The King is back!

I think Rafa eased off a bit and let Ferrer win a couple of games because he didn't want to humiliate him.

Vamos Rafa!

The King is back!

I think Rafa eased off a bit and let Ferrer win a couple of games because he didn't want to humiliate him.

Vamos Rafa!

Is that Rafa? I am speechless... Vamos!!

CROWN HIM

http://tiny.cc/wrvctw

Cheryl,

Nice write-up on this match! I agree especially about Rafa's on-court acumen. He has a great tennis brain. He anticipated everything Ferrer would do and was ready with the answer.

This was a sweet victory. Knocking off both Almagro and Ferrer back-to-back will give Rafa a nice boost of confidence as he heads for I/W. Seeing Rafa crying into his towel just made me lose it. He has been through so much and now he has come back and won two titles! Way to go, Rafa!

Oh and the crown him thing is hilarious!

Wow with great anxiety and nervousness, I logged onto atpworldtour.com to check the result and was shocked to see this lopsided score . So happy

Everyone was saying Chile and Brazil had no real competitors, but Acapulco surely had strong resistance in the form of Almagro and Ferrer- they were his QF and SF opponents in last RG. Rafa has successfully passed the test and this should ive him great confidence. I would not go to the extent of saying 'King is back' or 'Vintage Rafa is back' but February has been a pleasant progressive month for Rafa and all his millions of fans across the globe.

Im eager to hear Luckys assessment. I havent watched any match of Rafa entirely, just highlights on YT but am reading comments that Rafa is in major attack mode. As per Lucky, a Rafa who attacks and takes control is very very difficult to beat.

Lucky thoughts?

On 1 hand, I am happy Rafa is playing IW as it will silence his critics that he is running away from hard courts and it will also test him on his least fav surface against tougher opponents , on the other hand I hope he is healthy and nothing untoward happens to his knee on the HCs, hence a bit anxious.

So happy for Rafa; he has passed the test with flying colors! So nice to see him bite another trophy; he has 52 titles now, wow!!

Is he going to IW? With the way he's playing now, as long as his knee is fine, he should be getting good results at IW too! I hope he can test himself there against the top few guys. Actually Rafa should learn to be more relaxed when he plays; he always starts nervous and that's where he's the most vulnerable. With his capabilities, he shouldn't be worried too much during the early rounds; if he swings freely he can be even better IMO. He's so precise in most of his shots today - his lobs, DTL shots, even backhand shots/slices with back facing his opponent - he doesn't seem to miss much!!

I hope he continues playing like this, more aggression, fewer long rallies, good anticipation, good returns and good movements. Also continuous improvement in his serves too! Vamos Rafa!

Rafa could be squaring off against Nole, Murray or Roger in the QFs in IW.Ouch!

I hope they put him in Ferrers qtr but frankly I think Rafa is underdog today aainst the top 3, so the pressure will be more on them rather than Rafa.

Another good thing is Rafa has earned 900 points alredy in February, thats just a 300 deficit against last year where he got 1200 points for AO finalist. .

As long as Rafa wins 14 slams (with 6 outside clay in those), 25 Masters and 65 overall titles before he hangs his racquet, Ill be a very happy fan to be honest.

sanju, you're so funny, always counting the numbers for Rafa. If his body holds up I would expect more from Rafa than you expect of him!! After all, I always remembers what Fed said of Rafa back during WTF 2009, that we're yet to see the greatness of Rafa! I'm sure that without his foot problem for a start, Rafa would've done better than what he's doing now. It a testimony as to how good and great Rafa is, that despite all his injury issues, he's still able to reach legendary status in tennis, ranked among the all time greats. Also, he's the only one who could really beat Fed, at least on two surfaces, during Fed's prime and peak, when he himself hadn't even reached his prime yet; that to me is already a great achievement.

Yeah lucky if he does more than that, I will be very happy, ut if he does that too as a bare minimum, Ill be content. And mind you, theres lot of ground to be covered to get to 14 slams, 25 Masters, 65 titles too :-)

I'm hoping for Rafa to meet at least one of those three guys at IW. This will be a good test for Rafa and on his least favorite surface. It's better for him to have a gauge of his game vs theirs before he meets them on clay.

Wow, haven't expected that score! Great job Rafa. I haven't seen the match, but it seems he came back finally! A final and two tournament wins!
Congrats Rafa!

As long as Rafa is fit and healthy and has the desire still to play tennis and wins, 65 titles is achievable, he's only 13 short now; 25 Masters is also doable now that he has 21; 14 slams? He has 11 now, even if he can't win any this year (unlikely in my opinion), he'll still has his chances come next year.

