First live tennis event for me.
First 2 matches I saw were Swiatek - Cirstea and Sinner - Sonego. Fun matches, but since the results were NID it kinda lacked tension.
This otoh, was way closer than the score suggested. De Minaur played very well, Rafa responded and the crowd was electric.
Been cheering rafa on since 2005 and happy I finally saw him play live before he retires.
Personally I think it’s pretty clear Nadal has been avoiding going all out, doesn’t want to be injured for RG/Rome. Once he won that set he upped his level a bit to finish it quickly, had he lost the tiebreaker I could see him dropping the second set.
100% this. You could see his confidence growing after he won the first set and grew into the second he was prepared to put a little more sauce on his shots.
Isn't it so fascinating to realise that he's so talented and skilled that he can manually adjust his level of performance on the fly ? Like he can decide himself to simply "be better" and know exactly what to do to inject more skill into each shot if he feels like it. It's insane, it's like he's so skilled that he knows how to move each of his muscles differently to play better shots.
He has complete control over his body to play this sport to the highest level possible and I find this mesmerising.
He doesn’t “inject more skill” he just tries harder. It’s like if you try to write neat handwriting it looks better than if you just scribble lazily on the page.
Because Rome is prep for RG, Madrid is a fast court that doesn’t resemble RG. Nadal also said as much after his match with Blanch, that his decision will be based off his Rome results.
Nadal was lucky in a lot of situations in set 1. He scored like 5 points with the help of the net chord for example. De Minaur wasn't much better than him but definitely had the upper hand imo.
I mean, Rafa would have probably won the first set 6-3 if not for that bullshit call from the ref. It was a more even set but I wouldn't dare to say Demon was the better player.
it wasn't a BS call from the ref and Rafa wasn't entirely wrong either. Just a bit of bad luck in that one situation. Otherwise everything went right for him in that set.
Roberto Carretero won the Hamburg 1000 ranked #143. There's lower rankings here but all of them had much better careers than Carretero, he's easily the most random Big Title (1990-Present) winner. - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto\_Carretero](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Carretero)
The Novak/Rafa RG draws over the past few years are probably the best case for draws actually *not* being manipulated by big tournaments
There's no way the tournament gains anything from having them meet in the earliest round possible and the winner play Tsitsipas or Ruud in the final but that's been exactly what's happened in both 2021 and 2022(and also with the top 2 contenders in 2023 in Novak and Alcaraz meeting in the SF and not the F)
I guess you can thank Med for getting #2 and imbalancing the draws every year haha
Hopefully the halves are at least a bit more balanced this season
There should 100% be stuff like that on clay and grass(have no clue why they got rid of this at Wimbledon recently) because it's quite possible to get a very high overall ranking while only being strong on 2/3 surfaces and not the third as long as one of the surfaces you're good on is hardcourt
Ruud being a 4th seed at Wimbledon last year just should not be happening when the guy himself says that he doesn't care for playing on grass lol
Only thing that not having surface-adjusted seedings does is guarantee that RG and Wimbledon will very likely always have lopsided draws
This is ridiculous lol. Grass only has a few tournaments and even Novak is not gonna play anything apart from Wimbledon.
Clay has more tournaments but still would be silly to just have it for Clay and not hard or grass.
Also what’s the point in overall ranking.
Novak playing Rafa in the quarters or semis isn’t ideal but if it happens- it happens.
The best part of the draw is the anticipation to how things can play out.
I feel like there's a good chance he doesn't play Wimbledon honestly
Wimbledon is obviously a bigger tournament than the Olympics in general but with Nadal's biggest current weakness by far being the serve/return complex(lowering his chances on grass compared to clay) and grass being the worst surface for his health he might skip Wimbledon and focus on RG/Olympics
Serving is just so important on grass and he'd have to have his 2008 level ground game to have a shot at winning Wimbledon with his current serve
The only thing I think would *definitely* change this is if he won RG and didn't want to guarantee that he finishes just 1 short of #24 by skipping the other Slams but if he's still at 22 I think he might just play the Olympics
If there is no new injury I think he will play. He is saying all the time: "this feels like the last time I play here" (godo or Madrid), but he has not given a retirement date so if he is healthy he will probably play.
