i think simon wont be able to beat soderling. so imma say soderling in 3 or 4 and then nadal over soderling in 3.
i hope youre right about somdev advancing past the first round.
i dont see davy making it to R3 i'm afraid. i'd love for him to, i've always liked him, but he's SO unpredictable.
i also dont think almagro will reach the quarters, but i dont really know or care since murray will breeze past anyway.
semis seem about right, as for the final, im not gonna say anything :P

Almagro will make the quarters and he COULD make the semis

I also think Montanes COULD make the quarters if he beats Hewitt

Two things jumped out at me when I looked at this :

1. Simon over Soderling....If healthy Robin should at least get to the quarters as he steps it up here even if he goes in slumping like the last two years. One finalist appearance could be a fluke but two in a row no way.


2. Almagro losing to Murray. When Nico is on he can blast anybody off the court so if he gets hot he could get to the semis or final. He's my sleeper pick. He has the type of big game that's needed to take Nole out but he'd have to get to the final to do it.

I hope the semis are as it is predicted as it could make for some very interesting encounters.

Murray is a beast and brings in his best wen he has to face Rafa and it will be a awesome match

Federer hates Djokovic and thats a fact and I am sure he will bring his best to the court to try to defeat Djokovic too, so could be another great duel

But Soderling has taken out the No 1 and defending champ last 2 years..ironically he is again in Rafas quarter and Rafa is current No 1/defending champ..Hope history doesn't repeat itself

As far as Djoko beating Rafa in final in best of 5, difficult but not impossible and we will see, but its too early for that..good 15 days away..One thing is sure..If Rafa meets Djoko in final, he will give his everything to not lose his beloved RG crown to Djoko and also lose to him 5 in a row..so it could be one helluva match

So you are picking Djokovic to win yet again? Thats very predictable

I think Nadal will win again most likely in 4 sets

Ricky,

all i can say is: from your mouth to God's ears!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtiwL0sokiM&feature=feedu

Another setback for Rafa, the secret of beating him is being exposed!!!

^^^So why doesn't the guy doing the lecture take up tennis and beat Rafa..........It's a load of tosh!!!

i actually thought some of the stuff he mentioned was spot on. and he presented it in a nice way too, it was unclear who he was rooting for until the end.

nadline,

The poor guy's shorter than Michael Chang that's why and quite puny. It's actually quite accurate. It's what Davydenko has been doing for some time now. Too bad Isner isn't that type of player. I'd email him that video ;)

Ricky's logic is simple. Keep predicting Nole will win till Nole stops winning.

Court positioning?! So this guy thinks he has discovered something new and we should act surprised? He tends to make a theory out of something that we have been saying all the way, and that is that Rafa is hitting the ball shorter than before and he is allowing Nole play aggressive...Nole then push him far behind with his aggressive shots and Rafa's balls fall even shorter allowing Nole to hit those fabulous angle shots...so, what is new about this 12 minute story this guy has been telling? Simply nothing...we all know where the problem is...every time Rafa was able to hit the ball deeper Nole was not able to attack...

Numero, feel free to email this video to Isner...I would just love to see him play like that against Rafa...being tall as he is and with his (dis) ability to run and bend his knees to catch those curved shots of Rafa Isner will just be an easy target...

Boris Becker: French Open 2011: Force is with Novak Djokovic to dethrone Rafael Nadal, says Boris Becker

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/frenchopen/8524469/F rench-Open-2011-force-is-with-Novak-Djokovic-to-dethrone-Rafael-Nadal- says-Boris-Becker.html

Rafael Nadal does not know what has hit him. I have been reading the comments he made after his defeats in Madrid and Rome, and it seems as though it has not entered his head yet that he has been outplayed by Novak Djokovic on clay on successive Sundays.

He seems confused, almost as if it has not happened to him. Rafael Nadal has always had a game-plan for playing Roger Federer. He does not appear to have a game-plan for playing Djokovic.

Every previous year that Nadal has arrived in Paris for the French Open, he has been the favourite, but this year I am picking Djokovic.

In both Madrid and Rome, Nadal played the wrong game against Djokovic. He allowed Djokovic to dominate the rallies, and Nadal spent the whole match running from left to right, from right to left. Nadal is not going to win titles doing that against Djokovic.

If Nadal ends up playing Djokovic in the French Open final he will have to try to take charge of the rallies, otherwise he will lose again.

He has to appreciate that Djokovic has been beating him on clay and that he needs to play a different game against him.

