good effort by Gaba

Tremendous effort by Gaba...:D

Great win for Nadal, with gears to spare.

Hi,
This is my 1st post so was just checking..
I believe Rafa played a much much better HC match than he has been playing in the summer season. And as for that BH slice he is coming up again and again instead of that magnificent Flat BH, its just because the lack of confidence which Rafa is having right now on his BH. This lack of confidence is because is BH not delivering in Cincy/Toronto.
But the good news is, by the 3rd set I could feel the confidence getting back into him, which was quite evident by the full flow which was coming into the BH in the 3rd set.
And the serve of course WOOF!!!!!
By the look of things, Rafa is certainly heading into the right direction to reach HC form which he is capable of?.. Once its achieved there would be nothing much to discuss?..
Vamos Rafa?

I want Rafa win this title sooo badly and I believe he is capable of doing it..
Everyone chooses Murray over him in the semis but I know that he'll find some way to win cause he wants this title so badly,too. And if he wants something this much we all know that he gets it. vamos big champ....

Rafa has to negotiate his way through some very good players, if he does all that and gets to the 2nd week, watch out guys, he'll have honed in on his game, and those who have a sunshine slick of a draw will definitely come up short. But a long way to go yet, we must take it one match at a time, and not get too far ahead of ourselves.

VAMOS!

Very entertaining match by both players. Congrats Rafa!

It was a good solid performance from Rafa, against opponents like Gabashivli you need to be consistent and keep the unforced errors to a minimum and thats what he did. Like you atagore I noticed the serve had a bit more snap to it. It's clear now that he realises the serve is the key to his chances and he focused a lot on trying to generate more power. Have to say tho time between points was pushed to the limit aat times and was suprised he didnt get a warning. Still Gulbis is out and Nalbadian was pushed all the way too, so his chances have increased even more..

RAFA defenitely favourite now for USO.
GABA kept points short,that why he had many.
if you are into rally with RAFA, then you will get blasted.

interesting to see how Murray will play him in this form.

Welcome to all you new comers!!

Yeah i thought Rafa served very well but was tentative in the first two sets. He needs to gain a bit more confidence like he had in the third set. I agree with your post atagore!

Howvere, i thik that Rafa's performance puts him in good stead to reach the semis again for the third time and if he gets to the final he WILL win!!!..........there will just be no stopping him, and I think the rest of the field knows that all too well!!!

VAMOS!!!

rafa served really well. he has said that he is trying to flatten out his shots and serve even more now. he struck a 131 mph serve and when a journalist referred that rafa smiled and said that he will be striking a 135 mph soon,lol.

bakhand was surely better and I am sure it will get better and better.

another good news for us rafans is that rafa is ALMOST NEVER sharp in 1st rnds of majors and just keeps improving so there is PLENTY MORE TO COME SO WATCH OUT guys .vamosss !!

sabs - how is Nadal the favorite after beating Gaba 6, 6, and 3?

Ricky,
RAFA looks like unbeatable now in slams.
This may not be his fav GS, still I cannot think of someone who can beat him.
As it appears he will beat all and win this.
My arg is not backed by any statistics or analyzis,but cannot think of he is getting beaten this year in a GS.

saw most of the match...was a high quality affair....it was good to see rafa being a bit more aggresive....serve was very good....there was a particular backhand crosscourt that brought back memories from ao 09...he RIPPED IT :)

@sabs.....i have 3 names in my mind that can beat rafa at uso...1)andy murray...2)djokovic.....3)del potro(injured atm)

sabs - wait, you dont see anyone who "can" beat him?

in other words. nobody in the entire draw is even "capable" of beating him?

hahahahahahahahahahahaha

@ricky,
how many potential rafa-killers are there in this draw for you??? i can think of only 3

Well done rafa, solid performance against a tough opponent. Just don't be saving your best for muzz:)

sabs/vrael - you REALLY don't think 5-in-a-row-followed-by-runner-up fed can't beat rafa at FM? Personally I'd quite like to think fed wasn't a serious contender, but don't you think it might take a bit of the pressure off rafa if his fans at least pretended he was the under-dog?

for me the POTENTIAL rafa-killers at this years open are murray, djokovic, federer .

