Rafael Nadal withdraws from 2014 US Open

[ArbitraryWater]

http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/11369850/rafael-nadal-withdraws-us-open-right-wrist-injury

:(

He will be remembered as injured Warrior... Constantly plagued with pain, battling Injuries throghout his entire Career.

He will equal Roger in Majors while playing a lot less of them... I'm sure.

[NBAplayoffs2001]

http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/11369850/rafael-nadal-withdraws-us-open-right-wrist-injury

:(

He will be remembered as injured Warrior... Constantly plagued with pain, battling Injuries throghout his entire Career.

He will equal Roger in Majors while playing a lot less of them... I'm sure.

Rafael is a considerable contender for the GOAT status. Roger for me is not better than Pete Sampras JUST because he won a French Open. Pete Sampras dominated all of his rivals especially Agassi. Federer has BEEN dominated by his rival, Rafael Nadal.

Also on the side note, it's pretty surprising how long Tommy Robredo has been around. I'm pretty sure him and Federer are the only ones left from that generation from the early 2000s (Roddick- favorite player who was an all out power player in his prime:pimp: , Safin-that backhand :eek: , Hewitt- that speed and defense :applause: , Henman- this dude's volleys were like poetry:bowdown: )

[K Xerxes]

Rafael is a considerable contender for the GOAT status. Roger for me is not better than Pete Sampras JUST because he won a French Open. Pete Sampras dominated all of his rivals especially Agassi. Federer has BEEN dominated by his rival, Rafael Nadal.

Even discounting the French Open win, he has more slams than Pete. Same number of Wimbledons and USO, two more AO. More weeks as #1 too. Federer has been 'dominated' by Nadal but has still managed to win 13 slams since Nadal burst onto the scene with his first FO in 2005. Do people only look at H2H?

[dude77]

:facepalm his injuries are becoming more of a hindrance .. not good .. another shot lost at adding to his slam titles .. and now he's gotta wait almost 5 months for his next shot .. he's losing time .. he's no spring chicken and certain players have figured him out

[ArbitraryWater]

Even discounting the French Open win, he has more slams than Pete. Same number of Wimbledons and USO, two more AO. More weeks as #1 too. Federer has been 'dominated' by Nadal but has still managed to win 13 slams since Nadal burst onto the scene with his first FO in 2005. Do people only look at H2H?

:facepalm

Nadal came into his prime in '08... Try that, at least.

[NBAplayoffs2001]

:facepalm

Nadal came into his prime in '08... Try that, at least.

Yeah I still remember that match of Roddick vs. Nadal in US Open 2004 :lol. He started getting into his stride IMO in mid 2005 and exploded around 2008. The slowing down of hard courts has helped him so much but ruined the career of my fav. player: Roddick :(. Not delusional but I think without Federer, Roddick would have won 2 Wimbledons.

Also for the posters here:
Which in your opinion is the most prestigious grand slam in order? I think:
1. Wimbledon
2. Us Open
3. French Open
4. Aus Open (Sorry when Thomas Johannson won this like 12 years ago I have a hard time taking it seriously)

[Mr Clutch Melo]

French Open was my favorite tournament before Nadal started his domination.

As for now, Wimbeldon is my favorite tournament:rockon:

[NBAplayoffs2001]

French Open was my favorite tournament before Nadal started his domination.

As for now, Wimbeldon is my favorite tournament:rockon:

Agreed, Wimbledon final is fun to watch. In terms of the US Open atmosphere as a New Yorker, I've been to day time matches and a few QFs that were at night. The environment is crazy but dear god some of the fans are so rude and loud :facepalm

[Mr Clutch Melo]

Agreed, Wimbledon final is fun to watch. In terms of the US Open atmosphere as a New Yorker, I've been to day time matches and a few QFs that were at night. The environment is crazy but dear god some of the fans are so rude and loud :facepalm

Rather passionate and real fans than poshy englishmen tho..

[NBAplayoffs2001]

Rather passionate and real fans than poshy englishmen tho..