_____________________________

John Mcenroe -

McEnroe: Nadal must change his game

"Rafa's going to have to think about changing some of the ideas he may have had before the last couple of matches," McEnroe said yesterday. "In particular he might have to take a few more chances and try to get Djokovic on the defensive a little bit more.

"It appeared that he was allowing Djokovic to dictate play and was banking on him missing and not being consistent enough. It seemed like he was getting pushed around too much"
_________________

So I guess Ricky Dimon's pick of Djokovic over Nadal makes sense..

i agree. if nole makes the finals regardless of who he meets i'd say nole will win. his confidence is sky high, he's fit, healthy, moving fantastically well, doing everything right - all of which puts pressure on the opponent. nole definitely has the upper hand right now. too good is too good. nothing much that you can really say.

Nadline, numero, miridula, natashao, LOL... My eyes were wide open when I saw the title of this video on YT, I mean, although what he said is correct, he does not show how a lesser player than Djoker can beat Rafa.

'Djokovic and Nadal is about who can blow who off the court and the answer is Djokovic'

Of course the player who manages to blow his opponent off the court will most probably win.

Unless Rafa does something different, or if for some reason Nole is in a slump, if
Rafa meets Nole at RG, he is going to lose. This isn't because of court positioning or vulnerable backhand or whatever, it is simply because Rafa lacks the confidence which he had last year after his clay slam. Winning is not just technique or strategy, a large part of it is what the player does instinctively based on a whole lot of subconscious factors. Right now he doesn't have the confidence of the "expert" so he is trying to think what to do. He is playing at the third level of competence (conscious competence). If he plays at the highest level viz unconscious competence, then he has a chance. Something should happen to restore his self-belief.

Fuzzy Yellow Balls - A video on tactics used by Djokovic to beat Nadal

http://www.fuzzyyellowballs.com/how-to-beat-rafael-nadal/

How to Beat Rafael Nadal

Novak has taken out Rafael Nadal the last four times they?ve played. Twice on a hard court and, more importantly, twice on a clay court.

This video looks at the tactics Djokovic is using to beat Nadal, and how the Serb is uniquely qualified to take out the five-time French Open champ.

Some people talk as if Rafa doesn't have a brain. Do know that Rafa was playing his normal clay court game against Nole, once at high altitude and once at sea level. If anythiing, Rafa was trying to size up how Nole played on the clay court. Half way through the second set in the Rome final, Rafa was trying some 'moonballing' and see whether it had any effect on Nole. Now do we think that Rafa and his team did not watch Nole's matches, especially against Ferrer, Bellucci and Murray? Those three tried different tactics against Nole with some degree of success. Can Rafa adopt one of their approaches but execute it to perfection to beat Nole? Rafa did mention that unless one played like Bellucci, it's difficult to beat Nole. Rafa obviously knew that at present he couldn't serve and hit like Bellucci, neither could he play the whole match like Murray did, ie junk balling. The only option left among the three would be to approach the net. Now Rafa had played more aggressively against Nole on the hard courts, at IW and Miami; he was positioning himself closed to the baseline and approached the net as much as he could and he did have some successes. If not for his serve, and his fitness and the heat factor, he might have won one of that two tournaments. So, all these talks about how to beat Rafa, mentioning his court positioning on clay being one of his weaknesses, was nothing new. For his fans, we already know his game inside out and we are still amazed as to how much he is still improving. Do I think Rafa can overcome all these so called weaknesses in his clay court game? Of course I do, for he's not the king of clay for nothing. His reserve on clay is still deep, that anytime he needs to, he'll dig deeper into his reserve. Why would he want to show Nole and the others all that he's capable of, and allow them to come up with game plans to counter his play. Remember 2010 FO? We were a bit worried about the weather then, favoring Sod's style of play, especially after Sod beat Fed in the QF, with a bit of help from the weather change; and we saw what happened in the final?

Of course Nole may be different or much better than the Sod of last year, and Rafa isn't that spectacular this year compared to last year, still Rafa will sure go out there to fight and do his utmost best to defend his territory, confident or not!

If Rafa and Nole meet in the finals, Rafa will lose regardless of any tactics he applies.

atul, why? So you think Nole is unbeatable? Or it's just Rafa not being able to beat Nole anymore? I happen not to think so. Both Fed and Rafa are great players not just because of their pure tennis skills, or their physical power and fitness, but rather their good tennis brain. As good as Nole is now, he's no where near to Fedal in terms of court craft, shot selection and the understanding and reading of the game.