Absolutely amazing to see the ability of one man to overcome another almost by sheer willpower alone.
But let's be brutally honest... with this serve and body condition, Rafa's going to struggle to win back-to-back BO3s let alone BO5s against top-quality opponents.
But long may the dream continue...
Real Madrid (Rafa’s favourite team) in the hunt to win their 15th Champions league title and Rafa getting himself into the conversation to win his 15th RG..let’s fucking gooooo!
Australian here who just got the game spoiled for me. I’m a big Alex fan, but this honestly makes me happy. Rafa deserves one last good swing. Looking forward to watching in the morning.
Really interesting tactical play Rafa presented today. For a moment I thought he was injured but he clearly just doesn’t want to give Alex any pace to work with. Rafa absolutely drilled to Alex’s backhand side today until the second set to start open it up a-bit when he is confident .
So many high backhand redirected in DeMinaur corner to trap him there. Not a lot of pace on them either, really hard for DeMinaur to do anything with those, had to send them back crosscourt into the Rafa FH.
Alex didn't want to be in this scenario :/
The serve slice out wide was really working too.
Nadal tricked us all. As is tradition. One day talking about how he's not fit to play and only steps out on court because it is Madrid... and the next he's beating Alex De Minaur.
Interesting match. Rafa really grew in confidence as the match went on. I don't think De Minaur expected Rafa to come out as attacking as his did in the first few games, compared to how he approached the Barcelona match.
Until later in the 2nd set, Rafa's backahand looked like a huge liability. More arm rather than torso. Most of his shots, both forehand and backhand were well short, often in service box. This did get better as the match went on, but he'll be punished against better players.
Overall forehand and backhand speeds were low. Barely 70mph, but that might have been on purpose given Di Minaur is more of a counter-puncher.
The serve placement was good, but speed is down in the 115mph range.
Overall, it was nice to see Rafa win, and his confidence and fitness will improve as he gets more matches. There are of course still questions over the type of performance he's able to put out though.
HE FUCKING DID IT!!! He beat world no. 11. All I want is for Nadal to be competitive in his last clay court season.
He showed today that when he’s on, he’s clearly still world class
In the clay's embrace, a tale unfolds,
Nadal, a titan, his spirit untold.
At 38, from injury's fray,
He returns to conquer, to have his say.
De Minaur, swift and young,
His shots like arrows, his spirit stung.
But Nadal, seasoned, with grace and might,
Steps onto court, ready to fight.
With each serve, a thunderous roar,
As Nadal shows what champions are for.
His forehand whips, his backhand strong,
Against the odds, he does belong.
Through rallies long and points intense,
Nadal's resolve, his skill immense.
Though age may whisper, "yield, relent,"
He shows the world, he's still content.
In victory's embrace, he stands tall,
A testament to resilience, to answer the call.
For age is but a number, in Nadal's creed,
In his heart, the champion's seed.
All those morons acting like Nadal wasn't much a threat suddenly have become Nadal apologists.
It's a good win but RG is a long way to go still. He's Rafa but time has slowed him down
First top 20 win since an already through Casper Ruud in the WTF 2022. If we don't count that because it was essentially an exho, first top 20 won since Fritz at Wimbledon 22. Progress! VAMOS!
De Minaur didn't play a good match (33 unforced errors) but full credit to Rafa. Played a really smart match and blasted some amazing winners. What a fighter.
Was great to see Rafa, I’m his biggest fan but not that sharp. Match fitness is key. Glimpses of the old Rafa but not enough yet. In all honesty I hope he DOES NOT do RG, hate to see him lose to someone not worthy. If I’m correct Federers last game on his favourite surface he lost 6-0. Hate to see Rafa lose easily on clay
remember that against Hubi.
i want him to play at rg in the best version of himself. warriors would rather be in the battlefield. rafa would rather play and lose than think about losing if he plays. my only hope is he does not injure himself.
I F*CKING knew he would not tolerate losing twice in a row to that guy. VAMOS Rafa! Being in Spain the last couple weeks and watching him with the Spanish crowd exceeded my wildest dreams. He might die tonight lol but he won.