Trust me, some of the Spanish fans especially are very very rude and loud during matches.

[stalkerforlife]

Rafael is a considerable contender for the GOAT status. Roger for me is not better than Pete Sampras JUST because he won a French Open. Pete Sampras dominated all of his rivals especially Agassi. Federer has BEEN dominated by his rival, Rafael Nadal.

Also on the side note, it's pretty surprising how long Tommy Robredo has been around. I'm pretty sure him and Federer are the only ones left from that generation from the early 2000s (Roddick- favorite player who was an all out power player in his prime:pimp: , Safin-that backhand :eek: , Hewitt- that speed and defense :applause: , Henman- this dude's volleys were like poetry:bowdown: )

20-14 is domination? Not so much.

Anyhow, Federer is the greatest of all time and it looks like he'll stay that way with all of Nadal's injuries.

[BlkMambaGOAT]

Milos Raonic will soon be in the GOAT discussion.
:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

















Soon...so soon...

[Smoke117]

20-14 is domination? Not so much.

Anyhow, Federer is the greatest of all time and it looks like he'll stay that way with all of Nadal's injuries.

Sampras record vs Agassi was much better before he started to fall off and Agassi had that late peak. He demolished him throughout the 90s in their physical primes. He always won the big matches too. Anyway with Nadal out...Djokovic has got this.

[NBAplayoffs2001]

Sampras record vs Agassi was much better before he started to fall off and Agassi had that late peak. He demolished him throughout the 90s in their physical primes. He always won the big matches too. Anyway with Nadal out...Djokovic has got this.

Exactly. Sampras fell apart in the 2000s. Agassi had a crazy comeback during the mid 2000s despite a laundry list of injuries that was so impressive :applause:

[stalkerforlife]

Sampras record vs Agassi was much better before he started to fall off and Agassi had that late peak. He demolished him throughout the 90s in their physical primes. He always won the big matches too. Anyway with Nadal out...Djokovic has got this.

So, Agassi's wins don't count because of some bizarre stipulation in your head.

:facepalm

[Milbuck]

God ****ing dammit. ****ing shit.

****. :facepalm

Djokovic better grow a pair and stop playing like shit. If Grandfatherer wins a default slam because Rafa's out, Murray is still returning from back injury and Djokovic loses early...

[masonanddixon]

Rafael is a considerable contender for the GOAT status. Roger for me is not better than Pete Sampras JUST because he won a French Open. Pete Sampras dominated all of his rivals especially Agassi. Federer has BEEN dominated by his rival, Rafael Nadal.

Also on the side note, it's pretty surprising how long Tommy Robredo has been around. I'm pretty sure him and Federer are the only ones left from that generation from the early 2000s (Roddick- favorite player who was an all out power player in his prime:pimp: , Safin-that backhand :eek: , Hewitt- that speed and defense :applause: , Henman- this dude's volleys were like poetry:bowdown: )

Magnus Larson :)

[ArbitraryWater]

God ****ing dammit. ****ing shit.

****. :facepalm

Djokovic better grow a pair and stop playing like shit. If Grandfatherer wins a default slam because Rafa's out, Murray is still returning from back injury and Djokovic loses early...

Yep.. Anyone who now wins, it doesn't count as much #REALTALK..

No problem with Djokovich though. Federer is the GOAT at winning slams when Rafa is injured / out early.

Lol at Grandfatherer

[NBAplayoffs2001]

Yep.. Anyone who now wins, it doesn't count as much #REALTALK..

No problem with Djokovich though. Federer is the GOAT at winning slams when Rafa is injured / out early.

Lol at Grandfatherer

In terms of pure beauty of a game, Federer looks so effortless. I dislike him for that reason, he makes it look way too easy.

[imdaman99]

Man f u Rafa... how did he even hurt his wrist? Was it even tennis related???

No Nadal, little care at the USO.

[The_Yearning]

Clearly saving himself for the FO.

King of Clay for a few more years and he'd be the GOAT if Fed doesn't win anymore.

