2014 Australian Open of Tennis

[ArbitraryWater]

Rafa

Instant rebreak

How can you not admire this guy

[ImKobe]

damn, that's a wrap

[imdaman99]

Congrats to Wawr. This throws a monkey wrench into Rafa's Goathood but I have a feeling he'll be back.

[RagaZ]

Wawrinka is a classy guy.

[ArbitraryWater]

The loss was extremely tough to take at first, mainly due to Rafa being handicapped ever since the 2nd set with that back injury.

However the handshake afterwards and speeches made it easer. Shed a tear with Rafa... came close to a pretty epic comeback. Well, he still stands at 13 GS's, the goat.

Congratulations to Wawrinka, classy guy. All of tennis is one big brother hood, especially among these greats, which is special.

Kind of seems like he's overtaking Roger's spot at the top, doesn't it?

Not sure how to put this right, all in all dissappointing but Rafa will be back, this match should gain him more respect and praise to his desire on the court, "never back down" attitude and warrior mentality.

Again, congrats to Stan the man.

[plowking]

Is that a joke? You don't know much about tennis do ya?

I probably watch as much as you... so great point.

Hes a moonballer. He hits the ball back high, with top spin, and waits for his opponent to make a mistake. That is the nature of his game. He dominates the clay courts since they're the slowest in the world, allow him to cover the court, return more, and reach more balls that way.

To me, after watching so many greats over the years, hes probably the least exciting guy to watch in terms of top tier guys. Hes a player that relies on others mistakes. Basically prime Lleyton Hewitt on steroids.

[dude77]

wow .. not sure I've ever seen nadal like that after a match ..

usually he takes it in stride and puts on a good face .. but he looked totally dejected in the ceremony(when he was standing and not talking) ..

that had to have been a real bummer after having such a good tournament and making it all the way to the finals to have your damn back cramp up on you in the very last match ..

not to mention the blown chance to tie sampras and inch closer to federer .. these opportunities aren't easy to get .. it's gotta sting .. but wawrinka is awesome .. been a fan of his for a bit now .. good to see him break through and win a grand slam .. and he's ranked #3 now .. his hard work paid off .. good for him

[ArbitraryWater]

Nadal pulling this BS tactic. Rules need to be changed involving injury timeouts. If you're injured so severely you need to leave the court, you forfeit the match.

[ArbitraryWater]

What I don't get is why Nadal was struggling against a worse version of Federer early on.

Huh? You mean in the first set? It's tennis, that happens all the time.

[ArbitraryWater]

I probably watch as much as you... so great point.

Hes a moonballer. He hits the ball back high, with top spin, and waits for his opponent to make a mistake. That is the nature of his game. He dominates the clay courts since they're the slowest in the world, allow him to cover the court, return more, and reach more balls that way.

To me, after watching so many greats over the years, hes probably the least exciting guy to watch in terms of top tier guys. Hes a player that relies on others mistakes. Basically prime Lleyton Hewitt on steroids.

He simply plays a different game, but none the less it's just as much to be appreciated. You like stylish attacking players, Rafa is one of, if not the greatest defensive player. Not just that, but his error-free style, and the ability to go entire matches without making any mistakes, playing at a 100% concentration level is something to behold. On top, he has amazing offensive abilities, which you definitely are undermining. You act like he's a ferrer or monfils type, he's not.

About to tie Sampras for slams, and in the future will most certainly overtake Roger which will put a lock on it.

Not just would he have the most majors won, but he absolutely obliterated the other contender for GOAT in Federer H2H.

Rafa beat him back in 2005, 2006, 2007. Entering his prime he beat him in arguably the greatest grand slam match ever, and overall has a 9-2 record against him at Majors. No doubt the best case for GOAT.
His passion and mental ability is unheard of. This guy is Jordan on stereoids with the pressure on, in an Individual sport.

Appreciate

[dude77]

he has amazing offensive abilities, which you definitely are undermining. You act like he's a ferrer or minfils type, he's not.

this ..

plow you need to respect .. nadal in no way just waits for you to make mistakes .. sure he induces a lot of mistakes from his opponents, but you're kidding me if you're saying that he doesn't get his fair shair of winners .. dude has a relentless fh when he goes for it and gets a lot of winners .. if nadal was the player you're describing him as, he would not have 13 gs titles .. he would be like a ferrer of tennis or someone like that who always manages to come up short

[poido123]

I probably watch as much as you... so great point.

Hes a moonballer. He hits the ball back high, with top spin, and waits for his opponent to make a mistake. That is the nature of his game. He dominates the clay courts since they're the slowest in the world, allow him to cover the court, return more, and reach more balls that way.

To me, after watching so many greats over the years, hes probably the least exciting guy to watch in terms of top tier guys. Hes a player that relies on others mistakes. Basically prime Lleyton Hewitt on steroids.

You don't know what you're talking about Plowking.

I have coached tennis and played at a fairly high level as a junior and I can tell you that Rafa is more than just your typical scrapper, just a guy who hits the ball back and hopes for a mistake

I have a question, have you actually gone to a tennis match and watched Rafa up close? I have.

The power, timing and skill of this guy is phenomenal. His forehand is the best the game has seen. Most of these guys on tour put in a minimum 4 hours on the practice court every day. That doesn't even include their gym workouts and other physical activity.

Lleyton Hewitt is a bad comparison. Hewitt doesn't have a knockout weapon like Rafa has, he is more your typical scrapper.

To play at the elite level, your best weapon is your mind. There are a heap of guys (like myself) who have the talent, but never quite make it to the ATP level. Only a small percentage make it, and many of them struggle to meet both the physical and financial demands that are required to play on the circuit. There are heaps of guys who you could say are great tennis players, but for one reason or another didn't crack the top.

Nadal is super exciting. If you didn't enjoy that 5-6 hour epic he played last year at the Aussie Open against Novak, then you really aren't much of a tennis fan in general.

[EnoughSaid]

Wow I was so sure Nadal had this match in the bag. But Stan The Man stuck to it and pulled it out. Now of course there's the injury and whatnot, but still a great tournament for Wawrinka.

Barring injury, it's 100% safe to say Rafa will win Rolland Garros. But maybe someone else steps their game up so you don't know.

[poido123]

Wow I was so sure Nadal had this match in the bag. But Stan The Man stuck to it and pulled it out. Now of course there's the injury and whatnot, but still a great tournament for Wawrinka.

Barring injury, it's 100% safe to say Rafa will win Rolland Garros. But maybe someone else steps their game up so you don't know.

Rafa has been playing around 10 years on tour. With the type of grinding game he plays, injuries and body deterioration will likely happen. He is 27 now, I suspect that the knee and back injuries will start to pop up more frequently as he ages, which you are starting to see now. He has NEVER been affected this badly by a back injury before. I can almost say for certain it is to do with tennis mileage.

He has probably another 2 years max before he severely declines. He's a lock for Roland Garros though, this year and probably next. Tennis players peak earlier than basketball players and end their careers earlier on average, so mileage in tennis players is definately a big factor towards injury.

[gigantes]

other than rafa playing with nerves and then hurting himself, i'm not too surprised about this result.

waws looked deadly in previous play... efficient, relentless, quick, booming and precise with his shots off both wings.

and this tournament is frankly nole's, not rafa's... stan had already knocked off likely the biggest challenge before the final even began.