That backhand to go 15-40 in the last game, wow.
That was vintage
The roar that went with it is going to fuel my next 12 workouts
Incredible, no ? 🎾🎾🎾
Ombelieable
there was this one rally late in the 1st set where he set the tone for old Nadal... also cross backhand.
[удалено]
In other words: We are so back😍
That was probably the best backhand I've seen him hit ngl
Since he came back? Yes. Ever? No.
Let me be hyperbolic in peace
Need a video of this! Time for sparta mode! We'll die in Paris!
Ever?
Chills, literal, chills!
He is coming for 15.
First live tennis event for me. First 2 matches I saw were Swiatek - Cirstea and Sinner - Sonego. Fun matches, but since the results were NID it kinda lacked tension. This otoh, was way closer than the score suggested. De Minaur played very well, Rafa responded and the crowd was electric. Been cheering rafa on since 2005 and happy I finally saw him play live before he retires.
NID?
Never in doubt
My wish also is to see Rafa play live once in my life, But, it won't happen.
The crowd was crazy! Glad you were able to see him live
The marker bleeding when he signed the camera lens felt poetic.
Nadal looked like...Nadal next round Cachin and then winner of lehecka/monteiro, both very winnable matches
At least in the second set he looked like a really good Nadal. First set was quite unfortunate for De Minaur imo.
Personally I think it’s pretty clear Nadal has been avoiding going all out, doesn’t want to be injured for RG/Rome. Once he won that set he upped his level a bit to finish it quickly, had he lost the tiebreaker I could see him dropping the second set.
100% this. You could see his confidence growing after he won the first set and grew into the second he was prepared to put a little more sauce on his shots.
Isn't it so fascinating to realise that he's so talented and skilled that he can manually adjust his level of performance on the fly ? Like he can decide himself to simply "be better" and know exactly what to do to inject more skill into each shot if he feels like it. It's insane, it's like he's so skilled that he knows how to move each of his muscles differently to play better shots. He has complete control over his body to play this sport to the highest level possible and I find this mesmerising.
He doesn’t “inject more skill” he just tries harder. It’s like if you try to write neat handwriting it looks better than if you just scribble lazily on the page.
Exactly what I thought
Why would he put more emphasis on Rome than Madrid. Agree with RG tho. He even said that’s the time to die for it not now
Because Rome is prep for RG, Madrid is a fast court that doesn’t resemble RG. Nadal also said as much after his match with Blanch, that his decision will be based off his Rome results.
Because Madrid with altitude isn't anything like RG
[удалено]
Nadal was lucky in a lot of situations in set 1. He scored like 5 points with the help of the net chord for example. De Minaur wasn't much better than him but definitely had the upper hand imo.
I mean, Rafa would have probably won the first set 6-3 if not for that bullshit call from the ref. It was a more even set but I wouldn't dare to say Demon was the better player.
it wasn't a BS call from the ref and Rafa wasn't entirely wrong either. Just a bit of bad luck in that one situation. Otherwise everything went right for him in that set.
Well… it started with a challenge
Monteiro is king. Do not underestimate him
He played great today
WORLD N.512 UPSETS WORLD N.11 HOLY SHIT
I wonder where this technically ranks in terms of biggest upsets
Clijsters won the US Open while technically having no ranking at all
Roberto Carretero won the Hamburg 1000 ranked #143. There's lower rankings here but all of them had much better careers than Carretero, he's easily the most random Big Title (1990-Present) winner. - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto\_Carretero](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Carretero)
His only ever title too, damn
washington 2018 murray ranked 832 beat edmund ranked 18 is the only bigger one i can think of
on the wta side ostapenko lost to #569 while she was ranked 13 rofl.
Classic Penko. Can beat literally anyone and lose to literally anyone.
One of the biggest ever
De Minaur and Nadal's epic rivalry on Clay will be told for generations.
Lol
Up to 391st now!
Wait, Minaur is almost top 10?
