2018 Monte Carlo Open

[gzhpcu]

That is one reason why Federer is not playing on clay...

[stotty]

That is one reason why Federer is not playing on clay...

Probably. He could damage his new found edge over Nadal were they to meet on clay, where Rafa would almost certainly win. Better to go through the rest of the season with his recent 5-0 lead over Rafa intact.

[tennis_chiro]

It seems just about unanimous, if Nadal is not injured he is unbeatable at RG and almost unbeatable on any clay court. Someone might be able to catch him in 2/3, but it is doubtful. Delpo could hang with him from the baseline for a couple of hours, but not 5 sets. Shapavolov has the firepower, but is nowhere near intense or tough enough to have a chance on clay. I thought Zverev had a chance, but he is at least 2 years and 15 lbs of muscle away from having a chance in 5 sets against Rafa; he might catch him on an off day in 3 sets, but I doubt it. The intensity/ferocity just doesn't seem to be there; even 2 years and 15 lbs may not solve that deficiency. For Sampras, the losses to Edberg at the US Open changed his mindset and he matured into a champion. It may take something like that for Zverev.

The only guy I see being to able to hang with Rafa from the baseline is Chung... as long as he doesn't get blisters. He's big enough, strong enough and fast enough. The clay minimizes his deficiency on the serve, but it is still there. If he doesn't learn how to get a good second serve in under pressure, the discussion is pointless. But off the ground, he is the one player I would like to see play Rafa. Sure, Novak played him even two years ago, but he fell off a lot and Rafa is better than he has ever been. Chung gets to Rafa in the semis at Barcelona if they both get there.

The one problem I see is that Rafa will continue to pursue the hardcourt season. I would advise him to absolutely minimize his participation on hard courts. The way he moves, when he stops on a hard court, the only thing that can give is muscles and connective tissue on bone: microtears and worse. On clay and grass, the ground gives a little. Yes, I think he is better off playing on grass, at least the kind of grass they play on now that allows you to hit groundstrokes. That wasn't true 30 years ago. In fact, I would tell him to invest in Mateflex and try to arrange for hardcourt tournaments to be played on that surface. We used it the first 4 years of the Huggy Bears. Great court. Plays like a slightly slippery hardcourt; it's a system of interlocking 12" squares of polyproplene that create a kind of a sprung floor feeling. And the whole court stretches when you make a hard stop; the individual pieces actually move slightly when you stop hard. This spares you the microtears you create on hardcourts. I found you could count on about 1/2 the benefits of playing on clay. That is, playing on the Mateflex for 2 hours you would not be as sore as you would be from playing less than an hour on hardcourts. But, of course, that is not going to happen. The surface never caught on here in the states. But if I had the money to put a court in at my own house, that is what I would put in.

Anyway, the point is that injuries on hardcourts will keep Rafa from getting Grand Slam victories 19 and 20, but he is a good bet to win 2 more RG's and maybe one more Aussie.

don

[gzhpcu]

Roger concentrates on grass and hard courts. Rafa should concentrate on clay. This way both keep healthy and can continue to dominate the slams for several more years.

[stotty]

It seems just about unanimous, if Nadal is not injured he is unbeatable at RG and almost unbeatable on any clay court. Someone might be able to catch him in 2/3, but it is doubtful. Delpo could hang with him from the baseline for a couple of hours, but not 5 sets. Shapavolov has the firepower, but is nowhere near intense or tough enough to have a chance on clay. I thought Zverev had a chance, but he is at least 2 years and 15 lbs of muscle away from having a chance in 5 sets against Rafa; he might catch him on an off day in 3 sets, but I doubt it. The intensity/ferocity just doesn't seem to be there; even 2 years and 15 lbs may not solve that deficiency. For Sampras, the losses to Edberg at the US Open changed his mindset and he matured into a champion. It may take something like that for Zverev.

The only guy I see being to able to hang with Rafa from the baseline is Chung... as long as he doesn't get blisters. He's big enough, strong enough and fast enough. The clay minimizes his deficiency on the serve, but it is still there. If he doesn't learn how to get a good second serve in under pressure, the discussion is pointless. But off the ground, he is the one player I would like to see play Rafa. Sure, Novak played him even two years ago, but he fell off a lot and Rafa is better than he has ever been. Chung gets to Rafa in the semis at Barcelona if they both get there.

