Nadal Survives Medvedev, Captures 19th Major at US Open

Nadal’s been excellent 15 years running…

If players don’t learn from Medvedev…then I question why they’re in the game.

I will say what no one else will. The key difference in the match was Nadal’s gamesmanship in the fifth set. While Nadal has bullied his way to getting proper time to plan his serve and the point. And all the mainstream outlets were faulting the umpire for enforcing the time violation rules. Nadal doesnt care about the viewers.

Nadal repeatedly threw off Medvedev’s serve by putting his hand up. Repeatedly stealing aces from Medvedev. Danil was deprived of serving when he felt right. Deprived of being able to focus on his point construction, and visualization of his muscles working perfectly in his service motion. Nadal succeeded in getting inside his head via his return routine of getting a towel, giving himself an enema, and holding up his hand. Nadal gets away with not playing to the servers pace. This cost Medvedev being broken early in the fifth. This made a difference. Dont fall for Nadals fake humility.

Oh please. What ridiculous nonsense that Rafa was stealing aces from Medvedev. Most of the people making these whiny complaints are Federer fans who are salty about Rafa getting one slam closer to Fed’s record.

They keep forgetting that the receiving rule is that the receiver has to play to the REASONABLE pace of the server. The server isn’t allowed to quick serve and put the receiver at a disadvantage either which is why most umpires don’t penalize the receiver. I’ve heard the umpire tell players who are complaining about the receiver not being ready that reasonable is 10-11 seconds and the server was trying to serve at about 5-6 seconds.

The umpire certainly wasn’t giving Rafa any special treatment yesterday with time violations in the first game of the match and on break point in the fifth set! Most other umpires would have been a little more reasonable after a four and a half hour match which featured dozens of long strenuous points and a roaring crowd and realized that a couple of extra seconds wouldn’t benefit just one player. The umpire caused a break of Rafa’s serve and an umpire should NEVER NEVER impose themselves on the outcome of a match. And the whiners should get a grip with their nonsensical claims.

“An Umpire should never never impose himself/herself on the outcome of a match.” C’mob Jackson, we know that’s not always going to be the case. I’m still in the camp that Ramos for the most part did the right thing in penalizing Serena. Did you feel he acted wrongly in that match?I didn’t watch the men’s finals carefully enough to judge whether the umpire–who seemed a little somnolent in his high chair–overstepped his boundaries or not, but there was one point in particular I remember an ace being taken away from Medvedev because Nadal put his hand up at the last second. I was surprised Medvedev didn’t object at all to his ace being stolen.

Also, Johnny Mac, who’s certainly a big Nada fan, voiced a couple of times that Nadal got away with ticking the shot clock down to zero without being penalized. Johnny Mac also said there should be a shot clock in-between first and second serves because Nadal was taking an inordinate long time between those two serves. So Nadal has to be reined in with his stalling tactics for certain.

Players could always just beat Nadal. Man, Nadal looks much different, even from recent years. It isn’t even the purple outfits. The man is getting older in front of our eyes. He’s beginning to look like McEnroe a little as he aged, but far bigger dude.

No speculation from me. Just a note, the man is bigger and thicker than he was. Maybe somewhat heavier. He’s not the Rafa in his 20s of years past.

Fed text msg to Nadal: “Rafa, congrats. Especially winning in purple, you pulled it off. re: slams, thanks for keeping next gen in cellar and throwing away the key. Have a good rest of the summer. – Rog.”

Scoop, suggests Nadal is a different competitor than he is outside of competition. Almost totally different person. We don’t seeing him rearranging the mic at press conferences etc or being a control freak during interviews.

It’s like Jekyll and Hyde for pro sports. Greatest most merciless competitor in competition, sweet and gentle demeanor off it. I’ve seen the Nadal sneer! It never happens in an interview from what I’ve seen.

Off topic and off to China – Alison Riske bts WC Kerber in 3 sets over nearly 3 hours in Zhengzhou. After many dispiriting exits this year a good fight from Angie – she played about 2 matches in 1 there and only lost in t/b.

Scoop – you got there before me. Great news about new coach – hope this one works out. Don’t know anything about him.

Scoop, I know Nadal is decent and very generous.

Just not when the first ball is struck or a tad before it, until the moment it’s over. I don’t like the narrative or idea that Nadal isn’t in any match for the competition, that he’s trying to give the world a…no. that’s the narrative I’d like to see go away forever. No one gets that many slams without being ferocious. And if someone is fighting for every ball that’s hit in a match for years and years and years they’re not playing pong out there.