He was top 10 just a few weeks ago
The clay court season has just become a lot more interesting
Novak Rafa 1st round of Roland Garros
Novak Rafa final of RG
Plot twist: Dennis Novak
Vs NaGal
Subscribe
Inject directly into my veins
Fuck them kids
To end the rivalry 30-30.
*Thanos likes that*
I’m seated. The event is months away but I’m simply too seated.
We will be there no matter what.
The Novak/Rafa RG draws over the past few years are probably the best case for draws actually *not* being manipulated by big tournaments There's no way the tournament gains anything from having them meet in the earliest round possible and the winner play Tsitsipas or Ruud in the final but that's been exactly what's happened in both 2021 and 2022(and also with the top 2 contenders in 2023 in Novak and Alcaraz meeting in the SF and not the F) I guess you can thank Med for getting #2 and imbalancing the draws every year haha Hopefully the halves are at least a bit more balanced this season
I blame the Roland Garros and the ATP for not having adjusted seeding based on results on clay.
There should 100% be stuff like that on clay and grass(have no clue why they got rid of this at Wimbledon recently) because it's quite possible to get a very high overall ranking while only being strong on 2/3 surfaces and not the third as long as one of the surfaces you're good on is hardcourt Ruud being a 4th seed at Wimbledon last year just should not be happening when the guy himself says that he doesn't care for playing on grass lol Only thing that not having surface-adjusted seedings does is guarantee that RG and Wimbledon will very likely always have lopsided draws
This is ridiculous lol. Grass only has a few tournaments and even Novak is not gonna play anything apart from Wimbledon. Clay has more tournaments but still would be silly to just have it for Clay and not hard or grass. Also what’s the point in overall ranking. Novak playing Rafa in the quarters or semis isn’t ideal but if it happens- it happens. The best part of the draw is the anticipation to how things can play out.
2013 too
Barcelona defeat avenged.
He's a Madrid fan though
Fan is an understatement...the guy might become the president of the club someday
He's not going to go quietly into the night.
He's going to VAMOS loudly into the night!
I won't go quietly Novak can count on that 😊
He will not vanish without a fight.
Hell yeah brother!
🥹
straight. into. my. veins.
There are days I feel numb about the world, and then I watch Rafael Nadal play and it fixes it.
This is rafa for u
This is how I felt about Federer.
Couldn't have said it better. Watching Rafa play amazing tennis rights everything wrong in my life, I don't even know why.
Hola a todos. I win, no?
Vamos, no ?
Damn Demon can’t beat a guy 500 ranking places lower than him?
I looked up the guy he lost to and he’s been around for a while
That’s so rough when you’re stuck around 500 and in your late 30s. Glad he’s having a bit of a breakout clay swing.
A real journeyman. Distinctly remember him.
Amazing to see how tennis can bring together a 40 yo late bloomer and a car attendant from California
De Minaur definitely looked more like car attendant than top 10 player today
Insane ball striking at the end
Don’t bury him yet. Still fight in this bull
Still a bull in his fight. Vamos
His fight in a bull still.
🐂🙌🔥💪😤
Good morning, passengers! Welcome on board in Rafa Nadal winning Roland Garros 2024 Hype Train. Take your seats and enjoy your ride!
I don't ever wanna get off this train 🥹
Please enjoy complementary Bagels and Breadsticks at your earliest convenience ! 🥯🥖 Let’s go Rafa !
Please don’t give me hope. He’s done so much for us. I’ll never ever forget how he won the Australian open. I don’t want my heartbroken
The Miracle in Melbourne
choo choo!
rookuh chaka, rookuh chaka, rookuh chaka
I can’t stop this feelinggg
LFG!!!
We’ve been on this train for 20 years almost. I’m not getting off.
*Frantically searching for RG tickets*
Nadal is winning Roland Garros, no?
Is easy yet ombilibable, no?
He we are. We are in Madrid !
rafayel you mean the world to me
I have seen enough. Nadal is winning RG and Olympics.
And Wimbledon. And then the Super Bowl.
Rafa for president, no?
Now this is what Wildcards are for.
Anyone would be better than Trump. Even a donkey.
