows may be even no.1 by the FO, Fed being no.3 may have to face Rafa in the semifinal. At this point, I really don't know who is a more difficult opponent on clay for Fed- Rafa or Nole? And I'm not sure now whether any of the top three guys can beat the other two guys consecutively to win the slam. So, now where Fed lands in the draw may determine who among the top three can go on to win the slam, provided of course they survived to reach the semifinals. Things looked a bit complicated now, with both Rafa's and Nole's current form and Fed being no.3.

luckystar, Rafa himself has said Nole isn't playing all that differently. In virtually all RGs (except last year), Rafa defeated Nole in his half and then Fed in the final.
Whether Nole or Fed can defeat two out of three is the question.
Something's wrong with Rafa this year. Maybe lack of confidence or lack of fitness or some injury he is hiding. Why is his movement not so good? I don't see that much sliding.

holdserve, I know in the past Rafa can beat Nole/Fed back to back, but this year given how well Nole plays and how Rafa is still finding his form, I'm not sure Rafa can beat them back to back.

Concerning Rafa's movement on clay this year, he seems to be getting better tournament after tournament. He moved well in Barcelona. The court surface in Madrid and the Centre court here in Rome seemed unsettled, that players' feet can get stucked in the clay. I saw Lorenzi's feet got stucked in the clay today, and Rafa slipped and fell too. Rafa also had a tumble in Madrid when his feet got stucked in the clay.

luckystar what has Novaks form got to do with Federer? With Federers weak backhand and the kind of form he has been in for the past 4 months I dont think beating Federer is an issue specially on clay, lets not mix it up by saying Nadal cant beat Federer and Novak back to back realistically he can beat Federer but wont be easy to beat Novak. But on clay Nadal should still be the favorite to win this title more of a favorite now when Ferrer has withdrawn giving Nadal a much simpler path to the Semifinal.

I do think Novak has gotten into Rafa's head a bit. When was the last time Rafa got beaten by the same player 3 times in a row!

The thing that counts against Novak continuing his run is that it is getting up there to the record. While records are meant to be broken, how much longer can he keep up? Time will tell but the longer it goes, the more likely he will fall somewhere. I, like a lot of tennis fans out there eagerly do not want to see him dumped early in grand slams, but the chances increases the further the streak stretches.

tennis2011, don't be too confident that Nole can beat Fed and Rafa back to back on clay. If both Fed and Rafa played their all court and net rushing game instead of trading groundstrokes with Nole from the baseline, I don't think it's easy for Nole to beat them, WTF 2010 a case in point.

Nole in Rafa's head? Maybe. Nole not the only one beating Rafa three times in a row, there's Delpo; and there's Davy who beat Rafa four times in a row, twice in finals. Unlike Delpo who beat Rafa easily in the USO 2009, Nole has to fight hard to beat Rafa. These three players may be in Rafa's head, but Rafa would still come out to play and try to beat them. He has overcome one of them, Delpo, at IW, who knows, Nole and Davy may be next.

I disagree that Nole's sucess comes too late and that he already miss the boat to win more GS. Prime example is Federer who won his first GS at age 22 followed by 3 GM at age 23 and than in next 5 years he won rest of his GS.

Hey pro59, Federer played in a weak era so he could pile up slams fast. This year, Djoko has a chance to pile up 3 as Rafa and AndyM don't seem in great form and Delpo's still not fully back. But from next year, do you think it will be like snatching candy from babies as it was for Fed?
Of course it is never too late. Djoko can win between 6 and 9 if he wins one or two every year till he is 28. So he will be among the greatest ever if he does do that.

I never said that he will beat Roger's or even Nadal's GS record, however I agree with you that if he continues to play well and stays healthy, he may win another 4-6 GS.

Djokovic is not only a King, he is also a saint.

What we are all forgetting is that Djokovic's success is all because he is now a saint of the Order of Saint Sava, it's his devine right to win everything.

I was reading a magazine the other day which had Nole's photos and interview...I found the photos amusing as Nole was posing on Harley Davidson motorcycle with black leather jacket on, the same as Rafa did except that Rafa owns HD and was not posing-paparazzi took a picture of him while he was out with Xisca...the part of the interview that I found more than ridiculous was talking about Nole's 27 m long yacht which costs 5 mil Euros and then it was compared to Rafa's which is, as the author of the article said, ONLY 856 000 Euros and the reference was made how Nole's was much better and faster. Then they also mentioned how Fed does not even own a yacht and he and his wife prefer to rent one when they need it...what kind of story is that? Why would someone think Nole is better than Rafa and Fed just because his yacht is much more expensive? It was such a ridiculous article and photos resembling Rafa's photoshooting from last year...that is more than pathetic...so we can see now who is in Nole?s head...:)

Maybe Rafa should start beating his chest when he wins a point and get his family to do the line calls.

