Mana Games

[K Z]

Hi everybody !
Rafa Nadal won the 4 last edditions of the French Open (Rolland Garros) , and He seems unbeatble in his small garden of clay
Pesonnaly , I don't see anyone other beating him there
what about you ?????

[Togtdyalttai]

If Nadal's healthy, the chances of him losing at Roland Garros are <1%. There's no one who's good enough on the surface to challenge him.

[Leena]

He probably won't lose for a while... but, I don't think Nadal is unbeatable on clay. It's more of a mental thing now. We've seen consistent ball strikers like Ferrero, Davydenko, Hewitt, and Mathieu be very competitive with Rafa. I also think Rafa is vulnerable to big servers, on all surfaces, but there aren't any serious contenders among those at this time.

[Togtdyalttai]

On clay though, the consistent ball strikers aren't going to beat him because he's consistent AND his shots are very difficult to handle, and the big servers aren't going to make much of a dent against a guy who just stands way behind the baseline and topspins their shots back (if he goes back to this style on clay, I'm not positive that he will). But on other surfaces, I do agree about big servers being a problem for Rafa. Dr. Ivo hit over 50 aces against him in Queens last year and Rafa broke him once I think, when the Doctor was serving for the match.

[manutoo]

1st: only 1 'l' at "Roland Garros" ...

2nd: Verdasco could make a surprise on clay, I'm impatient to see what he'll do in the Master Series..!

Djokovic, on his best, may have a little chance to beat Nadal, also.
Davydenko did a great fight against Nadal 2 years ago in Rome, pushing him to the end of the 3rd set ( 7-6(3) 6-7(8) 6-4 ). But it seems now Davydenko isn't at his top anymore...
Federer, if he goes over his mental blockage, could have a lil chance to beat him as well (although I doubt he'd have enough energy to win 3 sets, especially now he's getting a bit old... )

And on hard court, all players who can bash the hell out of the ball above their shoulder with their forehand on a regular basis have a chance to beat Nadal...

Last year, I watched the 1st set of Ferrero beating Nadal. Nadal was injured, but in the 1st set, it wasn't really noticeable. Anyway, it shown that a great clay player can really gives big problem to Nadal, and as now, there's only 1 great clay player (ie: Nadal), it's quite easier for him to shine like this... 5 or 10 years ago, it would have been likely harder for him...
For a proof of the lack of great clay players, just see Federer reaching most finals of clay tournaments in the past 3 years, and look who's reaching semifinals...

[K Z]

He probably won't lose for a while... but, I don't think Nadal is unbeatable on clay. It's more of a mental thing now. We've seen consistent ball strikers like Ferrero, Davydenko, Hewitt, and Mathieu be very competitive with Rafa. I also think Rafa is vulnerable to big servers, on all surfaces, but there aren't any serious contenders among those at this time.

I think Rafa is beatable on Clay , But in Rolland Garros , it's an other thing ( in four years , noone could take more than one set ) and Rolland Garros 2008 was just incredible ( almagro 6-1 6-1 6-1 /Federer : 6-1 6-3 6-0...etc )
What can u do against a player who beat the N°1 in a final of a grand slam 6-1 6-3 6-0

[Leena]

Ivo wasn't broken in that Queen's match against Nadal. Oddly enough, that was a really high quality for a match with zero breaks. I was so sad that Ivo lost it.

I wouldn't bet on Rafa losing a Best of 5 match on clay, ever. But, I do think it's possible for someone to have a Gonzalez or Tsonga like day where they overpowered him at AO, even at RG.

[R.Gasquet]

I dont think anyone is likely to beat the creep on clay tbh. But it doesnt matter tbh. Nadal only has 3 years max before his knees give and someone else will take the throne

[btaylor]

I know it's a tough call, but to beat him someone is going to have to not only have "weapons" but be able to summon up the BELIEF that they CAN INDEED beat him on THEIR day...

So far NO ONE, except Fed ( once upon a time ) actually had that belief and actually used to play him tougher than anyone else on the red clay...he even choked away multiple match points against Nadal in Monte Carlo a couple of years ago...
He just needs to GET OUT of that backhand corner, have a better breakpoint % and SERVE better...all tall orders for him now, it seems...

I don't really think that Fed is "too old" yet, but... aah, that "belief" thing rears it's ugly head again

That said, I concurr somewhat with Manu that Verdasco (IF he maintains current form) and can summon that belief, has a better chance than most...maybe even THIS spring...

I just think that sooner or later Nadal is bound to have an "off" day, lose a couple of critical points, and someone will blindside him, and it'll truly be a shocker!
Remember, you read it here first!!

[gavbo ( not logged in)]

JC Ferrero obv

[kyuuji]

Lleyton Hewitt xD
Well, Lleyton Hewitt was almost to beat Nadal on clay I think for Hamburg..
The Score was something like 6-2 2-6 7-5.
A very good match, but this year, Hewitt is not playing very well, just because he didn't played last year..
So, what to say, if Federer can do like he did in Hamburg in the final against Nadal, this would be very good!
But I don't think this year he can..
Nalbandian can beat on Hard, as the last match he did 6-3 5-3.. But Nadal won 3-6 7-6 6-0, well..
But I don't think Nalbandian is good on Clay. Juan Carlos Ferrero ? I'm not sure, we don't see him anymore, he was a good player before but now we don't know
Verdasco has a chance I think. Is he good on Clay ? I don't know, but I know that he has the good Tactic to beat Nadal. Like the last match he played in the Semi-Final of Australian Open, don't remember the score 6-7 6-4 7-6 6-7 6-4. With a 5h14 of match! Amazing, the longest match in the Australian Open History!
But we have to see if Verdasco is better on clay than Hard.

[Leena]

I think Verdasco's game is quite a bit better on faster surfaces. But, I still think he'd be a threat.

Fat Dave Nalbandian, who knows. With his talent he should have been in the top 5 for the last 7 years, but he's so erratic and only seems to play his best in indoor tournies where the top players are probably not fully motivated.

[btaylor]

Ditto about "Fat" Dave, Leena!!

"His Royal Fatness" has indeed played some really epic 5 setters on the red dirt in the past, but just maybe if he was a "few" pounds lighter he wouldn't have needed 5 sets!

[Santiago92]

Nalbandian is a stupid
Coria could beat Nadal in clay, but he is not at his best form since 2006

[Callan09]

Nadal will be unbeatable on clay for the next few years until his knees give in my opinion.

A few players have got a good chance of getting a set off him ( verdasco, gulbis, gonzalez etc..)