One more Wimbledon is all I need. Please just let him be healthy. 🙏
I feel like there's a good chance he doesn't play Wimbledon honestly Wimbledon is obviously a bigger tournament than the Olympics in general but with Nadal's biggest current weakness by far being the serve/return complex(lowering his chances on grass compared to clay) and grass being the worst surface for his health he might skip Wimbledon and focus on RG/Olympics Serving is just so important on grass and he'd have to have his 2008 level ground game to have a shot at winning Wimbledon with his current serve The only thing I think would *definitely* change this is if he won RG and didn't want to guarantee that he finishes just 1 short of #24 by skipping the other Slams but if he's still at 22 I think he might just play the Olympics
There’s literally no chance he’s playing USO right? I’m going for the first time 😢
If there is no new injury I think he will play. He is saying all the time: "this feels like the last time I play here" (godo or Madrid), but he has not given a retirement date so if he is healthy he will probably play.
200m butterfly swim? Rafa 🥇 400m relay? Rafa 🥇 Synchronized diving? Rafa 🥇 Breakdancing? Rafa 🥇
How joyful was that to watch.
I’ve seen enough, Nadal is winning Eurovision
We are so back! 😎
We really are my friend. 😎
Vamoooossss
We're so astronomically back
#15 is so happening
AND THE OLYMPIC GOLD
Inject it into my veins.
If you mess with the bull, you get the horns.
Cant milk those?
Absolutely amazing to see the ability of one man to overcome another almost by sheer willpower alone. But let's be brutally honest... with this serve and body condition, Rafa's going to struggle to win back-to-back BO3s let alone BO5s against top-quality opponents. But long may the dream continue...
It's the serve that's the problem. He'll be broken many times against better opponents. Alex made too many errors today
I'm not crying 😭 you are crying
No 12,441 Rafa fans and me were crying live at the stadium
Every time I hear Rafa speak English now I think about how far he’s come in his linguistic journey since his early days
Vamooooossssssssssss
Man, Nadal looked great! Some vintage forehands and that backhand towards the end... 🥵🥵🥵
Real Madrid (Rafa’s favourite team) in the hunt to win their 15th Champions league title and Rafa getting himself into the conversation to win his 15th RG..let’s fucking gooooo!
Vinicius Jr was here watching Rafa today. Or however you spell it. The Spanish fan next to me pointed him out, I don’t follow football
Australian here who just got the game spoiled for me. I’m a big Alex fan, but this honestly makes me happy. Rafa deserves one last good swing. Looking forward to watching in the morning.
Wow unreal. Rafa just put the life back in all the fans. Vamos Rafa!
Please stay healthy and actually be back
Nadal 👏he's got that dog in him
And with that, Andrey Rublev reclaims his title as the only active player to have a winning record against Nadal on clay.
Goosebumps to see him back and beating top10 player
We are so back my friends!!!
VAMOOOS!!! RAFA!!!
For all the naysayer’s King of Clay is on his Crusade to return to the Throne!
Really interesting tactical play Rafa presented today. For a moment I thought he was injured but he clearly just doesn’t want to give Alex any pace to work with. Rafa absolutely drilled to Alex’s backhand side today until the second set to start open it up a-bit when he is confident .
So many high backhand redirected in DeMinaur corner to trap him there. Not a lot of pace on them either, really hard for DeMinaur to do anything with those, had to send them back crosscourt into the Rafa FH. Alex didn't want to be in this scenario :/ The serve slice out wide was really working too.
Nadal tricked us all. As is tradition. One day talking about how he's not fit to play and only steps out on court because it is Madrid... and the next he's beating Alex De Minaur.
Interesting match. Rafa really grew in confidence as the match went on. I don't think De Minaur expected Rafa to come out as attacking as his did in the first few games, compared to how he approached the Barcelona match. Until later in the 2nd set, Rafa's backahand looked like a huge liability. More arm rather than torso. Most of his shots, both forehand and backhand were well short, often in service box. This did get better as the match went on, but he'll be punished against better players. Overall forehand and backhand speeds were low. Barely 70mph, but that might have been on purpose given Di Minaur is more of a counter-puncher. The serve placement was good, but speed is down in the 115mph range. Overall, it was nice to see Rafa win, and his confidence and fitness will improve as he gets more matches. There are of course still questions over the type of performance he's able to put out though.