Nadline, I think rafa does fine with the high-kneed fist pump and "Vamos!" :D

As for the shot on his family, well your comment speaks for itself :D I guess Nole has been winning so much because the linespeople, chair umpires, person in charge of hawkeye and all that are a secret society of Djokovics :D

sampralica, the Djokovic family have been known to call balls out haven't they?

Take a look at this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpUUikeg-Ks

Nadline, seriously, what's wrong with you? Read your posts. They are pathetic.

Natashao, Novak hardly cares or knows what the yellow press writes. I am sure he would laugh at such stupid article. And by the way, what kind of magazines are you reading? I prefer the Federer style - if you need a yacht, you rent it. Simple. Interesting how they (journalists) didn't mention planes :)))

Samprallica, love your comments ;). Am sorry for not having a better command of English language, or else... :)))

Am sorry for not having a better command of English language, or else... :)))
danica, 5/12/11 12:26 PM

danica, same here :P i'd rather keep things to myself instead of saying them out bluntly and offensively lol.

I like the Federer style too - simple.

What have I said that is pathetic? Did the family not call a ball? Was Nole not not canonised a saint recently? I'm just acknowledging taht he is a saint, what's wrong with that?

danica, it is Gloria magazine, Novak is on the front page and he gave an interview, so he knows what is written in there...it's not that I am making it up, read it yourself..

Here is the link to the canonisation for those who haven't seen it:

http://nolesnews.blogspot.com/2011/04/novak-djokovic-order-of-s t-sava-photos.html

He is not canonised as saint, that's possibly one of the most ignorant statements I heard in a long time. Many people had received the Order of St. Sava but to become a saint, one needs to do much, MUCH more specially in the Orthodox Christian tradition, and to prove (so to speak) sainthood well after death.

As far as your comments go, my statement is not based on just this thread alone. I took notice some time ago because it seemed to me that you always take a very derogatory stand towards Novak. There are some other posters too but I rarely choose to get into clash of words because, honestly, I don't care. Sometimes it pains me when different standards are applied, that's all. And they ARE applied against Nole big time. Somehow, I think same things would be seen through different glasses if it was Rafa or, say Roddick .

We were just talking how nadal fans on this site are very respectul, I find quite contrary, particularly some. All that nonsense about conspiracy theory few weeks ago and now about who's got bigger yacht. What a bunch of crap!!!! Natashao if you nothing to say please don't.

hey, hey, just slow down...I do not think anyone wants to make derogatory comments especially when Nole is concerned...he is the best player at the moment and all we can do is admire him...I was just saying how the press takes advantage of Nole being so popular in Serbia and elsewhere and they write up stuff that Nole himself would never bring up...they are not doing him a favor with this but I also understand those magazines get sold by writing stuff that is not well known...it was just funny to read...If I spoke Spanish I would probably find some nonsense in Spanish papers too...there is no need to get into verbal conflict here...I think Rafa fans really recognize how great Nole is, otherwise he would have not been able to beat Rafa three times in a row...

Gloria is not a worthy magazine. Something like People in the States. I never buy it and certainly rarely read it (when someone hands it to me on a beach for ex). That story about the prices and sizes of ones' yachts tells you enough. The fact that Novak gave an interview really has nothing to do with what other journalists write. Sensationalist garbage.

danica, point taken, but I'm sure I read somewhere that Djokovic had been mad a saint. I don't understand anything about the orthodox church.

Most of you Nole fans don't have an axe to grind with Rafa but some do and we have to respond to them, sadly. Suffice it to say that Rafans are not where we would like to be right now so I'll admit to being a tinny, winny bit bitter.

danica, I never buy it myself...I couldn?t care less what is in there, but my hair dresser gave it to me since she happens to know how I love and follow tennis...and I do not see why you Nole fans get so upset about it?! When they write about divorce of Rafa?s parents you were all fast to comment on it...or Waw?s divorce, or Murray?s possessive Mom...just give me a break...it was not meant to provoke you at all and sorry I brought it up...