@alex...federer is there ofcourse....and he can beat him...no doubts on that.....but i place federer behind murray,djokovic and del potro regarding their chances of beating rafael......its a lot about match ups....imo rafa will take roger ON anyday in a uso final...he wont be as confident against someone like a delpo though~!!!

Gee, I just wish muzz was as confident against fed in slam finals as rafa is. hopefully toronto was a taste of future things.

Interesting you've got djoker on that list. I know it's all about match ups, and there's no doubting djoeker's talent, especially on h/c, but I don't think rafa would have a huge amount of difficulty with him right now.

Monalysa and Lebsta, thanks for you input on my post.. its pretty encouraging!!!:)
@all:- guys lets just take it match by match, point by point... lets just not get ahead of ourselves here!!!!
lets stick to the Rafa approach... Point by Point, Set by Set, Match by Match!!!!

@alex....nole of 08 and 09 used to beat rafa consistently on hards....at the moment,ill say rafa will beat him....but he is always dangerous against nadal,they'v played 21 times....the same amount as rafa and roger have against each other...surprisingly the h2h is the same too...:)

It was nice to see Rafa's serve improved and his game overall, specially in the third set. Although the first set was somewhat painful, with memories of Cincy coming back. Let's hope he continues to improve and can get those BH over the net!

I dont wish to throw a spanner in the works guys but don't be too hasty to underestimate Federer. He is a man with a mission.

I know one shouldn't read too much into the easy win against Dabul but it was verging on masterclass performance from Roger and showed he has tidied up his act a lot.

To me, a Fed at his best, ie in his TMF days will beat Rafa at the USO. If Rafa could reached the USO finals earlier on, like say the way he did at the Wimbledon, most likely Fed would have beaten him the first two times and then Rafa would turn the table against Fed and started beating him and from then they'll beat each other. Too bad they didn't meet in the past and if they meet in this final, I think most likely Rafa can beat Fed, if he can stretch Fed and forced him to go the distance.

Rafa's killers in this USO? In the semi, could be Murray, though I think if the match goes the distance, Rafa will get the better of Murray. In the final, if Nole can make his way there and with relative ease, then I think he'll be a difficult customer for Rafa in the final. Nole has the hard court game to trouble Rafa and if Nole can find his A game in time, coupled with Rafa having a difficult time during his semifinal, then Nole can beat Rafa in maybe four sets. If Rafa is fresh and hang in there to go to five sets, then Rafa can beat Nole.

A healthy Delpo will always be a tough opponent for Rafa on the fast hard courts. He'll most likely beat Rafa 6 out of 10 times they meet on fast hard courts. If Rafa not at his best, like in USO 09, then the results will be worse for Rafa.

Are all the Nadal fans stupid?? I think rafa is maybe fourth, fifth choice to win the us open, it is the same saying that there is nobody who can beat federer at Roland Garros !! Iam not saying that Fed will win, but is one of the favourite's to win the title, if not the top favourute. The guy made 2 finals in a row on hard, with one win, has 6 finals in a row and won five and the Nadal fans say that Rafa is still the favourite?? I understand that you have a favourite player, but let's keep it real! This site is called tennistalk, they better call it nadal talk. There are only NAdal fans here who think that he is god. Go take a look at this site, www.menstennisforums.com here there all sort of fans not only fans who say rafa is god and can't lose.

taxon ... I don't think all the Nadal fans are stupid.

taxon, you seem always having problem with Nadal fans and many times, due to your not able to read and understand properly what others were saying and you jumped into conclusions. I'm afraid no one here except you said that Nadal is god. Please quote me who said Nadal is god here? You are the only one who said so.