[stalkerforlife]

Here's the thing with Nadal...

He's the GOAT French Open player. The GOAT clay player.

However, if you take away that surface, he is nowhere near the greatest of all time. He's a one court stud. He has 9 French Open titles and a combined 5 other grand slam titles.

Federer, on the other hand, has 4+ grand slam titles on 3 different grand slam courts. If you take away Wimbledon, where he has 7 titles, he still has 10 grand slam titles. Federer is by far the better all around tennis player.

Unfortunately for Nadal, tennis isn't always played on clay.

[The_Yearning]

Here's the thing with Nadal...

He's the GOAT French Open player. The GOAT clay player.

However, if you take away that surface, he is nowhere near the greatest of all time. He's a one court stud. He has 9 French Open titles and a combined 5 other grand slam titles.

Federer, on the other hand, has 4+ grand slam titles on 3 different grand slam courts. If you take away Wimbledon, where he has 7 titles, he still has 10 grand slam titles. Federer is by far the better all around tennis player.

Unfortunately for Nadal, tennis isn't always played on clay.

A jack of all trades is a master of none.

[stalkerforlife]

A jack of all trades is a master of none.

7 wimbledons? :biggums:

[Mr Clutch Melo]

7 wimbledons? :biggums:

And a ton of losses against RAFA.

Rafa has dominated Fed for 8 years no matter surface.

Rafa tha god:bowdown: :bowdown:

[bdreason]

Sorry, but showing up for the French Open every year isn't going to cut it. Part of being great is being consistent. Roger is a fukcing senior citizen and is STILL performing at a higher, more consistent level than Rafa. If Federer can win the U.S. Open, I believe there's a chance he ends the year as the World's #1 ranked player.

[EnoughSaid]

Nadal's record against Fed is really misconstrued. Out of the 33 matches they've played, 15 have been on clay courts. Take those away and Nadal just leads 10-8. I mean he's the greatest clay court player of all time, so of course if you play him a bunch on his best surface, your head to head is going to suffer.

Anyway, this really opens the door up for Fed to win another major. Just had a great Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, and can seemingly beat everyone in the tournament, other than Djoker at his best.

He'll lock up the #2 seed for sure though, which will be great to see after such a poor 2013.

[dunksby]

But he will be healthy come FO :oldlol:

[raiderfan19]

The thing when comparing rafa to fed you have to remember is that fed is the goat Wimbledon player, goat USO player and arguably goat Australian player along with being arguably the third best clay courter ever(I personally have him 4-6 or so). Nadal is the goat clay courter and that's it as far as being top 5 on a surface

[Milbuck]

Nadal's record against Fed is really misconstrued. Out of the 33 matches they've played, 15 have been on clay courts. Take those away and Nadal just leads 10-8. I mean he's the greatest clay court player of all time, so of course if you play him a bunch on his best surface, your head to head is going to suffer.
So Fed, who is supposedly the one of the greatest if not the greatest grass and hard court players ever has a losing record to Nadal on those surfaces?

If Nadal is such a clay specialist, surely he should have a losing record against the supposed GOAT Federer on other surfaces, right?

[NBAplayoffs2001]

Sorry, but showing up for the French Open every year isn't going to cut it. Part of being great is being consistent. Roger is a fukcing senior citizen and is STILL performing at a higher, more consistent level than Rafa. If Federer can win the U.S. Open, I believe there's a chance he ends the year as the World's #1 ranked player.

Which in my opinion shows how weak the current field is.

[NBAplayoffs2001]

Weak? Its a much stronger field than in Sampras/Agassi times. Sampras went up against guys like Pat Rafter, Yevgeny Kefilnikov, Safin, Hewitt, Ferriera etc. This generation has three of the best players in history + many of them cross over with stars from the last generation (Sampras/Agassi etc).

You kidding me right? 90s tennis>>> whatever competition we've seen in the past 14 years.

[NBAplayoffs2001]

How? Because you had two Americans at the top? Please explain to me how a field with the players I mentioned before is stronger than the field now. Its not.