Rafa is a better all round player than Nole, it's just that he's unfortunate at the beginning of the year that he missed his Rafa slam because of some reasons. Just read what Fedal and Murray said about Nole, at the ATP website. All three agreed that there's not much changes in Nole's game, it's his confidence that's the difference. Had Fed or Rafa or Bellucci or Murray beaten Nole along the way, we won't be talking about his winning streak now, and his confidence would certainly not be sky high like now.

@luckystar - you hit the nail on the head...thats I dont think Rafa will be able to beat Nole sud they meet in the finals.....Nole is supremely confident, while Rafa is not.

I wonder if Nole and Rafa do meet in the final and Rafa does end up beating Djoker, wonder what 90% ppl who are so sure Rafa will lose to Djoker will have to say?

It is very obvious that Rafa will be more nervous than Nole in the final if they meet, Nole has to win it the 1st time and I dont think he will bother about his unbeaten streak...but dont discount Rafa to give in his title just like that ..I am sure he will put in his best ..and it will not boil down to who is employing better tactics..it just will boil down to who is hungrier and wants it more

I am rather equally worried about Soderling and Murray especially given Sods history and reputation of taking out World No 1 cum defending champ last 2 years (:-

Folks what about Federer v/s Ferrer..could be another tricky one..Ferrer is known for his dogged resistance and Fed is of late not keeping up his level of play consistently in long maches

luckystar: The problem for Nadal is that he doesn't have the tactics and execution nailed down against Djoker. There was a graphic in the Rome match which showed Nadal spending 17% of the time at the baseline or inside the court where as Djokovic was 80% times inside the baseline.

That's exactly what JMac, Becker etc are saying. Nadal has to somehow find a way to get control of the baseline, and push Djoker on the defensive. He won't win if he is content to rally waaay behind the baseline, loop the ball back and allow Djoker to dictate. In the past that might have worked, but right now Djoker is too solid. He doesn't MISS. Shot to shot he dominates Rafa. The Serb doesn't even need to go for an outright winner because he knows he can rally with Nadal for long rallies and prevail. In fact he's doing that consistently.

So now the question is executionm for Rafa. Here's the problem IMO. I didn't see a concrete strategy against Djoker by the Nadal camp. He tried to be a little more aggressive in Rome in set 1. but after he lost that set,. proceeded to defend and loop his backhands.

I don't think Rafa can fix his backhand overnight. His MONEY shot is still the forehand. That's the wing he can take chances from. And because Nadal is so over-matched shot by shot against the Djoker this is even more important. Rafa has to be (and CAN be) more aggressive with his forehand - go for more and try boss Djokovic around, even at the expense of a few UFEs. Nadal does this on grass courts and hardcourts, but now needs to do it on clay.

I feel Nadal is being stubborn. He wants to beat Djokovic using his clay game and the same tactics that worked against everyone. But the fact is, this didn't even get Nadal to a TB in 2 matches against the Djoker. It is telling that guys like Murray,. Ferrer, Belluci gave more trouble to Djokovic than king of clay did. Especially in Rome, where Nadal couldn't finish what Murray started the previous day. Also with each loss, Djokvoic is gaining more confidence and Nadal is losing his. No wonder both in Madrid/Rome , Rafa went 0-40 on serve while serving to stay in the match.

The difference between a MS and a GS is exaggerated. And Novak "has" won slams before, so I don't believe he will suddenly dip because he is nervous.
Nadal will need to make the necessary adjustments and get his A game on June 5th. I think he can do so, but he needs to acknowledge the problem and be open to change, coz what worked before is not working now..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3Xsb3x9vVE#t=3m02s

See this clip of 2005 Rafa vs Coria Rome final. See how aggressive he is with his forehand and how he "bosses" Coria around.

In 2005 Rafa's forehand is a good mix of I/O, DTL and cross court, unlike 2011 when 85% forehands are cross court.

He used the inside out forehand a LOT in 2005. To me it is strange that Nadal has decreased the use of that shot in the past few yrs. Typically it's the bread and butter of a lefty ( see Thomas Muster for ex). It's extremely useful because it can change the dynamic of a neutral rally with one shot. This SHOT is extremely important against the Djoker.


Rafa's return of serve position is NORMAL in 2005. Now he stands 15 feet behind the baseline. His court positioning, too, is more aggressive compared to 2011 clay.