Why feel so offended when Fed was not regarded by some here as favorite? Can't people here have different opinions? Or they all have to agree with you and you only? Fed's hard court results this year have been up and down. Just when you thought he winning the AO would mean that he'll do well at the spring NA hard court masters, he flamed out early in both events. He did well in both the summer hard court masters but he did lose to Murray in the final; and he did have an advantage with the playing conditions in Cincy while the other guys were suffering from the heat and humidity during their day matches. Despite him having favorable conditions, he was still being pushed by Fish to three sets during the final and Fish played more matches and more sets than Fed did. To me Fed didn't seem impressive to me, relative to his 2009 form going into the USO. Am I not entitled to my opinion??

almost everyone left in the draw "can" beat Nadal

and i think about thee to five people "WOULD" beat Nadal

taxon, if Rafans believe in Rafa, what's your problem? You are free to make your own choices, at the end of the day it's all a matter of opinion, and we are all entitled to have one.

You may be the stupid one not seeing Rafa's many qualities, for all we know. So don't start throwing stones, because you fail to see what we see in Rafa. No sane person can fail to see what a god's gift Rafa is to tennis, no?

VAMOS RAFA!

So Ricky, how many people are left in the draw that would beat, Federer, Djokovic and Murray?

Taxon is just trying to bait the Rafa fans with that comment. It's best to ignore it. Rabid Fed fans are always coming on here to insult Rafa fans. They read and look for any excuse to jump in and attack Rafa and defend Fed.

Same old, same old. Some things never change. :)

No trouble Native.

VAMOSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it's always a slow start for rafa in the first week of grandslams even in roland garros......for those who forgot he had two 5 setters in the 2nd and 3rd rounds of Wimbledon but after that he destroyed everybody standing on the opposite side of the net and once he gets to the 2nd week he is unstoppable....so rafa prove them wrong and win the uso you can do it boy vamooooooooos

Excuse me taxon!!!!!.............I am a Rafa fan...........but I am NOT stupid thank you very much!!!!

My personal belief is that Rafa CAN win the US Open and nothing anyone says is going to make me believe otherwise!! Rafa has all the credentials to go all the way in this Open. Look so far some of the so called "hard courters"............countless of them..........have already been sent home packing IN THE FIRST ROUND!!!!!!!!! Rafa is still there!! Look forward to some more surprises as the heat may take down a few more victims!!

Rafa is more than capable of winning this............its not stupid..........its a fact!!!!!!!

Rafa is World No 1, some people don't like it, so they try to rubbish him to make other players look good.

nadline - i would say rafa is one of the most popular players out there among those who are not actually his fans. if you remove some fed fans from the equation, most folk seem to really like him, and it's very understandable for his personality as well as his tennis. I don't think the same can be said about fed among non-fed fans - maybe something to do with the triumphalism of some of fed's fans.

alex, I don't think that Rafa gets enough respect as World No 1 from a lot of people.

rafa is not capable of winning US Open
this time he will be definitely out before the semis

lol...saxenanalin i remember your predictions for rg and wimby...u should stop ur soothsaying

predict Rafa cannot win USO is absolutely only based on hate.... He is no 1... even Roger said if he can reach semi, he is absolutely can reach final and win.... Rafa is so nice and sweet.... only evil can hate him...

Just relax Rafa.... u got 2 slams this year already.... soon or later ur opportunity will come.... Vamos Champ!!

I think this saxen fella should worry more for his/her own idol than to worry about Rafa. Thanks anyway for worrying about Rafa, Rafa will do just fine and you do not need to lose sleep about him not winning the USO!

Is it not posible to be a fedal fan?
Nadal haters not neccesaraly be a fed fan and it applies other way too.

Ricky,
Only Murray got advantage over RAFA in USO and Fed got 50-50 chance, all others cannot even go near him. Success is a habit, once you have it
its diffucult to dethrone you, especially for mortals.

sabs,

I totally agree with you. A healthy Rafa WILL beat them all.

I remember saxenanalin stupid statement during Wimbledon...she said "IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BEAT ROGER ON GRASS". So i'll take this chance to HUMILIATE Her by slapping and kick her on the face because she disappeared right after the QF of Wimbledon.

..and I got no chance to roll them (fedfarts) over like a dirty rag carpet because they suddenly desserted TT and nowhere them to find.

All I know is that a lot of people had to eat large helpings of humble pie when Rafa won his 2nd Wimbledon title, and Federer didn't even make the SF.

yeah......he played well...his backhand was ok..serve very good...I just loved it..