We sometimes assume that Rafa would be devastated if he lose his FO and would not win anymore, but how often he proved his detractors wrong time and again! Even if Nole beat him to the FO this year, that's nothing to be ashamed of as Nole is the no.1 at the moment and he wants that FO trophy badly. Rafa always does better as the underdog, and when he plays with a 'vengeance', like he did at FO2010 against Sod. So, he can win the FO or Wimbledon next year or the year after; after all he's still the best on clay and very good on grass, Nole and Murray are not going to beat Rafa all the time, especially when on clay and grass.

sanju, you're so funny, always counting the numbers for Rafa. If his body holds up I would expect more from Rafa than you expect of him!!
luckystar , 3/3/13 8:55 AM

I'm totally with you here!

Vamos Rafa!

Fantastic news to wake up to - just cannot believe the scoreline. I hope that the match will be available on youtube so that I can enjoy it later on.

So proud of our Rafa and very happy for him. It is never easy to beat Ferrer and to hear that Rafa played fabulous tennis means more than anything else.

Vamos our Rafa & God bless.

Here is the link for the full match in case anybody would like to see it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C-HDTcynEw

sanju -- I'm not lucky, but I'll answer your question about Rafa being aggressive. Obviously, an aggressive Rafa is very difficult to beat. But I believe that it's because of mindset more than anything else. Rafa only plays aggressive tennis when he's feeling very confident. It's not like Nole or Roger, whose natural game is aggressive. They will play aggressively whether they're "feeling" it or not. Rafa won't. Like Murray, he'll revert to defending.

And a confident Rafa is very VERY hard to beat.

Er, Cheryl is only right to a certain extent. Actually when Rafa first started out as a young teenager, in 2003, he's an aggressive player. Just watch his 2003/2004 matches, he would always go for the kill once he had his chances. As he was young back then and not as skillful as some of his older counterparts. he would have to run more and defend more. I watched his 2004/2005 AO matches vs Hewitt, or his 2004 Miami match vs Fed, he was hitting his flatter forehand shots back then and was playing an aggressive game. Noticed he was standing closer to the baseline back then. He was able to force his opponents back and the came forward to the net to finish the points, very intelligent play for a teenager.

It seems that after his success on clay in 2005, he adopted the more defensive approach to his game, by engaging in long rallies, taking his time to construct points before going for the kill. Rafa has all the tools to play an attacking game, it's his mindset that needs changing. He just has to get back that aggressive mindset he once had when he was younger. I'm sure after this long injury, he would finally realize that becoming more aggressive in his game, going for the kill ASAP instead of staying back and wait, would be the way to go for him if he wants to be in for the long haul in the tour.

Dramatic improvement in Nadal's mobility since the Mayer match.He seems to trust his knees now.

jokovic isan attacking player??? He just stays on the baseline and blocks the balls...IMO.

I think that Rafa has changed his style to attacking, probably due to his knees. He is definitely playing a different way now, since his comeback

Exactly when Jokovic became attacking player????? He is pure defenceive player (out of Fed/Nad/Murray/jokovic)

Cheryl, do you actually watch these matches? How you can say Djokovic is an attacking player is truly contrary to the evidence. Djokovic and Murray have the longest rallies when they play each other.

Oh boy. Vamos.

fantastic news! great stuff!

Congrats Rafa!!! Spanish Warrior is back!!!

Djokovic and Murray are grinders from the baseline, regardless of the surface they play on. Nadal's somewhat of a grinder also, but he can change from defense to offense and/or attack mode very quickly, mid-point on clay, and it's where Nadal has the advantage over the other two on clay. The other two can change also, but not during a point especially not on clay when playing against Nadal.

RT @kevinanderson18: To all those who have questioned Nadal's success in the future, I think the result in Acapulco tonight sums up what I think of that"

#VamosRafa
#MyGOAT

Thanks Cheryl, Lucky

I dont think Djoko is attacking perse by default but I think hes the one amongst top 4 whose groundstrokes have most precision off both wings. I think he makes least UE amongst the top 4 esp on HC . Fed is the worst amongst Top 4 when it comes to making UE.

^^^Yes, I agree that Djokovic doesn't make many UEs which is his strength, but an attacking player, he is not.

nole's play style is controlled aggression. he attacks when he needs to. he was more aggressive in 2007/2008 but he is still attacking player.

vamos.

What some people have said on twitter

Chris Evert
"True Champions always come back....often better than before.