Rafa chases down wide balls on his forehand, and gets there in enough time to hit a DTL winner! In Rome 2011, Nadal barely gets to the wide forehand in time and usually threw a cross court short reply. He's getting extremely predictable with this and guys like Djoker, Murray, DP etc already lean towards their backhand side once they hit to Rafa's forehand..
_________

In summary, that's how Nadal needs to play against Djoker : return aggressively, hit the ball a little flatter, go for I/O, DTL and use the drop shot and move forward. Also use short slices to bring Djoker forehand.

Sure Rafa can do this. He does this on faster courts.. Why is he so hesitant these days? Where is the fire in the eyes that was there last year?

Rafa said in one of his interviews that he was aware of the fact his tactics did not work with Nole and that he would have to change and adjust his game but there is no time for that for this FO...I agree, Rafa and his team can not make drastic changes right now, it is too late and there is not enough time to work it out, but we will see...it's not that we are the smart ones who see what the problem is and Rafa and his team are ignorant and see nothing of it...for now, Rafa needs to play consistently well against his earlier rounds opponents and try to practise some of his possible new approaches...and if he is to meet Nole in the finals I am sure he and his team will have something to say...VAMOS RAFA!

imjimmy I agree. In fact both Fed and Rafa are stubborn. From Fed's match against Nole at IW and Rafa's matches against Nole, confirmed this. Fed was basically trying to rally with Nole throughout the whole of set one at IW. It's only when Fed lost the first set, he changed his strategy and moved up to the net and won the second set. He was a break up in the third before losing it. I was wondering then, that why in the first place, Fed chose to rally with Nole and didn't change strategy during set one, and wasted all his precious energy in set one. Had he employed the right strategy from the beginning, we may not be talking about Nole's winning streak now, and would have a Fedal final in IW!

Same thing happened to Rafa on clay, at both Madrid and Rome. He obviously could play aggressively like he did on hard courts, but he chose to play tentatively. It's until he was 0-4 down in the first set at Madrid that he finally started to play more aggressively. Again I wonder why Rafa behaved like Fed, chose to play his own way instead of adjusting his game plan according to how Nole played. To me both Fed and Rafa are capable of changing their game midway through any match and their best games are still better than Nole's. Unlike Fedal, Murray had not played against Nole since the AO, so he needed time to adjust his game, and we saw in set two and three Murray was playing the right way against Nole. In my opinion, these three guys all have the game to deal with Nole, it's a matter of applying the right game plan consistently throughout the match and doing it with confidence. I also feel that a fit and healthy Delpo is also able to hit through Nole consistently and Delpo is one guy that comes with calm cool demeanor to last the whole match against Nole.

Like Fedal and Murray mentioned, it's all about Nole's confidence at the moment. It will be interesting to see how a loss will affect Nole's confidence going forward. I'm not worried about Rafa and his FO title. Last year, he had more to prove and he had overcome all challenges beautifully. This year Rafa is obviously not playing as well as last year for various reasons, and Nole and Murray are reaching their prime or peak at this time so Rafa suffering losses at their hands are understandable. Rafa cannot beat them all the time, he'll win some and he'll lose some. Rafa may not win the FO this year but that doesn't mean he can't winnin the future, so I'll look forward to Rafa equalling Borg's record at the FO, if not this year, then some time in the future.

Guys.. Please remember last year in Montreal and Cincinnati...Rafa got out in the semis of both..no one gave him a chance at the US Open..but he did win it and out of nowhere came that kickass serve...Rafa didnt unleash it during Montreal/Cincinnati and kept it a surprise for USO

Wouldnt be surprised if something is in the works for this years RG

Rafa confidence is very low now,
Definitely Nole can easily win if they meet in finals,
Really where is the fire in the eyes that was there in last years

On a lighter note , Maybe fire is in the belly and is taking time to reach the eyes :-)

True luckystar. The way things are looking, it doesn't seem to me that Rafa wins Rolland Garros, especially if the final is against Djokovic. I think he needs to go back to the basics and look at getting back to his early years when he was very aggressive. With time, as Rafa get slower (and he's lost a step already) it will become harder for him to grind matches and play defensively. He has made this change on grass and hardcourts, but he needs to do the same for clay.

We also forget that Nadal has dominated this surface for 6 years, and won 5 French Opens. How many players have done that? So it's only natural that Rafa is feeling the decline, and after all nothing lasts forever. Still you may be right that Nadal can win the French Open in the future. It is my belief however, that he will have more success with grass and hardcourts going forward.

The fact is that Nadal's forehand and movement used to be better on clay in the past. We can talk about the improvements in the rest of his game (and they are many), but the forehand and movement remain the backbone of his
game. He's a little slower now, and thus can't defend as well as he did ( see my video of 2005 - to see how faster he was then) , which means he can't win matches with defense the way he used to.