@taxon , 9/1/10 7:42 PM
There is a poll in the archive (issued after Australian Open) : How many more Grand Slam titles will Roger Federer win in 2010?
Votes: 11 % - 0, 13.5 % - 1, 32.7 % - 2, 42.8 % - 3. 9559 votes total.

It seems that at least 75,5% of Fedfans are stupid.

These federerfarts cannot deal with Rafa's career projection because:

Rafa @ 24 got 8 slams, while their beloved big mouth Roger got only 6 at the age 24.

There!!! You can understand their hate for Rafa and wishes against him not to win USO & AO before turning 25.

If Rafa wins USO & AO (very possible because Rafa is healthy) it's gonna be:

Rafa 11 Slam @ 24, Roger pathetic 6 Slam @24.

Crossing my fingers including my toes for Rafa to make it happen.

Vamos !!!!!!!

I mean 10 Slam @24 not 11. Maybe I put 11 as part of my subconscious includes RG which is normally end up 2 days after Rafa's bday hehehe.

Vamos Rafa...show them all what you got !!!

Raindrops- if rafa wins the US Open he will also be the youngest player to win all four majors!
:)

Oh pretty please!!!!!!!! How will the fedarts deal with that

@raindrops
first of all I must tell u dat I'm a man not a women
u seem to be a fed hater and dats why u r saying so bad things abt federer
just wait n watch
nadal is not in the best of forms
his first round has shown dat
cmmon federer...............

These times with so many good players who on their best day can beat almost anyone, it is so hard to predict who will lift the trophy and who is considered to be the favorite...Ricky saw Rodick and Berdy in quarters and Cheryl predicted Gulbis would face Rafa in quarters and even saw Rodick in the final and what happened is that all of them are gone early...having Llodra and Tipsarevic in the third round means nothing as they will most likely be inconsistent and end up being easily beaten by their next opponents (although Llodra may beat Hanescu)...it is not stupid from any of us fans to speculate and make predictions. It's rude and primitive to call us Rafa fans stupid for believing in our guy!

All I am almost certain about one thing, which is, if Rafa reaches final he will be unbeatable. Nobody, and even those h/c specialists like Fed or Nole will not be able to stop him. If Rafa is in the final he will not miss the opportunity to win USO. All Rafa needs to do right now is play his matches focused with desire to improve his game...all I see missing from his game is the backhand which he is clearly working on and he must continue to do so...it would be good to have the serve at this level and better, but we shall see...Vamos Rafa!!!

I'm wondering why RickyDimon is so adamantly writing Rafa off now in many tourneys? there was a time when he was his favourite. I wonder when and why this change came?
I wouldn't say Rafa is the favourite to win here - not by a long run - but I wouldn't be surprised if he did either.

It means nothing for Rafa's chances to win USO if he has played a long three-setter as opposed to Fed's easy match with Dabul...Fed was two sets down with Tommy Hass at RG last year and he won the trophy at the end. It really is not an indicator by which Rafa should be disregarded as one of the favorites so I see no point in Ricky's statement: ?how is Nadal the favorite after beating Gaba 6, 6, and 3??

We Rafa fans really love him and we believe in him. If we have high expectations from him that is because he thought us so, he has treated us with that comfort and pleasure all these years and we will be supporting him to the end. USO is SO IMPORTANT and this whole year Rafa was careful not to overspend his body and soul just to be ready for New York. He sure will fight for this one with all his guns!

Vamos Rafa Dearest!

hey saxenanalin,

Aside from being big mouth and arrognant, there is nothing I did say against your beloved idol. Which is true because your idol talked too arrogant. I hope it still fresh from yong stupid memory how your Idol discounted those 3 Clay Masters that Rafa won? I was so glad that Rafa make your Idol and all the fedfans eat garbage.

And what was that your Idol has said before Wimbledon, that his game is very much suited on Grass and he was so confident to win Wimbledon just to cut the points and get back to Number 1 ranking bwahahahahahaha? Is that what you made it say Roger is IMPOSSIBLE to beat on Grass? FOOL Fedfans hahaha, you eat again grass sprouted around the toilet along with your idol the real lawn goat haha.

