Well....... i will miss the great raffie......mister nadal .......he is going out of tennis ........ he was epic .....but i am sure he will do fine........ he will not struggle .........i think he has enough cash to live on .........yes sirreee bob ........like king roger .......well as we all know ......... fresh ones ....... come along ........ ...like wet wipes ....... the game gets faster ...... and stronger ...... as rackets get more innovative ......... and athletes become more super ......the game has changed .......since macenroe ....... and ice man ........ bjorg played .........it is a great sport....... a sport of kings......... and now we have the annoying pickle balll ....... which i fucking hate ........and will nor play .......it looks like old bastads tennis ........ you know for old bastards .........i am an old basatrd ......... but pickleball not for me....... unless .......... it gets extreme ..........tennis is the best ........fuck pickleball
adios raffie nadal ........you will be missed ....king of the clay court .......... ..............
Rafael Nadal, saving one point at a time
The career of one of the greats of men’s tennis has been one of grit, determination and claycourt domination
Rafa Nadal, one of the icons of men's tennis with 22 Grand Slam trophies, is hanging up his racket after more than two decades in the upper echelons of the sport. Among the sport's greatest lefthanders, the Spaniard's ferocious style left him susceptible to injuries throughout his career and a serious hip problem that needed surgery in 2023 severely hampered him in the last couple of seasons.
An aggressive brawler from the baseline, Nadal was known for his battling qualities especially during crucial break points in high-pressure matches. He was arguably the best among players with similar major records when it came to saving or converting break points. The men's 'Big Three' of Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer converted over 40% of break points and saved over 65% of them.
The second serve
Unlike many of his rivals, Nadal's first serve was not a lethal weapon and he was behind the tour average speed but the 38-year-old served with plenty of depth, as per information on Tennis Abstract, a blog tracking the game's data. John Isner and Ivo Karlovic, two of the biggest servers in the men's game who clocked delivery speeds in excess of 200 kmph consistently, averaged close to 20 aces every match.
Djokovic and the now retired Federer averaged between six to nine aces a game, while Nadal managed a little over three aces a game. The Spaniard's real gift was his second serve.
According to the ATP's service leaderboard, Nadal won nearly 58% of his second serve points, the most for any player on tour. His closest rivals are Federer, Djokovic and the big-serving American duo of Isner and Andy Roddick.
Rally workhorse
The longer opponents played a rally with Nadal, the more likely they were to lose. According to Tennis Abstract, which also tracks individual rallies of the top players, the ideal time to beat Nadal was in the first three shots. The only player that statistically trumped him in longer rallies was Andre Agassi, another aggressive baseliner. In a game of small margins, this can be huge. Although this data is not all encompassing and doesn't capture all of Nadal or Agassi's matches, it is an indicator of how top players in the men's game approach their rallies.
Injury toll
Nadal's greatest rival was probably not across the net, but his own body. "The only question with Rafa is physically how much his body can handle the pounding with how hard he works for every point," said American 14-times Grand Slam winner Pete Sampras in a 2010 interview with Reuters.
"You just watch him play, the kid is relentless." Nadal's devastating forehand and insatiable appetite to win every point took its toll over the years. A good barometer of his injuries is the fact that he missed 16 Grand Slams.
Although his playing style had an impact, Nadal has enjoyed a long career and is among the oldest and the youngest to win a Grand Slam.
Rafa’s forehand
His forehand, venerated for its efficiency, was arguably the most unique part of his game. Using an unconventional semi-western grip and using a whipping like movement, he was able to generate many revolutions and staggering opponents to a halt with its bounce and speed. But this style also put heavy stress on his body.
In a 2013 interview with Newsday, John Yandell, who runs the tennis blog tennisplayer.net, said that, "It takes about a second for Rafa's ball to get to strings."
Yandell has used high-speed cameras to study how tennis balls rotate after being hit. "From .85 to 1.2 seconds. In that time, the ball turns over 50 or 60 times. That is from 3,000 to 3,600 revolutions per minute. "It's hard to believe that could actually be true," Yandell said. "But it is."
This shot makes his style highly suitable to the clay courts of Paris which as a surface create a lot of bounce, making it harder for opponents to return the ball.
Nadal uses a semi-western tennis grip to create a whipping motion that helps generate this kind of torque that Yandell mentions.
Nadal usually starts his shot below the ball and driving his hips, legs and shoulders through the shot with an upward motion.
The windscreen wiper contact of the ball helps him create a lot of spin
The rotation from the rest of his body helps him produce a poweful shot
His follow through unlike most players finishes above his head. This known as a lasso forehand.
The King of Clay
Men's tennis has been dominated in the last two decades by Nadal (22 Grand Slams), Federer (20 Grand Slams)and Djokovic (24 Grand Slams), but there is little doubt Nadal is the greatest on clay, the sport's slowest surface. Although Nadal learnt his craft on the clay courts of Manacor in Spain's Mallorca, it was Roland Garros in Paris that was his favourite hunting ground.
He won a staggering 14 French Open titles - a record that is unlikely to be eclipsed anytime soon - with only four losses in 116 matches.
Ageing like fine wine
Despite his age, Nadal managed to maintain a higher share of wins, particularly on clay and grass courts, compared to others in the professional era that began in 1968. Only Djokovic, Federer and Ken Rosewall have similar and consistent records as they grew older.
Win records across surfaces
The chart shows the percentage of matches a player has won on clay courts, grass courts and hard courts by age.
As Rafa Nadal prepares to ride off into the sunset after a stellar career, his fellow professionals from eras old and new agree on one thing - the Spaniard remains an inspirational role model whose legacy has shaped tennis over the last 23 years.
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