Nole and his team celebrating the Madrid win:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g43cWPNBMU0

It is my understanding that sainthood is only determined after death. This must just have been some sort of special recognition.

Nole's family has been known to...misbehave at tournaments...but I don't think it's fair to hold what a guy's parents do against him.

He's celebrated all of his wins like that. And most Nole fans here actually like Rafa - I do admire him a lot myself, and we've been largely congratulatory on his successes last year, including the US Open win. However, what I've noticed is people taking petty little shots at Nole (look at the other thread where someone talked about a voodoo) as though they lessen what he's achieved this year.

I don't think Natashao was undermining Nole in any way - you have to admit that article was stupid if it said what he/she claimed it did. However, the comments about out-calling, "canonising" and all that are just an attempt to make Nole look like some kind of villain.

Some Nole fans are having a field day attacking Rafa fans and Rafa. I thought only Fed fans are nasty. But I was wrong.
Some other Nole fans have protested because they value the good relationship built up on this site between fans of Rafa, Nole and AndyM.
I find the obnoxious yoya1108 is now a little silent possibly because of the restraining influence. But samprallica is taking the lead in trying to spoil the atmosphere.
Anyway, as far as I am concerned, I like Nole and might even have been happy if Nole did the calendar slam. I have been feeling both Nole and AndyM deserve their place in the sun. They are just as talented as Rafa.
However, after the misbehavior of Nole fans, I don't think I am too happy at the prospect of Nole winning anything more. This is totally irrational, I know. But, the sins of the fans are visited on the players.
I hope when AndyM starts winning, as he is bound to, the AndyM fans remember this and continue to maintain good relations so as in the past we can rejoice together when either of these young men, Rafa and AndyM, win anything.

mriiidula, samprallica, zare and all others in Noleland (maybe you too, deuce? :) ), you might enjoy this article in the tennischannel by James LaRosa, a long time Nole fan...

http://goo.gl/74HZY

holdserve - most of the nastiness you see wasnt started by Nole fans. Most of them, that is. I honestly do think yoya was being a little misunderstood due to her English.

Rafa fans have been known to admire Nole in the past, but once Rafa lost to Nole three times in a row, that admiration has turned into slight bitterness.
Samprallica's responses were to someone who more or less stated that Djokovic won due to: unbelievable cupcake draws, luck, some sort of voodoo-ing, and not playing in Barca, because apparently if Rafa plays in Barca, everyone else must. Apart from that, shots about his family, him being a saint, how he celebrates after a win, and him trying to copy Rafa by freaking holding his racquet when he steps onto the court *rolls eyes* is not something that will go down well with Nole fans, as I'm sure you wouldnt like any disrespect either when it comes to Rafa.

No one wants to start anything I'm sure, because tennis is getting so much more interesting, but sometimes a line needs to be drawn with the type of comments that get posted here. When Nole lost to Nadal a zillion times in a row you dont see Nole fans trying to undermine Rafa, do you?

I'm spoiling your atmosphere, am I? Ha ha, I didn't know that before.

You guys are spoiling your own little "atmospheres" by:

1. Taking some of my comments out of context - e.g. when I backed Nole to win the final at Madrid and said it was because Rafa's serve didn't have enough to trouble Nole at the moment.

2. Getting riled up to my responses to garbage directed at Nole.

If you want to keep spoiling your atmospheres, be my guest. I'll do my part ;)

THANK YOU STU! im off to watch them all :D

this is my fave bit in the whole article:

"Sure, when trying to figure out how this all happened, we can look to an increased confidence after beating Roger Federer at the U.S. Open. We can talk about the magic of Davis Cup and a gluten-free diet. But at the end of the day, I track the moment his success began to the moment he decided to stop giving a damn what people thought a tennis champion should be and just stayed true to himself."

mriiidula, I generally find your comments respectful.
But you are illogical in comparing a situation where Rafa won and Nole fans did not undermine Rafa ( how could they? ) with a situation where Nole wins and Nole fans undermine Rafa.
Anyway, zare and you have been part of the respectful community of Rafa, Nole and AndyM.
yoya1108 started the needling and fans like samprallica have continued the good work.

Cheers, Stu :) And thanks, mrii and danica for the backing.

Holdserve, do me a favour and show me where I have undermined Rafa.

holdserve, no i meant a situation where Nole wins and Rafa fans undermine Nole, by saying things that I've already outlined. you misunderstood.