You never learned your lessons stupid fedfarts!!

It is so excruciating that these fedfans cannot focus their attention with their idol. They come here to talk other players' dooms & glooms.

Just few words for you fedfans, Rafa is in mission and he will try his best to complete that mission, and all of his fans are in unison in one wish that he will succeed.

September 02.2010, Nueva York, E.U

Courtesy of ABC News
World tennis champ Rafa Nadal, whose biceps are practically Spanish national treasures, says the music that turns him on is a world away from the Shakira video that features his rippling muscles.

It's the theme song from "The Phantom of the Opera," called "The Music of the Night." Rafa said, "I love the musical. I was there in New York, watching that I think, six times."

As the U.S. Open got underway, Rafa spoke with Nightline about what drives him to the No. 1 rank and, if he claims victory at this final Grand Slam of 2010, would make him the youngest man ever to secure a career Grand Slam. A player must win all four Grand Slam competitions -- the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open -- over the years for a career Grand Slam and only a handful of other men in history have done it.

RAFA IN ABC NEWS
Video by ABC



Rafans here is a link to a great interview with Rafa:

Sorry, here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EJJeCOHcS0&feature=player_emb edded

yeah, nadline I saw it and I simply loved it! VAMOS RAFA!

I think all the top four guys are favorites to win the USO. On their good day(s), any one of them can beat the other three guys, at least their H2H said so. I give them equal chances of winning the USO, although I hope for my favorite player to win it. Other than the top four guys, which are the likely candidates who really have a chance to win the USO? I thought Berdych had a chance but we saw what happened. I can't think of any, not even Nalby as he is still inconsistent.

We saw two of the top ten departing in the 1st/2nd rounds (Berdych & Roddick), of the remaining ones (other than the top four) of Davy, Sod, Verdasco, Ferrer (in place of Tsonga who was absent), who is/are the likely one(s) to be out soon?

I'm watching Sod closely and see how he deals with Taylor Dent. Dent also plays the S & V game like Llodra, though in my opinion not as good, can Sod handle that kind of game?

Sod beat Dent 6.0 6.1 6.1 at RG this year. Dent could hardly get a first serve in, he served so many faults, that any one would have thought someone was impersonating him. If he brings his serve with him next time, he could be competitive.

I think it's too much of a shot in the dark to pick players who shine briefly here and there against the top players. Of course anyone can beat anyone, they are all professional tennis players after all, and if you catch someone on their off day, it doesn't suddenly propel you into a GS winner. These guys have been at the top for so long for a reason, and until someone can consistently beat them, when they are on their game, we can't really start picking outsiders, because it's just a guessing game.

Just heard that Dent has damaged his left wrist by holding his 30lbs 7 month old baby, so has tendonitis, so you can safely say Sod is through to the 3rd round.

Andy Murray's next opponent is Justin Brown from Jamaica, and being from the Caribbean I am certainly hoping that Justin will give a good account of himself!!

Here's wishing all the best to Rafa and Justin!!!!


VAMOS!!!!!!

RG is on clay, USO is on fast hard court. I don't think a fit Dent will get bagelled or breadsticked by Sod on the fast hard court of NA. North Americans not known to do well on clay. Funny thing is Sod was once the indoor hard court 'king' but he seems to be playing better on clay these days than on hard courts. If Dent is injured I suppose Sod would have a walkover, unless Dent is still able to play with a broken wrist. Sod wasn't impressive too in his first match here.

I think Sod will muscle his way through this match. Injured or not, I doubt Dent can hold up against Sod's power game for more than a set or two.

Sorry folks..........its Dustin Brown (from Jamaica)!!

GO Dustin GO!!! GO!! GO!!

Hey guys, when is rafa playing against istomin.?...

linuta ... Friday night ( if the hurraine rain and winds have passed).

thx..(:

Your welcome linuta ... not sure what a hurraine is ... I'm sure I must have meant hurricane. ;)

Rafa is on 2nd tomorrow night, so may not play till 2am UK time.