The one problem I see is that Rafa will continue to pursue the hardcourt season. I would advise him to absolutely minimize his participation on hard courts. The way he moves, when he stops on a hard court, the only thing that can give is muscles and connective tissue on bone: microtears and worse. On clay and grass, the ground gives a little. Yes, I think he is better off playing on grass, at least the kind of grass they play on now that allows you to hit groundstrokes. That wasn't true 30 years ago. In fact, I would tell him to invest in Mateflex and try to arrange for hardcourt tournaments to be played on that surface. We used it the first 4 years of the Huggy Bears. Great court. Plays like a slightly slippery hardcourt; it's a system of interlocking 12" squares of polyproplene that create a kind of a sprung floor feeling. And the whole court stretches when you make a hard stop; the individual pieces actually move slightly when you stop hard. This spares you the microtears you create on hardcourts. I found you could count on about 1/2 the benefits of playing on clay. That is, playing on the Mateflex for 2 hours you would not be as sore as you would be from playing less than an hour on hardcourts. But, of course, that is not going to happen. The surface never caught on here in the states. But if I had the money to put a court in at my own house, that is what I would put in.

Anyway, the point is that injuries on hardcourts will keep Rafa from getting Grand Slam victories 19 and 20, but he is a good bet to win 2 more RG's and maybe one more Aussie.

don

The only player with any kind of a record against Nadal on clay is Djokovic. Their head to head on clay is 15-7 in Nadal's favour. Djokovic had a period where he beat Nadal back to back on clay and then went on to have two five setters at Roland Garros. Djokovic was awfully good but in the end was just that centimetre behind Nadal when it came to five sets on the slow, long-bouncing Roland Garros courts.

When you think how good Djokovic is and yet he will likely still come away with just one Roland Garros title at the end of his career. That is all down to Nadal's supremacy. In any other era both Roger and Djokovic would have been triple winners at least.

I don't see Chung reaching the same level as Djokovic. His serve is much weaker and apt to fall apart in the clutch. He does, however, seem to hit a heavy ball. It will be very interesting to see how he fairs this season on clay.

[stroke]

Broken record, but I concur obviously with all who praise Nadal's greatness on clay. I would say his record/dominance on clay is the single greatest achievement in all sports, not just tennis. There he is with a guy like Moya, who had a top shelf clay court game, and he only won 1 French Open. Nadal obviously a prohibitive favorite to now win 11.

[klacr]

Nadal has had his ups and downs over the years but on clay he has reigned supreme throughout. It's rare he gets beaten on the stuff, indeed the only players who have really beaten him at his zenith are Novak and Soderling. I doubt Soderling realised the history he was making when he took Rafa down that day.

And it's staggering when you think he has achieved his 10 FO's in an era where everyone is a baseliner.

Where art thou Robin Soderling?
Making tennis balls apparently. No one could fathom the history Soderling made on that day in 2009. Not even the fans. Whats more amazing is that just two weeks earlier he lost to Nadal in Rome 6-0,6-1.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Where art thou Robin Soderling?
Making tennis balls apparently. No one could fathom the history Soderling made on that day in 2009. Not even the fans. Whats more amazing is that just two weeks earlier he lost to Nadal in Rome 6-0,6-1.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

It was a perfect storm if you remember? Nadal's forehand kept landing short and straight into Soderling's wheelhouse...his shoulder-high forehand. It was combination of those two things. Against anyone else Nadal might have muddled through, but Soderling's sockdolager forehand was the perfect weapon for the job at that moment in time and on that day.

It needed a perfect storm but everything fell into place for Soderling that day.

[stroke]

It was a perfect storm if you remember? Nadal's forehand kept landing short and straight into Soderling's wheelhouse...his shoulder-high forehand. It was combination of those two things. Against anyone else Nadal might have muddled through, but Soderling's sockdolager forehand was the perfect weapon for the job at that moment in time and on that day.

It needed a perfect storm but everything fell into place for Soderling that day.

It was a perfect storm for Roger also. All his records, but it would have been a pretty big blip on his resume if he had not gotten that one FO. As we all know. there have been a lot of really great players that have been unable to win all 4.

[gzhpcu]

Rafas fighting spirit is incredible. He saved 3 set points in the second set against Klizan. Incredible scrambling.