His forehand may have gotten better in terms of hitting it deeper in general, but when it comes to changing direction and going up the line, hitting it inside out, or hitting a passing shot on the run, it's not as good as it used to be

So I think Nadal will stop winning on clay, as guys like Djoker, Murray, Delpo etc enter their prime. But, if he schedules prudently and works on his offense, he can keep winning other slams. Especially Wimbledon, where his game shines IMO.

Nole hits his serve and forehand better, moves better, defends better, plays the percentages better etc etc. Now how can you dismiss all of that and just attribute it to confidence? Confidence can only take you far if you are equipped.

Another thing I wish to add, Rafa cannot keep winning the FO till no end. As great as Borg was on clay, he still lost to one player; and as good as Fed was on grass, he still suffered losses, at the hands of Rafa and Berdych at Wimbledon and Hewitt at Halle. Still Borg's legacy on clay and Fed's on grass still stand so I don't see any defeat at the FO will diminish Rafa's legacy on clay. I seriously don't see Nole or Delpo winning five FOs each to challenge Rafa. Also if Rafa can beat Nole and Delpo on clay in future to win the FO again should he lose now, that will go to prove that he's as good as ever despite Nole's or Delpo's challenges on the surface.

samprallica, please go to the ATP website and read what Nole's three rivals' take on Nole's game. I'm not the one who started this confidence talk, and I'm sure these three guys know better than you and me and all those here, who have not the honor to play against Nole on the tennis courts. For me, I rather believe them who have their real experiences playing against Nole, than believing any of us here who are probably sitting on the couch commenting.

Eh? Fedal and Murray have just given a typical press conference answer; whereas evidence of Nole's improved game is all out there on video.

Rooting for Nole of course but have no doubt that Rafa's team is coming up with answers. I am pretty sure they went through all the recent matches Nole played with Rafa, and brainstormed the tactics. They know same things Becker and Mc are saying, they don't need anyone to tell them that. So, that's what I, as a Nole supporter, am afraid of.

It's OK samprallica, we all can have different views and players can have theirs too. Nole is winning left right and centre so credit where credit is due. He certainly is playing well at the moment.

:::Cilic over Ramirez Hidalgo in 3:::
BING!!! First error... Ram got the first set:)
:::Federer over Lopez in 4:::
...this will be the second... Feli over Fed in 4 ...

luckystar is right. The only shot that has improved for Nole is his serve. And again that is not new for him. He always has a great serve, except for 2009, when his serve went down the toilet. So basically he's got his old 2008 serve back. Everything else is the same. The biggest difference, of course, is his physical and mental conditioning. The two are inter-related. Now that Djokovic is much stronger, and fitter, he is also strong in his mind and has confidence to rally with anyone.

In fact, Nadal was asked about what changed in Djokovic's game. Rafa actually said that Nole was as good as always, but now he was LESS offensive than before and calmer in important moments. In the past against Rafa and Fed, Novak used to press too much. He used to go for low percentage shots at the 6th or 7th shot in the rally. Now he's FAR MORE opportunistic. He remains solid and actually beats Nadal/Fed in 15+ (or longer) stroke rallies. He just doesn't MISS.

Furthermore, Djokovic displays controlled aggression. Against Rafa in Madrid and Rome, he didn't try to hit out of his mind like Soderling and others do against Nadal. Instead Djkovic had plenty of margin on his shots, he rallied patiently with Rafa and then seized the opening when he got a short ball. Tactically also he was very astute in terms of pushing Rafa behind the baseline and breaking down the Spaniard's backhand. The trouble was that even when Nadal took the offensive, Djokovic was able to defend spectacularly, hit deep and eventually take control of the point. This is what Nadal did to his oppoents in the past few yrs.

This is why I believe that with his current confidence and form, Djokovic is the man to beat at the French Open. And unless he level drips drastically, he should prevail comfortably in a potential Nadal final (and I really don't see anyone stopping him before the final).

imjimmy, I do agree that Rafa's game now works better on grass and on hard courts than on clay. Rafa was standing so far behind the baseline on clay while receiving serves. When asked about Fed not serving many aces (in fact no ace if I'm not wrong) at Madrid during his match with Rafa, Rafa mentioned that that was due to the fact that Rafa was standing far behind the baseline and that help Rafa to read Fed's serves better and hence preventing Fed from serving many aces. However, after the ball was returned and in play, what on earth prevented Rafa from moving closer to the baseline throughout the match? Certainly he is capable of playing aggressively on clay, like he did in 2008 and 2010. Also he can always bring his aggressive hard court game to the clay court, now that it's obvious that he can't move as well or change direction as well as he did in the past on clay. It seems to me that he plays with a mentality of being afraid to lose rather than playing to win. I'm afraid his illness and injury have done more harm to his confidence than we thought, as his fitness does suffer a bit this year; couple that with consecutve losses to Nole in the finals, it's no wonder Rafa plays so tentatively and uninspiringly nowadays.