Boris Becker
"So happy Nadal is back Tennis needs him as much as he needs tennis."

Matt Ebden
"Looks like Rafa has spent the last 7 months improving."


So he's not lost his aura in the locker room then, Muzz!

The word "grinder" is not only inaccurate, but has a negative connotation. I prefer JMac's use of the word "backboarder" as he described Borg. That is much more accurate and more accurately describes the strength of great defense. I don't know when good defense became a bad thing, but the truth is that it wins matches.

Rafa is able to transition from defense to offense on clay and on other surfaces. I would not classify Nole and Murray as grinders either. I think this term is just not an accurate one for any purpose. Murray has shown that he can be mix aggressive play with great defense. I think Nole does the same. I do not think Nole is primarly an attacking player. His strength is that he can attack from both wings, with his forehand and backhand. I think both Nole and Murray are great defensive players who can transition to aggressive attacking tennis as needed.

sanju,

Uncle Toni said in an interview that Rafa's doctors are not concerned about the hard court at I/W. They are only concerned about playing too many matches. So I don't think there is any need to worry about Rafa setting foot on the courts of I/W. I am pleased that he will be playing there. This will give him a chance to match up against the best players. He's ready for this next step.

I should know by now that anything I say would be munched at. LOL. Glad to oblige.

I say they are grinders and that's my opinion. I could not care less about anyone's picky opinion coz we all know who likes to do just that, pick, pick, munch, munch, at my every comment. amazing how no one else's comments get noticed. I must be very special. Oh I feel so loved. Please keep it, I don't want it..

LOL, The tennis analyst on this site and one who speak for all experts in the field. Grinders are grinders.

^^^^

Why am I surprised that if I choose to disagree, look who takes it personally! Someone needs to just grow up and deal with it! I have said any number of times that I do not like the term grinder. Guess what! That's my opinion! And I get to have it!

I can disagree without making it personal. If you cannot deal with it, then a tennis forum is probably not going to be a pleasant experience for you. If your ego is so fragile that you feel threatened any time someone has a different point of view, then that's your problem. But don't dump it on me!

It's not being picky, it's expressing my thoughts and feelings! Any attempt to twist it into some sordid plot or conspiracy is only evidence of someone who is either paranoid, delusional or both.

Get a grip!

drama, drama, drama, another opportunity taken to sermonize. WOW, somebody is sure missing her meds.Enjoy and STIFLE.

WARNING: the posts:

scoretracker , 3/3/13 11:39 PM
scoretracker , 3/4/13 12:41 AM

are trolling for a reply. Please do not respond. Thank you for your cooperation. This is an automated post. Replies will not be responded to.

#Humble

Cheryl Murray, I thought that spamming was disallowed. If so, please put an end to the spamming from Conspirator. it's not only unnecessary but also stupid. This person spams on every thread with the above comment after the comments of posters she hates.

^^^
#Hypocrisy
#TooFunny

Wow o wow!! What a way to come back!! So now Rafa has won a 250 and a 500 beating no .4 along the way! Way more than I expected. Esp after the zeballos shocker! Vamos! Rafa has got a little streak going of his own!

Yes, I find the term 'grinder' derogatory; it's a style of play and has just as much merit as attacking. Rafa, Murray & Nole primarily play defensive tennis. Murray used to be the most defensive but he seems to have moved on from that. Nole didn't use to play defensive all the time but in the last couple of years, I find that he simply back-boards, very effectively, I might add, as he places the balls very strategically, but still he rarely moves from the baseline. Rafa, on the other hand, used to rally for as long as it takes waiting for the opportunity to play a winner, whilst Murray used to just wait for mistakes. Federer plays on instinct, he neither attacks or defends but simply plays whatever he thinks appropriate at the time.

Since Rafa came back, he seems to have changed his style to attacking. I think there could be two reasons for this. The first is, he doesn't want to engage in long rallies and not have enough time to recover because of the enforcement of the time violation rule. The second is, to put as little pressure on his knees as possible. Finish the points quickly and have shorter matches. Murray has also changed and attacks more now. Of the three, I think Nole is the only one who still plays defensive.

^^^ I agree about Rafa after he's back from injury. I'm happy about the mindset change. I hope he can really sustain it. He was trying to do that too when he was back from injury in 2009 and reaped the rewards in 2010. However, after his illness and injury during early 2011, he seemed to revert back to defensive play after losing to Nole at IW/Miami, a sign of him not being confident about his body and his game. He was still playing some attacking hard court tennis at IW/Miami that year, especially against Nole in the two finals, and against Dolgo/Berdych/Fed at Miami.