It's okay guys. Rafa fans are sore losers because they haven't had a chance to get used to it, he wins all the time! We, on the other hand, have had tons of experience.

@Stu

Please don't make out that Rafa fans are sore loosers.
There are many Rafa fans who appreciate what Novak has done. It's ur choice whether you choose to ignore those.

stu, that is a silly comment. Rafa had a tough year in 2009.
Anyway, now we know who just pretended to be happy at Rafa's wins and who really were.

Ha ha. stu - good point. In fact; Safin was my favourite player while he was on tour and I even pulled for him against Nole in that Wimbledon 2nd round - which was one of those hard things you have to do since Marat was there first (same situation pulling for Sampras against Safin).

Anyway, the point is - if you ever were a fan of Safin and stuck with him until he retired, you've done a lot of groaning, hair-pulling etc... Win or lose, stick by your player - but accept that he is human and can lose.

TopDog, stu didn't direct his comments at fans like you or Raindrops - that is for sure. However, there are other fans who compliment Nole like Federer compliments all his opponents (sometimes, before you all react - and that is my opinion) :D And then there are those who will just bring up anything irrelevant to sling mud on Nole's face. None of this happened while Nole was playing second fiddle to Rafa, so what do you conclude?

cheryl, another great blog from you - as always.

as a rafan, i'm at a low point...ala 2009 :P but i really have to take off my hat to nole. he is fulfilling his potential and having the run of his life. i was very disappointed with rafa losing madrid but as nole won fair and square and outplayed rafa, kudos to him. rafa himself said, if you want to be good, you have to be good on all surfaces. none of this altitude thing and whatever. rafa has won madrid before so it's not like he hasn't got it in him to win it.

all i can do is keep cheering rafa on and hope he bounces back, especially next year when nole will have a ton of points to defend. challenges only make rafa stronger and tough competition always makes for more watchable tennis than a lopsided pummelling.

for now, congrats to nole, what an achievement. i've always liked him and i still do. i wish he wouldn't be such a torn in rafa's side :) but the whole idea of the game is to go out there to win and he's doing a lot of things right at the moment and he should not be faulted for rising to the occassion.

good luck rafa! do your best as always! proud to be your fan still.

First I want to clarify I am not really a Rafa fan but I am probably becoming one. I started off as a tennis fan and then became anti-Fed because
a) I was tired of his boring domination (b) he was smug and ungracious and tried his best to undermine Rafa with his jealous remarks.
So , I cheered all the doughty challengers but unfortunately when Fed was in his prime, only Rafa stood upto him.
Where were Nole and AndyM when Rafa was down in 2009? Did they try to stop the Fed juggernaut even though they had all the weapons? But for Delpo, Fed would have made a clean sweep and he and his fans would have become even more insufferable and of course tennis would have become deadly boring.
Actually, I was a little relieved when Rafa lost at AO. Djokovic and AndyM need to start winning too.
Domination like Fed's with the rest of the field acting like wimps is not my idea of tennis.
All I can say to the Nole fans who are trying to become as nasty as the Fed fans, remember, there will soon come a day when Nole will lose. And though I love Nole, I think I am looking forward to it.

^^ that, and I was just trying to be funny.

Homos, we aren't done with RG yet ;) Back your man to win. I really like Rafa as a player and a person (haven't seen a more humble player on tour).

^^ ditto, I'm picking Rafa for RG too. And yet, I know there will be i-told-you-sos here.

stu, Rafa is the favourite at RG but as always I am backing Nole to win - like I do at every tournament :D

turns out Rafa has a fever. i wonder if he will decide to tank Rome in favor of RG, if he really is sick. Do you realize what that would mean for Nole? :D :D :D :D

I know it won't happen, Rafafans, but a girl's allowed to dream (esp. one who's waited so long!)

hey, people, I think I understand the best what is going on here...out of four members of my family, one is a die-hard Nole's fan, the other is a die-hard Fed's fan (and when I say die-hard I REALLY MEAN IT!) and there is two of us supporting Rafa...so, these kinds of "misunderstandings, picks at each other, low shots, teasing and sometimes real fights" happen to me all the time...I had to watch tears of my family member when Fed lost to Rafa at AO (it spoilt my celebration though) and they had to cope with me and to console me when I was out of sorts for months when Rafa was injured, lost to Sod at FO and didn?t play Wimby...When Nole first won AO it was a real celebration in my family...and I was really happy for him...after all we have the same origin :) ...and then the next tournament comes and we all start supporting our favorites, chosing different cormers, making predictions and being upset when they lose...a good thing about having the family like this is that at least one of us gets to be happy while the others have to wait for another tourney hoping for their slice of happiness...:)

This time is Nole's time and we all should respect that no matter who we are cheering for....All I am saying is let's just try to overcome our differences in a civilized way and be at least a bit like these three great athletes we are supporting...