I’ve always like Nadal. But it’s never escaped me that the guy is a ruthless competitor. I think to suggest otherwise as some in fanland have done is to deny what takes place during competition. It’s as if they remember his signing autographs, then forget the match, then resume talkint about how wonderful he is.

I look at that and say, don’t miss the fact he just decimated the opponent in the sixty or ninety or one hundred eighty minutes in between the first autograph and the handshake at the net. Because that showed the Nadal that is the great competitor, without which there’s no autograph, no love, no nothing. The ferocity allows for people to appreciate the man’s grace

Dier was previously coach of Anne-Lena Groenefeld and I recognise him from being around the Fed Cup team so Angie will know him well. Rittner might have had something to do with this.

Don’t know if Angie waved the cheque book to lure him from Anna-Lena or he’d already moved on. Doesn’t strike me as high-powered but maybe that’s what she wants at this stage. Nothing on her Twitter. Can’t think he’s just a fill-in – but who knows with AK ?

Scoop, yes – Toni Nadal basically lost out to Carlos Costa and Miguel Nadal, Nadal’s dad. F. Roig had been the traveling coach anyways.

Toni Nadal when he stepped down said it. I wouldn’t doubt him. So I’m wrong.

“(Toni) has felt increasingly sidelined by Nadal’s (IMG) manager Carlos Costa and the player’s father. ‘The truth is that every year I am making fewer decisions, to the point that I won’t be deciding anything anymore.” – February 2017, Toni Nadal.

That’s of course very stark and clear – Toni Nadal became director of the academy, where he’d focus on new players, and Nadal underwent a formal coaching change.

A longer excerpt from ESPN, 2017.

“Until (Nadal) was 17 years old it was me who decided everything. Then Carlos Costa arrived as manager. Then (his dad) became closer, each having his opinions. And the truth is that every year, I had less decision-making, until the day when I will decide nothing.”

Uncle Toni sees things clearly out there. He was obviously upset at seeing the sidelines, which apparently was a surprise even to Rafa Nadal. But all is well. Toni Nadal is doing good things and remains a good analyst, and Moya is basically in charge of Nadal’s training until retirement.

When should Medvedev Fire his coach, for Safin, or Kafelnikov? Tsitsipas will have to fire his father, he only got him to 7. Aristotle will come in and coach him to Majors

Of course Rafa is a cold-blooded assassin on the court. So are Novak and Fed, they just show it in different ways. We’ve said before that these top players take competitiveness to a crazy level. That is why they keep winning, and winning, and winning.

I am nearly finished Sharapova’s autobiography. She says several times throughout the book, starting at an early age, that she just wants to beat everybody. Not simply to win titles or be No.1. Sven Groeneveld even said that was why he accepted the coaching job. When he asked her why she was still playing, she replied: “Because I want to beat them all.”

Somehow there is something mean-spirited about that, as though she has to get even with the other players. It’s not that she has to beat them to win titles or get the No.1 ranking, she has to “get” them.

Medvedev has done well with his coach. Nadal’s been with the same group for a long time, even when Toni was the figurehead of the coaching. If that coach wants to add people and it makes sense to Medvedev he should add them.

Someone on Reddit posted a photo of a huge billboard in Manhattan of Rafa roaring. It is downright scary!

Harold’s no doubt correct. But Toni did indeed feel slighted by the move. I’m sure all is ok, don’t worry about the Nadals. Nadal is winning big and often again, another epic career year that most players would trade whatever for, and Toni Nadal is no doubt in demand as he comments on Nadal for his columns in Spain’s important newspapers.

Toni Nadal is a great coach. He was also sidelined when Nadal needed a traveling coach, given Toni has his own life etc and couldn’t do it and Nadal most importantly needed it, and given that Nadal’s game needed a new voice.

Personally I don’t care at all. They do what they do. Toni Nadal did feel slighted but he is fine, and Nadal as anyone here recommends for any player should always get a new voice when things hit a rough patch for too long.

On my end I always advocate against parents being the lead coaches. They can be involved but they shouldn’t call the shots. The player should and the player should have a few voices to help.

Here’s an example. Tiafoe – he made a major coaching change. If this doesn’t work out and by all accounts to my eye it is not (I don’t count a five setter with struggling Alex Zverev at the US Open as an amazing result, or a lackluster year outside of a Masters event), I’d hope Tiafoe pursues another change.