As I mentioned before, he has all the tools to be aggressive and playing attacking tennis, just like when he first came to the tour in 2003/2004. He just has to play freely, trust his body and his game. I'm happy that he finally improved his backhand and that DTL backhand finally makes its appearance. For him to compete against Nole, both his CC and DTL shots from both wings have to be at tip top condition, that'll keep Nole guessing, whether its CC or DTL from Rafa.

All of Rafa's SA matches are available on DVD at TennisDVDWorld, although I think they've sold out of Chile and Brazil. I know you can get the matches on youtube but the quality of the DVD is exceptionally good and well worth it. They used to sell at £7.50 but now sell at £9.00 and they cater for all regions. They also have many matches going years back.


Acapulco 2013

Mens 2nd Round - Nadal v Alund
Mens Quarter Final - Nadal v Mayer
Mens Semi Final - Nadal v Almagro
Mens Final - Nadal v Ferrer

Nadal believes he's nearing elite level
SUNDAY, MARCH 03, 2013 /BY MATT CRONIN

After crushing world No. 4 David Ferrer in the Acapulco final, Rafael Nadal confirms that he will play the Masters Series tournament at Indian Wells next week and believes that he is close to an elite level again.

For the first time since his comeback from knee trouble last month, he will join the world?s top three ? Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray ? in a tournament when he heads to the California desert after playing Juan Martin del Potro in the BNP Paribas Showdown exhibition in New York City on Monday night.

"If you ask me if I'm capable of beating one of the top three it would be difficult, but today I beat the No. 4 in world and the difference... between No. 3 and No. 4 isn't much,? Nadal told reporters. ?Ferrer is one of best, most complete players in world."

The seven-time Roland Garros champion, who called his performance against Ferrer one of the best he has ever played on clay, said he needed to play near perfectly because if not ?he is going to dominate me.?

Nadal revealed he decided to take the same approach to the Acapulco match that he did in the 2012 Roland Garros semifinals when he crushed Ferrer 6-2, 6-2, 6-1.

"I didn?t think I was ready for that level, but I was ready to fight, and enjoy it," he said. "Matches like today make me believe I can play at the level I played last year at Roland Garros."

@tennis @Becker_Boris. Nadal in any case is no. 1 for last 4 years. His injury alone keeps him away. If he is fit, he wl beat any 1 any where.

nadline, Murray attacks more but Nole is defensive?

Here's a little stat for you from the AO 2013 final: Net points won: Djokovic 35 Murray 9

Enough said.

Well done Rafa, his lovely fans can now start breathing.....and sleeping soundly...;)
samps, Andy is brilliant at the net and why he does not use these skills at every opportunity has his fans completely baffled :(

I don't think that Murray attacks more than Nole. I think that he should use his aggressive game more, since he is quite skilled at net as deuce said. I do think that Nole can mix up defensive and attacking tennis. I actually think that the top players all mix up both types of play.

It would be nice if Rafa could continue his aggressive play, but against the top three it may be more difficult. You have to look for the opportunities and not try to force it. We know that Nole, Murray and Fed are all capable of blasting big groundstrokes past anyone who may come into net. Rafa is intelligent and aware enough to take the opportunity when it presents itself.

I thought that Rafa mixed up defensive and attacking tennis very well against Ferrer. There were a lot of baseline rallies in that match. Rafa has always said that he cannot change his basic style of play. But he has incorporated changes into his game over the years, a more aggressive style of play that has served him well on hard courts. Also, when the Nole of 2011 came along, Rafa wasn't able to hang with him or outlast him. So he had to make some changes in his approach when playing Nole and that allowed him to get some big wins against him in 2012.

Finally, it appears that Rafa is feeling confident going into I/W. That's nice to see.

I hate to disagree with you again NNY. Rafa doesn't need to feel he can't do this or that against the top 3, he is the one with the positive h2h against the lot of them. Sorry if I misunderstand you, but you seem to think Rafa is inferior to Roger, Nole and Murray .

nadline,

You know better than to say that I seem to think that Rafa is inferior to Fed, Nole and Murray. That is absolutely not what I think at all. If I thought he was inferior to them, then I wouldn't be the fan that I am. I think when Rafa is on his game, he can take on any one of them.

I honestly don't feel it necessary to defend myself or what I said. If that is what you took from what I said, then you did not get my meaning.

I thought this was what you were implying here

"It would be nice if Rafa could continue his aggressive play, but against the top three it may be more difficult. You have to look for the opportunities and not try to force it. We know that Nole, Murray and Fed are all capable of blasting big groundstrokes past anyone who may come into net. Rafa is intelligent and aware enough to take the opportunity when it presents itself."