Fully agree luckystar. That's the trouble: Nadal returns from far behind, but then does not move up the court as the rally progresses. Also on his own serve, he backs down a little too easily. The further you are from the baseline, the more court you end up covering, and Novak is smart enough to use angles to move Nadal laterally side to side continuously.

Anyway, to me he looks burned out mentally and physically. I mean, everyone is talking about the fact that Djoker played so much and might get tired. But in truth, Rafa has played more matches than Djoker (42 to Djoker's 36). And this when he had such an amazing run last year, has to be even more debilitating.

Plus Nadal has been ill twice and lost a slam because of it . He's always been stubborn, whether it was continuing to play in Doha when he was unfit, or now, with his persistence with the old clay game, which he cannot execute because he is not as fast as before.

Lastly as you mentioned 4 consecutive losses to anyone does hurt, especially when the losses are so close together. I could see that in Madrid/Rome where Rafa had no confidence while serving to stay in the match and went 0-40 each time.

It may be that Nadal loses the F.O, and then the lack of confidence carries forward in Wimb where he stumbles again. But I really believe that Nadal's team has to take a lesson from this. They need to schedule prudently, and ensure Nadal remains fit, fresh and motivated for the slams. Look at Borg. He only played 1 (or max 2) F.O warm up events, so every single F.O he was fresh, and same for Wmbledon, where he didn't play any warm up at all. That's why he won so much. Nadal needs to do the same, and cut down on his schedule and other activities..

imjimmy, I hate reading your posts about Rafa, they are always full of doom and gloom. I've just glanced through you last para above and my opinion was confirmed, why don't you try looking on the bright side sometimes or get off Rafa's back. Try talking someone else down for a change.

:::Cilic over Ramirez Hidalgo in 3:::
BING!!! First error... Ram got the first set:)
:::Federer over Lopez in 4:::
...this will be the second... Feli over Fed in 4 ...

zare , 5/22/11 12:48 PM


Yes. Cilic is 2 sets down and 0-3 down in the 3rd set.

nadline, please don't get angry with imjimmy. We are all concern about Rafa. I do agree with imjimmy that proper scheduling is the way to go for Rafa. Rafa really needs time to rest. Just imagine last year, Rafa and Fed were so involved in their charity matches that both of them had not much time to rest. Rafa was reported saying that he only could afford one day rest before he started training for the new season. Plus, Rafa also had his sponsors/endorsements commitments. I believe Rafa had his virus infection because his body immunity was low then due to lack of rest. It's painful to see Rafa affected by both illness and injury that he missed his chance for the Rafa slam. All these did cast some doubts in Rafa's mind I believe. It's because Rafa is so good at his game that he's able to reach six finals out of eight tournaments played, and he was only second to Nole so far this season. It's ironical though that because he's so good that he reached those four masters finals and got beaten by Nole and that further dampened his confidence. I sincerely hope that his team, especially uncle Toni, can encourage him and help him to ride over this difficult moments.

Rafa is always under tremendous pressure to perform well and defend all his clay titles. It's OK when he's fit and healthy and his confidence is sky high; it's not Ok if he's not as fit or as healthy as he used to be, his 2009 for example. Whatever is happening now may work for him or against him, there's always positives and negatives to be taken for each situation. Negative being if he doesn't perform well at the FO, it may go on to affect his grass season. Positive thing is come next year, Rafa may not feel the pressure of defending so many titles, and there are opportunities to increase his ranking points. Of course the ideal situation for him is still to defend his slam titles this year. I hope he can do so!

What on EARTH is up with Cilic??? But zare, predicting is very difficult, don't think u should knock Ricky for having a brave go.....some of his sarcy comments...well that's different....;)

Cilic is out. In straights.