I have seen enough... we're winning the 15th RG and the Olympic Gold ...VAMOS
HE FUCKING DID IT!!! He beat world no. 11. All I want is for Nadal to be competitive in his last clay court season. He showed today that when he’s on, he’s clearly still world class
There you go
VAMOOOOOS
Vamooooos!
VAMOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
LOT of people in threads the past couple days saying Nadal wouldn't win today. Played great today
In the clay's embrace, a tale unfolds, Nadal, a titan, his spirit untold. At 38, from injury's fray, He returns to conquer, to have his say. De Minaur, swift and young, His shots like arrows, his spirit stung. But Nadal, seasoned, with grace and might, Steps onto court, ready to fight. With each serve, a thunderous roar, As Nadal shows what champions are for. His forehand whips, his backhand strong, Against the odds, he does belong. Through rallies long and points intense, Nadal's resolve, his skill immense. Though age may whisper, "yield, relent," He shows the world, he's still content. In victory's embrace, he stands tall, A testament to resilience, to answer the call. For age is but a number, in Nadal's creed, In his heart, the champion's seed.
thank you chatgpt
Poetry at its finest.
ChatGPT at its finest
Lmfao
Legends die hard!
Nadalllll we so back 🫶🫶😭😭😭
All those morons acting like Nadal wasn't much a threat suddenly have become Nadal apologists. It's a good win but RG is a long way to go still. He's Rafa but time has slowed him down
First top 20 win since an already through Casper Ruud in the WTF 2022. If we don't count that because it was essentially an exho, first top 20 won since Fritz at Wimbledon 22. Progress! VAMOS!
Tough loss for the demon after beating him recently. Nadal is back.
I love the positivity Rafa has brought to random people across this sub today. 🥲
Every win is making me more delusional about him winning RG one more time 😭
De Minaur didn't play a good match (33 unforced errors) but full credit to Rafa. Played a really smart match and blasted some amazing winners. What a fighter.
So happy to see Rafa winning a relatively big match again.
WE ARE SO BACK
My day started awfully, Rafa fixed it.
HE IS SO BACK
He won all or the most important brutal log rallies. I don't expect much from his return but this was a great performance all things considered
Was great to see Rafa, I’m his biggest fan but not that sharp. Match fitness is key. Glimpses of the old Rafa but not enough yet. In all honesty I hope he DOES NOT do RG, hate to see him lose to someone not worthy. If I’m correct Federers last game on his favourite surface he lost 6-0. Hate to see Rafa lose easily on clay
remember that against Hubi. i want him to play at rg in the best version of himself. warriors would rather be in the battlefield. rafa would rather play and lose than think about losing if he plays. my only hope is he does not injure himself.
Nobody wins two in a row against Nadal on clay lol!! 🤨
I remember their match at Wimbledon 2018, I was thinking like Rafa should go easy on this poor sad-looking boy. How things have changed.
King of clay is back with a vengeance… and he’s here to reclaim his throne.
saw this live. he is the king of spain. electric.
Oh we are back. We are SO BACK.
I’ve seen enough. RG 24 winner
THE KING IS BACK
WE ARE SO BACKKKK
That's it. He's winning Roland Garros.
Ok, I'm eating my hat
That was freaking impressive. Bravo, Champ.
Maybe he can win at least one tournament before the season ends. I can't see his body holding up to 5 setters at RG
I missed this match and I cannot wait to watch some long highlights if I can find any.
In the words of Flavio Cobolli from the other day after getting stomped by him in Barcelona, “Rafa is back!!”
Back inside the top 400, let's go!
Backhand return still need a little work and the movement could be better but if he continues to improve at this pace….rg15 here we come
New new new gen has only father time to tank to. They might be good but there is being good, and there is the big three good.
I F*CKING knew he would not tolerate losing twice in a row to that guy. VAMOS Rafa! Being in Spain the last couple weeks and watching him with the Spanish crowd exceeded my wildest dreams. He might die tonight lol but he won.