If you were arguing 80s......maybe ide give you that.

Ok yes, the 1990s weren't that strong in terms of top talent but the top 20 were far more loaded with players who could dethrone top players more easily. Ton of the top 20 players today are such scrubs, it's actually pretty pathetic.

1980s tennis is a diff. story for sure. The 1990s also had serve and volleyers until the ATP conjoined in literally ruining the sport with homogenous surfaces that they have littered across the whole world in international tournaments post 2002.

[bdreason]

So Fed, who is supposedly the one of the greatest if not the greatest grass and hard court players ever has a losing record to Nadal on those surfaces?

If Nadal is such a clay specialist, surely he should have a losing record against the supposed GOAT Federer on other surfaces, right?


Their prime years didn't overlap. When Fed was in his physical prime (23-28), Nadal wasn't good enough to make the Finals of any major except the French. By the time Nadal started making the Finals of Majors other than the French (2008?), Federer was already on the backside of his physical prime years.

That said, I'm not denying Nadal is a great player, and also a nightmare matchup for Federer. Nadal's topspin forehand to Federer's backhand has proven time and time again to be Fed's cryptonite.

[Milbuck]

Their prime years didn't overlap. When Fed was in his physical prime (23-28), Nadal wasn't good enough to make the Finals of any major except the French. By the time Nadal started making the Finals of Majors other than the French (2008?), Federer was already on the backside of his physical prime years.

That said, I'm not denying Nadal is a great player, and also a nightmare matchup for Federer. Nadal's topspin forehand to Federer's backhand has proven time and time again to be Fed's cryptonite.
Agreed on all counts..got a bit carried away in my post, in no way was I trying to tear down Fed. He's the GOAT right now.

My only issue is when people act like Nadal is a total scrub off clay, when that reputation should've been put to bed in 2008-09 after winning his first Wimby and AO, beating a pretty damn good version of Federer in the process (Fed was 27-28). And Nadal has 5 slams off clay..Winning just one slam is no joke...winning FIVE is something else entirely. That's just one less than Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker have in total on all surfaces..and they're HOF all-time greats.

[dunksby]

Agreed on all counts..got a bit carried away in my post, in no way was I trying to tear down Fed. He's the GOAT right now.

My only issue is when people act like Nadal is a total scrub off clay, when that reputation should've been put to bed in 2008-09 after winning his first Wimby and AO, beating a pretty damn good version of Federer in the process (Fed was 27-28). And Nadal has 5 slams off clay..Winning just one slam is no joke...winning FIVE is something else entirely. That's just one less than Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker have in total on all surfaces..and they're HOF all-time greats.
Nobody should assume Nadal is a scrub on other courts, he is an all-time great tennis player and like most he is superior in a specific GS. His superiority on clay doesn't lessen his tennis skills. I dislike Nadal though, can't stand his annoying face :lol

[enayes]

I was hoping to have a chance to see him play this year, oh well.

Nadal has been my favorite player since 2005.

[andremiller07]

Must be on his roid cycle

[ArbitraryWater]

Nadal's record against Fed is really misconstrued. Out of the 33 matches they've played, 15 have been on clay courts. Take those away and Nadal just leads 10-8. I mean he's the greatest clay court player of all time, so of course if you play him a bunch on his best surface, your head to head is going to suffer.

Anyway, this really opens the door up for Fed to win another major. Just had a great Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, and can seemingly beat everyone in the tournament, other than Djoker at his best.

He'll lock up the #2 seed for sure though, which will be great to see after such a poor 2013.

Just came by this....

so, excluding clay... you wanna prove their H2H record is skewed... and we're left with....



ONLY A 10-8 ADVANTAGE FOR RAFA!



Lol... that was anticlimatic.

You'd think after already exluding one of the biggest discreperancies between all-time greats, ever, Federer might just finally scramble at AT LEAST a tie.... but no, he's still behind.. yeah, you sure made your point there :lol ****in trolls