@Samprallica

I appreciate what you are saying.

I see some Rafa fans are finding it difficult to see how Rafa is struggling to beat Novak and one in particular Nadline (if you don?t mind me mentioning your name has admitted this to some extent - which I respect you for doing so as not many will admit so openly with fear of being attacked). I myself understood that was the problem as a Rafa fan.

Yes there are some statements that are being made that are lets say insensitive in some sense. We could say that some Rafa fans are more Rafafanatics than others and there is nothing wrong with that but it also means that it might take them much longer to handle what is happening with Rafa. You have to admit that there are some Novk fans here (some new) who are also making insensitive comments regarding Novak and Rafa. There are also other fans who are continually and purposely being spiteful, who choose to attack Rafa till now for no apparent reason but their love for their no1 player. They continue to undermine Rafa still regarding his talent, draw and the way he plays. I choose to ignore it knowing that there will always be one or two. (Having known how bad this site was during 2008/2009 when the site was overflowing with Fed fans which created a lot of tension and conflict...This is peanuts.)


So I think it is fair to say some Rafa fans are not purposely being spiteful and they themselves also like Novak I believe it will just take them a bit more time to settle down and see that Rafa just has another tough competitor. I?m sure they don?t mean to undermine Novak on purpose or out of spite as might be viewed by Novak fans. (I say give them time lol Madrid was just last week. If not ignore them.)

Not sure if you have comprehended what i?m saying. Lol

@natashao

By the way well said. I couldnt agree more with your post. I mean Rafa and Novak fans on this site most of the time do get on whoever there will come intense moments when our players compete against each other and people will make comments that they don't actually mean and others should try and view it in light of this.

Is this a sign of Rafa and Nole being the new rivals?

No one cares to fight over Rafa and Roger anymore because Rafa has won that particular contest, I think, so Nole is the new rival and it's inevitable that Rafans are going to take it out on Nole when Rafa is down and vice versa.

Benito is no longer Nole?s PR agent since Rafa lost to him in Madrid on Sunday. Rafa thought that Nole?s team celebration in the video was disrespectful to him.

^^ where did you hear that, nadline? that's kind of disappointing.

I actually think Nole was very respectful of Rafa on court. It was a very understated victory, he looked somber and serious. Why is Rafa watching videos of what he does in his private time?

I read it on the forum on Rafa's website, you can also see it in Rafaholics.com

All I know is that if I had a friend I'd rather they respnded to my loss the way Rafa did at the USO ans AO 09 than the way Djok and his team did in Madrid. D may be winning matches but he's no match for Rafa's genuine championlike conduct.

Rafanna, did you watch Djokovic ON court after he won? Did you watch his subdued celebration when he won the AO, a HUGE deal for him, against Murray? Did you watch him at the USO, when he lost to Rafa? Are you saying Rafa doesn't celebrate his wins at all? This one just happened to be filmed!

yea he was pretty subdued on court for someone who'd just beaten nadal on clay. guess he let it all out later. i must admit, i found some of the stuff a tad distasteful, but its not like he did it right in front of nadal or something, it was just djokovic and his team..

i agree, mriiidula, i'm not a fan of the way he and his team celebrate, in general, but i put it down to a cultural thing. on court, he's completely professional, and that's what fellow players should care about. seriously, could he say more complimentary things about Rafa? and this is what he gets for it?

yea it was a private moment between him and his team. its not like they had a picture of nadal there and made some gestures or anything. but i think that was in the hotel where all the players were staying, coz i remember the bryan bros tweeting about the noise and going to see it was djokovic and his team...

i dont know, maybe we'll find one from one of his pressers soon, i'm sure there will be a confirmation on his side tht he and benito are no longer working together..

Novak supported Rafa and was him during his though decision announcement not to play Wimbledon 2009. He always has had nothing but superlatives for Nadal.