The nadal/djokovic match up on clay comes out to this. Djokovic isn't about to pit his own Forehand to the Nadal Forehand on clay over 5 sets. He'll He wont win if he does. The key to the Nadal/Djokovic matchup is how well Nadal copes with what he knows would be coming if the two men square off in the final: the relentless onslaught to his backhand side from Novak. If he's able to withstand it(which means his backhand will have to be at his absolute best), he'll win. If Djokovic can magage to keep Nadal from executing a barrage of Forehands like he has all Spring, then he'll win. That's pretty much it in a nutshell.

Luckystar, I agree that we have to be realistic but it's depressing to read posts sounding like Rafa is slumping and will never beat Nole again, when he has made 4 Masters finals in a row. We have to expect too much of him perhaps but Rafa always pointed out that he is not unbeatable on clay and that he could lose anytime he goes on court.

Right now tennis commentaors are all being too wise after the event picking Nole for everything. I would take them more seriously if they'd predicted Nole's rise after the AO because now even a 7 year old would pick him to win anything.

Rafa won't be playing until Tuesday, I just hope he beats Isner easily, it's not the first round opponent I would have wished for, but we are where we are.

Gulbis is out as well. When is he ever gonna play up to his potential.

Never!

Second day schedule is out! Djokovic and Federer are playing matches 2 and 3 respectively on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Rooting for Nole of course but have no doubt that Rafa's team is coming up with answers. I am pretty sure they went through all the recent matches Nole played with Rafa, and brainstormed the tactics. They know same things Becker and Mc are saying, they don't need anyone to tell them that. So, that's what I, as a Nole supporter, am afraid of.
danica
, 5/22/11 12:16 PM


Thank you, danica......for injecting some good sense inot an otherwise mindless debate.

As for me.........am taking a vow of silence until after 2 weeks........when Rafa is biting the RG trophy............

I just love picks...Why there isn't anyone picking? :)
4th round
Nadal over Ferdasco in 3
Sod over Gillmon in 4
Murray over Aleksandr in 4
Almagro over Melzer in 3
Ferrer over Monfils in 5
Fed over Wawa in 3
Montanes over Berdych in 4
Djokovic over Gasquet in 3

QF
Nadal over Sod in 3
Almagro over Murray in 4
Fed over Ferrer in 5
Djoko over Montanes in 3

SF
Nadal over Almagro in 3
Federer over Djoko in 4

F
Nadal over Fed in 3
Nadal is my absolute favorite to take the 7th title of his, and tie Borg's record.

Nadal is my absolute favorite to take the 7th title of his, and tie Borg's record.


Ice
, 5/22/11 5:54 PM


6th.......not 7th

Ice, I don't think Fed will win against Djoko if they meet in SF.

I must agree with nadline about some of the depressing comments here. One would think that Rafa was a fool and didn't know what he needed to work on. It's easy to be an armchair coach, as it were. Anyone can sit back and rattle on about Rafa doing this or not doing that.

I really don't like saying that Rafa is burnt out mentally and physically. I think some people are relentlessly doom and gloom and overanalyze Rafa's game, his fitness, his scheduling to the point where it becomes repetitive.

I think with natashao's post at 11:13 a.m. Rafa is aware of the issues that need to be addressed in his game, however there isn't a lot of time to work on them with RG upon us already. I read some twitters on a Rafa fan forum, indicating that Uncle Toni is working with him on his ROS. That's good to hear.


Rafa has a tough first round match with Isner. Anyone who says that this is the player you would want to see in your first match, is kidding themselves. Rafa usually likes to play himself into form and having to deal Isner the ace machine right out of the gate, is not going to be easy. I have no doubt that he will get through, but playing against Isner is not a good way to get your rhythm and timing going.

NNY, this is the normal media and tennis fans' response to a top player's who is not having the best results. The same people are making Fed's decline to no.3 look as if he has declined to no.30.

Rafa had an almost perfect past-12 months, so he's on a relatively bad patch now. Everybody has theories on what is wrong with him.

Actually Rafa had fitness issue at the beginning of the year. Right now he has confidence issue, however this confidence issue only happens when he plays against one particular player. Against all others, he has no such problem, in fact he's playing better against all other players. Comparing his results so far this year, against same period last year, he gains 420 hard court points and loses 300 clay court points, so overall he's slightly better than last year same period. All I can deduce is that Rafa has improved on his hard court game, maybe at the expense of his clay court game, though I feel fitness plays a part this year in his clay game being a little off. He isn't moving or changing direction as well this year on clay compared to in the past. Maybe it's time he plays aggressively on every surface now, since he already has his aggressive game for both the grass and the hard courts. Rafa may end up like Fed, ie having a game that is good enough to win on any surface. To me this is something positive, having a game that is good enough to win on all surfaces, how many players can actually say that about their own game.