VAMOS!

I am over TT!!!!
Why? Because it's becoming about writing rafa off or plotting his demise! I am sick of it. If it's not the writers and biter fed fans it's the stupid Australian commentators on tv whole all they do during rafas matches are go on and on about how rafa can't win, about how much rafa sucks on hardcourts etc etc
A little respect is all I ask for, for this grand champion with 8 grand slams and a record braking and leading masters 1000 tally at the age of 24!

I hope rafa wins this and becomes the youngest player to win a career slam and then no one will be able to say anything anymore and I hope beats Murray and fed in succession to shut everyone up!!!!!

@saxenanalin, first of all raindrops is not a fed hater... he told the reality... secondly, ur comment is absolutely wrong... based on what u said Rafa is not in good form? His first 2 matches in wimbledon both were in 5 sets... probably u forgot that he won the title. Go back to all ur comments about Rafa, if u r normal, u must be ambarassed because all your predictions about Rafa went wrong... I suggest u take shower more often to clean your heart from hate....

[Relaxed Nadal says winning the U.S. Open not an obsession]
I think if we are talking generally, I probably arrived a little bit better than (in the) other years,? said Nadal, whose first opponent will be Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili. ?But I did two semi-finals (in the) last two years, so it wasnt a bad result. I was there.
Physically I'm fine. I was always fine mentally, just one time in 2008 when I lost the semi-final against Andy (Murray). I was too tired to win this tournament.

Nadal looked a little rusty on his return to the tour in Toronto and Cincinnati earlier this month but said there was no reason why he could not win the title in New York.
After a few years I am playing better and better in this tournament, but still the centre court is difficult to play, with more wind than the rest of the grand slams.
Sometime when you are against the wind, it seems like you are not moving the ball. But I did well. When you are in the semi-finals for two years, why not?
http://sports.yahoo.com/tennis/news?slug=reu-opennadal

It's true that it's very hard for Rafa to win this title compared to other grandslams, but absolutely he is in the good form, and if he plays his best, he can beat everybody.... Rafa game A vs Roger game A, chance is 50% for both... Rafa game A vs Murray game A, chance is 60% for Murray (only in USO)....

isabeau,

Don't let the predictions on this site get you down! They can say what they want, but it doesn't make it so. As Rafa has said so well in the past - anyone can predict what they want, but it has to happen on the court, that's where it counts. Wise words from this young man!

Rabid Fed fans will never give Rafa his due. They have this pathological hatred for Rafa because of what he has taken from Fed. Even if he wins this title, they will never give him the credit he deserves. In the end, it's not important that they do. Rafa will be in the record books and that's what counts.

Did you see nadline's post where she put up Ricky's prediction for Wimbledon? It didn't happen did it! Would you really feel better if he had picked Rafa to win the USO? It was never going to happen. I refuse to let that kind of thing bother me anymore. I will just sit back and watch it all play out!

I would so love to see Rafa win this in fine fashion!

NNY-
Thanks, just at my witts ends. I watched Rafas play against Gabs initially on the computer. I then watched the replay last night that I had taped and could not believe the Australian Commentators. All they did and I am not kidding was right off Rafa for the entire 3 hours. They are so biased. All they do when they commentate Rafa is plot his demise and support anybody other than Rafa, without so much saying so. Then we he is about to win or wins they change their tune but with backhanded compliments. Every tournament, ever match the commentate this is so!

Over it I tell you!

But you are right and thanks for calming me down!

isabeau,

I have been on Rafa fan forums and have heard them complaining quite often about the terrible Australian commentators. I guess between hearing all that drivel and then coming on here and seeing the predictions and then some of the comments, it can get to be too much.

We Rafa fans have to stick together. Rafa has a tough task. I am trying not to be nervous about Istomin. Ricky predicted that he will take a set off Rafa! Yikes! The guy just got to the final at New Haven and is the kind of big serving player that can trouble Rafa.