Now we have claims Nole is using woodoo magic and he shows disrespects celebrating his win over Rafa!!? I just couldn't believe what I had read!

Just remember how Nadal celebrated his victory when he beat Karlovic in IW.

corrections: "Novak supported Rafa and was with him during ...", "shows disrespect ..."

BTW, thanks for a great blog, cherylmurray =)

Stu: Yeh, that's my preference regarding how I'd like to be treated or considered by a friend.Sorry if you don't like it.

honestly, since I am coming from the Balkans, Nole and his team celebrated the win in the way they all do here...I am sure there was nothing disrespectful to Rafa in it and even if perceived that way that was not their intention...the way Vajda was acting is a bit foolish but he is known as one going wild at parties, not very sophisticated and kind of peasant-like :) ..so do not get him serious, he must have been overwhelmed with happiness and also drunk...

This is a chance for Rafans to show what they preached to fanatic Fed fans in the past. Rafans had always said we're a bunch of fans which cannot accept the situation whenever Fed loses to Rafa or any other player and always making excuses.

From what I see thus far, Rafans have not been to comfortable when Nole fans are celebrating Nole wins on Rafa. I think it's normal to get agitated when ur idol loses.

I hope people realize that with Nole challenging Rafa, at least it's more exciting to watch tennis during the clay season. It would be boring if it's always RAFA,RAFA,RAFA on clay.

And at least now, Rafa does not benefit from a 'weak era' of clay tennis players?

Not all Rafa fans feel that way, torres. I'm OK with Nole becoming no.1 as long as he's still respectful towards Rafa and Nole's fans doing the same. Some over reactions here were due to one or two Nole's fans starting to proclaim that Nole is no.1 now, or soon to be no.1, as if Rafa has no hope of defending his titles and his points. No wonder Rafa feels the pressure, it's as if everyone wants to see Nole's winning streak continues like a fairy tale and to see the king of clay dethroned, just to let this fairy tale continues. You can't blame Rafa's fans for feeling irritated, as if Rafa is redundant now. And Fed too.

When Fed was dethroned by Rafa in 2008, Rafa was also on a winning streak, a thirty two match winning streak starting from Hamburg and ending at the SF in Cincy, across three surfaces. Rafa went on to win the Olympics Gold medal too. He won eight titles across three surfaces and did the channel slam, so his fans were naturally estastic, well some might also have gone overboard in their celebrations and some shown disrespect for Fed. I guess there's always some people who behaved like that but certainly not all Rafa fans are disrespectful towards Fed (or Nole). There are some very nasty people at other forums who bashed Rafa consistently. I hope fans of any player remain civil and respectful here and no player bashing here.

Rafaisthebest:
'And I am not implying here that Rafa gave Nole Madrid on a platter, Nole outplayed Rafa fair and square....what I am saying is Rafa was wise not to fight to the death because it was clear Nole was on a different level."

So what are you saying? He didn't give it to Novak on a silver platter, but he didn't try his absolute best to win? I didn't say that you implied that Nadal threw the match. It is insulting to both the players and their fans however to dismiss a win by implying Rafa didn't "fight to the death" to win.

And for the record I'm not even a fan of Nadal nor Djokovic.

ts38,
you must be a Fed fan,

When Rafa beat Fed at the 2008 Wimbledon on grass for the very first time, I don't recall everyone crowning him King of Grass and saying that he would win the calendar slam, every event, etc. Keep in mind that Rafa had just won RG and in winning Wimbledon accomplished what no one had since Borg in 1980 in winning the channel slam. Even so, there wasn't all of this hyperbole and ridiculous predictions all over the place. In fact, we know that many refused to give Rafa credit for this historic achivement. He was the only one to finally beat Fed in a slam other than at RG.

That's one reason why all this talk about Nole being the new King of Clay and winning the calendar slam when he hasn't even beaten Rafa in any slam, is quite premature. Rafa had to earn respect and he did it the hard way. Fed fans resented his wins over their guy and the hate was appalling. I don't want to see any of that kind of behavior towards Nole. However, I do not like the bragging and in your face comments from some Nole fans. They think their guy isn't getting his due. Well Rafa got a lot of grief from rabid Fed fans who hated him for taking away what they thought rightfully belonged to Fed. Also, Rafa was still thought of by many as merely a "one-dimensional clay court" player. He had to win slams on all surfaces and even then, some still would not accept that he had proven himself to be a complete player.