Let us see how he plays against Isner. I cannot imagine Rafa being just content to say that I am playing as well as I can but Nole is playing better, Nole can't play like this forever, I will bide my time and seize opportunities when they present themselves. Although after Rome I am more inclined to believe Rafa is really clueless about what to do to beat Djokovic, I will still wait till the end of RG before confirming any such belief..

imjimmy,

Every time you come here and post the same old thing about why Rafa can't do this or that, why he can't win, he's tired, he doesn't do this and doesn't do that. You are the same person who famously came here before last year's USO and posted endlessly to the effect that Rafa had no chance to win it then or maybe ever. You went on and on and on, the same way you are now, maybe a few words have changed, but the message is still the same depressing mantra about Rafa's physical and mental health. You have precisely no information on which to base your assumption that Rafa is burnt out physically and mentally. So he was ill in Doha. That was January, this is now. He recovered from it long ago, so why don't you let it go instead of harping on it.

Maybe you should send Rafa an e-mail or go on his facebook page and give him the benefit of your wisdom, so you can tell him what he should be doing on court. You need to read Rafa's comments more, so you will realize that he knows what the issues are in his game and also understands how he matches up against Nole. It's easy to tell him what he should be doing, but you are not the one who has to go out on the court and do it.

We should have faith in Rafa and hope that he can bring his best tennis to RG.

People should have some sportsman sprit.

Nadal is one of the most clever players on tour so saying he can't beat Djoker is stupidity..(Even if people say may be nadal won't be able to beat him is another thing and saying he can't do it is simply unfair.)

Djoker is the man of the moment but still many times his strak was under threat...(Against Berdych in Dubai..Bellucci in Madrid..Murry in Rome)...And one positive for nadal should he won Monte carlo which has slower turf..and Djoker missed that event.

As Fed said "being sportsman you need to be open for criticism", but critising someone again and again is not fair..

Let's wait for tournament to proceed and then we can say who is playing at which level..

Be prepaired,"The bull" can hit hard this time..

If I was a tennis ignorant person who only came here to read some posts and learn something of tennis I would come to a conclusion that Rafa is the average TIRED player, who is in decline, who has no confidence, bad court positioning, no working backhand, team backing him up which has no clue what to do and if I did not know what Rafa has done so far reaching four finals and losing only to a player who is flying right now, I would say this guy Rafa is some lower ranked player who will have hard time with all the opponents and if he overcomes those SERIOUS OBSTACLES there will be no way for him to beat Nole in the finals...?!!

I fully agree with Nadline and Native, please just stop posting these depressing and downplaying posts of Rafa...The way you put it Nole will be the luckiest person on earth to meet Rafa in the finals as according to you Rafa seems less dangerous than De Bakker to that manner...I can't believe how certain Rafa's fans don't have any faith in Rafa...

Could someone arrive at the percentage of success of Ricky Dimon's prediction/assessment, it is now as good or bad as the first serve percentage of Roger. That provides a window of opportunity for all the others execpt the predicted winners and I would not be surprised if he is proved wrong in the end. Best of wishes Ricky.

:::Cilic over Ramirez Hidalgo in 3:::
BING!!! First error... Ram got the first set:)
:::Federer over Lopez in 4:::
...this will be the second... Feli over Fed in 4 ...
zare
, 5/22/11 12:48 PM

Gotta call you out on this one zare. Roger's not that bad off yet. ;))

SF:

Raonic over Simon in 5
Fed over Berdych in 4

Final:

Raonic over Fed in 4

Raonic, Berdych and Lopez are all out of FO now. What's with all these predictions? I think the safest bets are still Fedal and maybe Nole, Ferrer, Murray and Almagro. I say maybe because these four guys are also not that consistent at the FO all along, though after two years of not so good performances at the FO, Nole is now in a good position to do better than before.

Almagro is a tad overrated. He hasn't done much but win the lesser clay tournaments. Watching highlights of Nole yesterday has me convinced that he's not ready to bomb out in this tournament and will reach the finals.

SF: Novak Djokovic over Papa Smurf in 5
Bart Simpson over Rafa nadal in 3

F: Holmer Simpson over Novak in 2 (ret.)

Rafa can never loose..its either he wins or he played badly or have virus

Oh Rafa loses quite a lot. It is Fed who never loses. Either he has mono or a back or leg problem and even when he is winning only minor tournaments he is the true number 1.