We need to stay strong and keep the faith! I have a hunch about how this tournament may play out, but am not confident enough to say it out loud. I don't have your psychic gifts and sometimes I am not sure about these feelings. I think it could just be that I want Rafa to win the USO so much, that it may be that desire and not a real premonition or sense of what will happen.

I will see if I feel the same way after his match with Istomin. I am just hoping that the hurricane doesn't cause it to be rained out. It will be the late night match after Venus. These are the times when I am so glad that I live out in L.A. on the west coast. No matter when it ends, it won't be late here!

Take care and stay strong! This is just my way of giving back when you helped me get through Wimbledon! :)

I guess Rafa had his back against the wall at Wimbledon and he won, so I will keep the faith....:)

You see I was wrong in my predictions about Berdych and Roddick, so I am not trusting myself any more, its all gone askew, maybe its because i have to many emotions invested and wasnt able to look at it properly. I dont know, but that is ok. What will be will be and either way I will be proud of Rafa.
In any case I will not look any further than one match at a time, just like Rafa...:D

Cheer up Isa. He's playing a night match (if it doesn't rain) so will be wearing his fab new outfit - that should put the fear of God in Istomin. Actually I cant believe for a moment Istomin will even be able to keep up with him. The only way he can even take a set will be if Rafa's serve goes missing which is highly unlikely.

Don't worry, Rafa will pass the test. Now that Berdych, Roddick and Davy were gone, I think the top four guys will make it to the semi. I still do not think Sod can reach the semi here, despite my earlier prediction of Sod beating Fed. Predictions are predictions, how often they do we get them correct? Both Davy and Berdych were out (my QF picks in their respective quarters).

Ed, Luckystar and NNY-
Thanks for the support :)
I dont know what I am worried about really, as I have faith in Rafa and am not concerned about his form, as I know he will do well in this tournament but I guess I am FED up (get it) hahaha of Rafas achievements and talent being so undermined. I dont know what more this kid has to do, because even if he were to win the US Open it wont be good enough.

Isa. Remember Rafa spent three years playing second fiddle to Roger before he eventually overtook him. He always said he was perfectly happy being No.2. He came across as never being totally comfortable with the role reversal the first time round but I think it is different this time. Having recaptured the No.1 crown he is not going to relinquish it easily!

Well I know Rafa struggled at times during Wimbledon, but he is a far better player on grass(exceptional movement), than he is on a fast hardcourt, he is more confident for one and doesn't fear the risk of injury, but here in New York its different scenario, and he has a tough draw. If and its a big If, he gets to the semi's surely Murray who seems in incredible form right now albeit on his favourite surface, would take him out, Rafa would have to be playing lights out and after his humble defeat to Murray in Toronto, I would be really surprised of a different outcome, but hey we are only in the second round and he has a tricky opponent to play... *fingers crossed* for Rafa fans!

I certainly don't think that Rafa's tight three set win over Gaba makes him the favorite, however, it doesn't rule him out. I have no idea why Rafa is being taken so lightly by some here.

Rafa is fit and healthy, now we can see that he is serving better than ever and he is a man on a mission. Fed and Murray are the favorites, along with Djoker in the mix, but I don't see any reason why a confident Rafa who has already won two slams on different surfaces, would not be also considered a serious contender.

The fact that five players WILL beat him, does not mean that it has to happen! If Rafa thought that way, then he would have to walk away from this tournament the way Borg did in 1981 and that will never happen!

NNY: I do hope you're watching the rejuvenated Rafa!

There are 5 players left in the draw who can beat any of the top 4, not just Rafa. People make these glib statements, but they never expand on them, who are these 5 players, let's have their names then we can talk about it.

NNY, I know this idea did not originate from you, so I am not referring to you when I say 'people'

If you consider than the top 4 are capable of beating each other, that's 3 already for each of them plus 2 more, and you don't have to look very far to find 2 more people in the draw who can beat the top 4. So Rafa is no different.

VAMOS!

nadline,

Thanks for understanding where I am coming from. I agree with what you said completely. However, I am grateful that you know to what I am referring. It's not like Rafa is the only player who WILL be beaten by three to five players. We can say that about the others in the top four and thank you so much for pointing that out!

I guess you said it better than I did! :)