Well said NNY. I must confess I'm one of those who mentioned about the calendar slam (though I don't mean it seriously, for Nole has not even won slams other than the AO, while Fedal have won all four slams and should be in better position to than Nole to do it).

Rafa was not given credit by many for his achievements. Some even question his talent, saying that he wins not because of his talent but because of his physical abilities. The question is which player does not need his or her god given talent and abilities? You need foot speed, hand eye coordination, fitness and endurance, overall racket skills and understanding of the game, and the ability to bring all these together during the matches in order to win. So, Rafa was being unfairly criticised and even being bashed just because some people couldn't stand him for beating and dethroning Fed. I think Rafa fans generally won't have that kind of ill feeling towards Nole, now that Nole is on the verge of dethroning Rafa. As long as there's mutual respect between the players and their fans, we won't let matters deteriorate into a Rafa/Nole war, unlike Fedal.

I think at the time when Fed said Rafa was 'one-D', Rafa was just a kid and yes, at the time Rafa's game was not as polished as it is today. Fed also said that altho Rafa was 'one-D', he was extremely good at it.

As time goes by, Fed has been heaping praises to Rafa's talent and game so the 'one-D' statement as an honest-but-unnecessary-mention should be at least forgiven because even Rafa himself admits he's in very good relationship with Rog.

But I disagree dat Rafa does not get credit. For the past year McEnroe,Murray, Nole have all gave out statements that 'Rafa is the best player, not Rog' and this came from people who previously said that 'Rog is the GOAT'.

And I myself think it was a phenomenal feat by Rafa and also the media buzz around the 'RAFA SLAM' was probably the biggest buzz this year pre-AO'

And the media has not yet dared to even suggest that Nole is having Rafa's number because actually not many people are actually convinced that Nole can beat Rafa in RG.

So, I disagree that Rafa does not get the credit he deserves, even Giorgio Armani is predicting that the Rafa-brand will topple the RF-brand as the major marketing brand in tennis.

Is this the new incarnated torres, it's so refreshing to see you being objective when it comes to Federer and Rafa..............rewind 4-5 years ago in my previous life as Carrie, you were firmly in Roger's camp, I remember having lots of 'discussions' with you over those 2.

Nativenewyorker
, 5/13/11 8:33 AM

Thank you NNY, for articulating my sentiments in a much calmer way than I ever could. What Nole has achieved this year is remarkable, who knows, he may continue with his winning streak and confound us further!

What niggles is the disrespect some(and note I said, some) Nole fans (who happen to be very noisy) are showing towards Rafa on the basis od what? Let us examine the FACTS (and please TT posters feel free to correct me here):

1. Nole has beaten Rafa in 3 straight finals. This is remarkable when you consider his previous record against Rafa in finals, granted. Is this the first time a #2 has beaten a #1 in 3 straight finals?
2. Nole beat Rafa in Madrid, the first time he had ever done that on clay, never mind in a clay final tourney.
3. At Nole's age (nearly 24) Nole had how many 1000 Masters shields? How many grand slam titles?
4. Nole's 2011 unbeaten run to date is 3rd....that's right, 3rd in the all time lists. Unless he goes and eclipses 1st and 2nd, who the heck remembers 3rd place when all is said and done?

I could go on and on reciting Rafa's and Fed's runs but let stop here. So, Nole fans, you will forgive some of us if we are a wee bit unimpressed with your hyperbole (as opposed to Nole's, which is surely deserved). Give us a break, will you?

When your guy has 16 GS titles to his name, 17 masters shields (or is it 18?) in the case of Fed: 9 GS titles and God knows how many masters shields in the case of Rafa, will you EARN the right to be disrespectful towards Rafa.

I may not be a Fed fan...I may not like his brand of tennis.....hell, I may not like the patronising attitude he has shown towards Rafa in the past but you know what, I HAVE ALWAYS RESPECTED HIM, I WILL ALWAYS RESPECT HIM BECAUSE OF HIS RECORD.

So please, do not come here, on the basis of ONE remarkable season to date, deign to disrespect Rafa....and expect some of us to keep quiet. ESPECIALLY, when some of us have been at pains to heap deserved praise on your guy.

Excuse me.

And by the way, you will not find me hedging my bets with statements like, "I am not even a Nole or Rafa fan". Let me be clear (if it is not clear from my name) I am an unreconstructed, dyed in the wool Rafa fan.........no excuses given, no excuses taken. An in true Rafa tradition, I would never disrespect any of Rafa's opponents........