Why would Rafa not be able to play aggressively against Fed, Nole and Murray?

TennisHaven.com is a great site providing free downloads to many matches most in excellent quality. Here are just a few examples of Rafa's matches available...

ATP.2013.Acapulco.SF.Almagro.vs.Nadal.ENG.720p.x264
A TP.2013.Sao.Paulo.F.Nadal.vs.Nalbandian.ENG.x264.mkv
ATP.2013.Sao.Pau lo.SF.Nadal.vs.Alund.ENG.x264.mkv
ATP.2013.vina.del.mar.sf.nadal.v.ch ardy.eng.x264.mkv
ATP.2005.Bastad.F.Nadal.vs.Berdych.ITA.x264

#VAM OS

Chris Fowler's interview with Rafa since his win over Ferru...

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=9015057

#VAMOSGOAT

Thanks for the info, Conspirator

Live stream Rafa vs Delpo at MSG about to start in a few minutes...

http://www.streamhunter.eu/tennis-live-streaming-video.h tml

#VAMOSGOAT

@deuce, I don't think it is a simple matter of being able to use them, it is also the fact that Andy might need to work on his transition game a bit more. But I see it as a work in progress, he figured out the forehand, surely he'll figure this out too?

Conspirator,

Thanks for the info about TennisHaven.com. Also thanks for the link to Chris Fowler's interview with Rafa!

nadline,

Against my better judgement I decided to respond to that paragraph of mine that you quoted. You are reading way too much into what I said. I did not say that Rafa can't play aggressively against the top three. I said that he needs to take his opportunities. He's not going to be going to the net all the time. When he is at his best, he mixes up defense and offense. Changing it up against Nole is what he did at the 2011 I/W in the first set. He kept him off balance. Unfortunately, Rafa's serve deserted him and he lost the second and third sets. Then there was that slugfest in the Miami final, in which we saw an exhausted Rafa on the sidelines. After that he seemed to lose his confidence and we all know what happened next.

Rafa isn't going to just rush into the net on every point. He is still a baseline player with formidable groundstrokes. Just as I said that the top three have the groundstrokes to pass Rafa, he also has the shots to pass them if they go into the net against him. It's a chess match. Rafa has a great tennis brain. He knows how to construct points in brilliant fashion. He is always thinking out there. He can adjust his tactics in mid-match. He will use his instincts and tennis knowledge to transition from defense to offense and back again.

I thought Rafa found the answers to Nole in the 2012 AO. He may have lost the match, but he figured out what he needed to do to beat him. Then he implemented those changes at the MC final and it was a blowout. It wasn't just about going to net or being offensive. He started hitting more to Nole's forehand. He changed his pattern and Nole was thown off. He followed that up with wins against Nole at Rome and RG. That's what is so great about Rafa. After seven straight losses, he was still determined to find an answer. He didn't give up.

That's why I would never say Rafa is inferior to anyone. Coming back strong against Nole and getting three wins last year, showed what a fierce, intelligent competitor Rafa is, how he never gives up, never stops trying.

I think you just misinterpreted my comment about Rafa not being able to play offensively against the top three at will. That's not a dig at Rafa. It's a testament to the fact that he knows when to change it up. So he certainly can play aggressively against Nole, Murray and Fed.

^^^I must have misinterpreted what you meant. I think Rafa has come on by leaps and bounds since his tentative return in Chile. It is such a rapid improvement that it's taking people unawares as he was not expected to be playing at the level he is only a month after coming back.

Even on indoor h/c last night, he was very, very, impressive and almost seemed to be hitting winners at will. I'm so impressed that I believe he can beat anyone right now.

^^^^

Yes, you did. We are in complete agreement! I do think that Rafa has improved incredibly since he came back in Chile. He looks like a different player. I also agree that it's been so fast that people are surprised. I am thrilled to see him playing so well and feeling good.

I said on another topic thread, that I watched the exho on espn2. Rafa did look very comfortable on the indoor h/c and his groundstrokes were sharp. Even just playing mostly for fun, he looked great. The espn commentators noted how good he looked.

I would love to see him beat anyone. I am quite optimistic about I/W at this point in time. Sometimes I try to hold back, because I want him to win so much and can't bear it when he loses. But I think we are in for a treat when Rafa steps out on the court at I/W. I also think that he's ready for it. He said that it will be tougher competition, but I get the sense that he is looking forward to it.

IW draw is out. Rafa and Roger are in the same half.