Here we go, it’s Djokovic vs. Nadal…

I never said Rafa didn’t grow up with a TV set… There are great champions & competitors in every era which by the way I’ve been watching Tennis for more than just Rafa’s Great Years Andrew in case you are wondering… Lol I witnessed the way guys like: Lendl, McEnroe, Connors, Becker, Edberg, Sampras, Agassi, Chang, Courier & so on battled… Any future All Time Great has inspirations growing up & Rafa is no different… Watching others have a will to win & compete isn’t going to just magically make someone like Rafa have those same qualities… It’s something that people are born with & his competitive spirit/maximum effort on every shot & point is truly special… I remember seeing Jimmy Connors go all out the time as well as 1 of my 2 All Time Favorites prior to Rafa-Boris “Boom Boom” Becker!!

You make some valid points Andrew… Rafa competes hard in every match & event but he obviously raises it to a whole different level in the Majors & Masters 1000 series tournaments that he covets the most just like all the other truly great players… There’s no doubt that Rafa & his team are calculating in what they say & there’s a psychological objective behind their comments… There’s a Bill Belichick like deliberately sell ourselves short while falsely building up our opponents approach to Rafa & his team’s talking to the media philosophy… I do feel Rafa is appreciative & respectful of his opponents but at his core is a mercenary who wants to not only beat them but also make them suffer physically & emotionally… Ivan Lendl had that same ASSASSIN on a tennis court demeanor about him & many other Greats as well!!

I will finish with one last comment. These courts slowdown does benefit today’s top four players. But as a player you don’t choose the surface. These fifty four ball rallies were not part of tennis in the 1990s. There is a reason few are acing at the level of years and decades past.

This was broken down in the new York times article on federer in august. It said federer made adjustments to play well even with the changes in strings courts and technologies. Most of federers dominance was prior to 2008. But again you don’t choose courts balls racquets strings etc. You just make do. And no one is making hay better than nadal with a nod to djokovic and Murray. They have also been excellent. There is only a top three in tennis right now.

I like the analysis cs3. These players seem to really learn from observations and then practice to take advantage of this. It is like how Nasal beat the tall dangerous dutch player – can’t remember the name now but he was seen as the big new threat. After losing the first set nadal stepped back from the baseline to give himself a better handle on the guy who was serving out of his mind. The player never knee what hit him as serve after serve came back.
Agassi and Sampras and even Federer used to do this – notice some chink in the armor of the opponent then use it against them to devastating effect. It is not unlike what great opponents or coaches do in any sport. But nadal s ability to

Now wait a second, don’t put Nadal on the level of MJ. No one dominated his sport the way MJ did. When he was at the top of his game, no one else–Barkley, Drexler, Olajuwon, Ewing–won championships.

Wow, dan giving MJ props. Thought Starks might have turned you on MJ.

You cannot compare individual sports to team sports. How many great HOFers, never won anything. Ted Williams, Elgin Baylor, jim Brown. Shouldn’t lower their greatness because they never won.

Tiger Woods is a good comparison, when he was healthy, he dominated. A great player like Mickelson would have 5 more Majors if not for Tiger.

Doubt he was faster than Nadal! Dan I think will just agree to disagree. Jordan’s style was more along the lines of Federer in terms of aesthetic , and Blake referred to Federer as the Michael Jordan of tennis. But I think Nasal comes closer in terms of big point playing. Nasal in terms of mental toughness is in a league all his own, with djokovuc and Murray just below . Federer was there from 2004 to 2007. It is too hard to compare sports but I get the sense nasal would have been great in a few other sports too. Having an uncle renown for his soccer prowess speaks to the nasal thirst for sports. Maybe he would have been great in cycling or boxing as scoop said. Is it really unspeakable to put nadal in the kind of category of great big point athletes ?

Anyways I think it is as much a tribute to nadal as mj.

Scoop I think like Federer and Nadal Jordan had tons of rivals. It is a tough question prob no answer – Jordan didn’t win right away in Chicago , he needed Phil Jackson the philosopher to harness his talent , who probably functioned a lot like an uncle Toni or in the case of Federer a Peter Lundgren ( when he was still in the champ producing biz ). I think there is a new coaching elite emerging in pro tennis , which will prob include Mike Sell soon enough given his proven ability with Donald Young and John Isner. I think the big coach era is over with new coaches like Lendl entering the fold. This is why I think Spades should re-engage.

If Mike Sell can coach a few players into top form – Isner got back his top 15 ish groove and Donald Young got top 40s even when everyone wrote him off – clearly he can motivate good players to get better. It’s not like other coaches related to their charges where it’s more of a one and done deal. Toni Nadal isn’t coaching anyone else ever; nor is Sharpova’s dad, nor the Wimbledon champ Bartoli’s dad. Those coaches have vested family interests.

But who will the next Annacone be? There will be a need for them. I dont think Mike Sell’s record is half bad on this. And if Spadea wants in on motivating champs he should probably prove that he can motivate a player to the top echelon. Sell has Spadea on this right now – he can motivate top players towards their potential.

I dont think BG can do it anymore given his split duties in the announcing world.

Scoop not sure if u.s. even producing at the ginepri spades level. Those two at least have slam qf and semifinal appearances .

That is why I think Spadea should get back in and I would hope Mayotte and some of the elder statesmen would jump back in . I know Mayotte is the equivalent of a foot soldier here with his academy work and belief in groundstrokes – take the hungry player who wins and give him or her the instruction to get better technically . that is the nadal playbook after all. Spadea would be good at the elite level. Personally I think he could get some u.s. players to their potential, at least prepared for slams.

For whatever reason the u.s. females future is superior. Trust me I like what I see in tier two of the u.s. players – I even believe in dyoung. But there is a huge gap between potential and tier one tennis. U.s. players are now known for their impatience and fault in technique and general strategy – a combo of a lack of preparation and a lack of improvement .

But I think Mike Sell must be a strong coach. He helped Owner get back his mojo – a Masters final with a 7-6 7-6 decision to nadal is a great best of three result. Isner may win one of these under Sell , even go deeper in Australia than the u.s. open. That is why I say that if Spadea wants to do something in coaching , no need to look down on a coach that is helping players maximize their games.

O wonder what happened with the Gilbert Querrey coaching. For whatever reason Kei Nishilori and Querrey both saw their coaching with Gilbert end. O don’t ever hear Gilbert speak of former charges. He even liked Murray even after he was cut loose. Maybe Gilbert simply is too expenaive. I read winning ugly the book and gilbert did talk a lot about money ( and noticeably did well at the old Compaq grand SLam cup where prize money exceeded most tournaments ). Not to slight gilbert as a a player – but his slam results were not better than his peers ( the kricksteim martin wheaton map Washington group ).

Sampras as a panther. I like that.

That’s absurd. A number of NBA players were dual-pro-sport-athletes including Dave DeBusschere, Danny Ainge and John Lucas. NBA athletes are the greatest athletes in the world. By and large, they’re stronger, fitter, faster, bigger and jump better than almost any tennis player who ever lived.

C’mon, are you going to compare even the fitness, strength and speed levels of Nadal and LeBron? LBJ would beat Nadal in any fitness metric you want to devise: quickness, speed, strength, leaping. Who do you think would win a decathlon–Rafa or LeBron?