Natashao, you traitor :))) (just kidding here, in case some got other ideas)

For the most part, I think that Nole fans love and respect Rafa. They are not particularly fond of Roger. That also about sums up the feeling of the whole (more or less) Serbian nation although I don't know how anyone can disrespect Federer. What bothers me is when silly, irrelevant, superficial talk of the size and price of yachts, family, acts of family members, personal choices, girlfriends and so on, enters the equation. Who cares? The players are all warriors and also human, they ALL deserve our kudos and respect, and likewise, are not worthy of petty, stupid comments and spin media often does. Applying double standards doesn't help the case.

I think that Rafa has never had a weak set of competitors on clay... when he started at 17 or so to make it into the big tournaments there was a roster of still young enough clay masters... and not only Federer and the likes of Moya. In the following years Federer was always very strong on clay, and a number of other players too. Novak in particular, has perhaps not always been consistent but whenever his game was on he was (and is) a very strong claycourt player. There has been no lack of strong competition on this surface. Nadal just happens to be what Cheryl accurately calls a "phenom" on clay (and generally), categorically in Bjorn Borg's league. Just as Federer has been at least equally a "phenom" in tennis generally, although not starting as young as Nadal.

We've known for years that Nole is very talented and has worked very hard from a young age and has had the hunger to be the best he can be. What has changed is his consistency which he has earned by improving his many skills, fitness and mental strength. All power to him.

I can understand that his fans are ecstatic this season: after years of supporting him through his less consistent seasons they and all of us are treated to Nole coming as close to his potential as he possibly could this year, and even higher levels are possible for him. To break through to his current achievements is fantastic, especially given the competition out there (fedal and many other tough players).

Beating Rafa in three consecutive finals is very tough... even if Nadal's level was not near his best. Partly due to Novak's own level of play, and partly due to other factors. No matter: Novak's wins are fully deserved.

I am looking forward to matches between the two of them when both bring more or less their A game. And when Nadal brings back a more varied game against Nole as then their matches would be that much more interesting. We've had a number of matches between Roger and Nadal like this... and they were out of the world.

Let the future Djodal matches be that interesting too.

danica, and if I tell you all of my friends are Nole's fans can you imagine how difficult my life is right now :)

LOL you have to EARN the right to be disrespectful to someone?? The truth comes out I guess. I guess you feel you've earned the right to be disrespectful to both Nadal and Djokovic fans, as well as to both players themselves. Must have been hard work for you to earn that right, what to watch your guy play tennis and see him beat other people.

I was saying that I'm not a Djokovic or Nadal fan to illustrate the point that a even a neutral observer like me can see underhanded jabs like that. I'm simply calling you out on it. I think they're both great athletes who have done wonderful things for the sport.

Good luck to your guy tonight ts38...............enjoy!

ts38 is a Federer fan.

ts38 is a Federer fan.
holdserve
, 5/13/11 8:27 PM

Of course I know that!........"my foe's foe is my friend", no? I am not letting ts38 off the hook, he he he!!!!!!!!

Sorry to disappoint, but no I'm not a Federer fan. It's kind of amusing to see you ignore my arguments and change the subject by dismissing me as simply a "Fed fan."

Nice try, ts38

samprallica , 5/12/11 4:43 PM

tnx :)
of course i'll always back rafa, it's just hard to see his rival getting the better of him but nole is playing out of this world and thoroughly deserves his amazing winning streak. it's not like his cheating on court so in fairness to nole, i've to accept he's better than rafa right now. i've no problem with nole himself, always liked himand admired his talent. i always felt he's a good person (not responsible for his family or coach's behaviour:) and he always seemed respectful to me and very funny but no doubt, i'd like my fav to be winning as we all would.

i just have to say i really admire nole right now. all these years i wondered if he'd ever fulfil his potential and talent and i'd hoped that he would. well as the saying goes...be careful what you wish for lol! :) but i prefer hard fought tennis then one player dominating everything - that's boring for me. i know that rafa will always try his best and he can't always win everything. he said himself he didn't expect to repeat his clay feat of 2010 and he knows better than me about that. but i'll be backing my man but have to admit that at the back of my mind, i'm quite happy for nole finally seeing soem decent success to match his talent. these guys work very hard so have to give credit where it's due.

now i'd like to see cilic, murray, simon and nishikori doing better than they've been doing so far.