Do you think Nadal can last another five years at the current pace?

Question

I am really doubtful he can keep it up at this pace for another five years. His body is really taking a beating. I give him another two full years at the current peak.
Don't get me wrong, Nadal is a great player and he will hang around tennis for a long time but not at the current pace of dominating clay and being a serious contender at grand slams. On the other hand, I see Federer being at his current or close to current peak for a long time, at least five years. What do you guys think?

Answer 1

definitely no, he is already having alot of injuries and nadal isn't even 25 yet! his style of play is fun to watch but it doesn't lend to dominating tennis. the game has changed from baseliners in the 70's and 80's to the power server 90's and now. look at federer and sampras before him. tall big servers, results, easier points, easier matches, less time on court. look at nadal's draw during grand slams except for the french. his draw is grueling. it's amazing he can make it to the finals. mark my words, federer will continue to dominate men's tennis until either he quits because of boredom or a new serve and volleyer like Sampras comes along. I've said it time and again, no one on tour plays net anymore and I believe the last time Federer didn't win a grand slam other than the French was the US open a few years back when Marat SAfin beat him. Sadly, safin has been riddled by injuries, because I thought he was going to be the next sampras. Big serve and great net player! it's easy to see because no one can beat federer from the baseline so you have to beat him from the net. I see Roddick trying that but he can't volley worth crap, Connors is a great coach, but maybe Roddick should get Mcenroe to teach him how to volley. I would love to see Djokovic learn to play the net because he has a great serve, but he lost to Federer like Roddick did because although they have great groundstrokes, Federer is the best from the baseline, bar none.

also: I like your tennis questions, they are fun to answer!

Answer 2

Although i believe Federer is the favourite, i truly do believe Andy Murray has a chance of winning Wimbledon. Grass courts in this era are much slower than they once were, infact they play a lot like hard courts now. This will suit Murray as his favourite surface is Hard Courts. The home crowd will also be a factor, against Gasquet last year Murray used the crowds support to startle Gasquet and get back in the match, home support can give the extra 10% to a player. Nadal isn't 100% fit, a weeks play at Wimbledon for a power player like Nadal will be too much, if Nadal faces Murray in the semi's i'd expect Murray to conquer Nadal. If you look at the US Open Murray outclassed a tired Nadal, and i believe he can do it once again. That leaves Federer against Murray, for me it's anybody's game. I'd expect Murray to reach at least the semi's because only Federer and Nadal can beat Murray over 5 sets on a Grass Court. Anyway it will be Murray-Mania here for the next few weeks

Answer 3

I think Nadal is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the next 5 years! He's won 3 straight French Opens and has made it to the last 2 Wimbeldon finals (the 2006 final was her first time at the All English Tennis Club). Hard courts are really brutal on the body, case in point, this years US Open -- he had both knees wrapped because of pateller tendonitis -- but he still made it to the round of 16. The man is an animal! And more than that . . . . he's goal oriented and his #1 goal is to be the best! Vamoos, Rafa!!!

Answer 4

Hey Vick, I don't know about time frame but you've hit on something that gets little press on this forum and that's the style of play with regards to todays competitors.

I love to watch guys like Nadal and Roddick and others that are so physical out there on the court but I also have to recognize that their hard-pounding style makes for shorter careers when compared to Federer's grace and supreme footwork. That being said, I'm still amazed at how little injuries Andy Roddick has had.

IMO, Nadal is definately going to have to adjust his schedule a bit. His reliance on the clay court season to accumulate points is going to shorten his career if he continues at his current pace.

A perfect historical parallel is Sampras and Agassi. Sampras retired because he felt simply had nothing left to prove and thus lost his motivation. Had he continued, who knows how long he could have gone because his game was so smooth and efficient.

Agassi, on the other hand, was forced into retirement due to injury. Agassi is my all-time favorite but I think the only reason he was able to stay around as long as he could with his pounding style of play was because as he aged, he became much better at finishing players off quickly so his body could recover.

Great question! Fun to answer.

Keep it between the lines!

Answer 5

By current pace do you mean ranking or level or schedule? I believe Nadal will continue to dominate claycourt tennis and the French for the next five years by reducing his schedule slightly and adjusting his play slightly. Comparing him to the development of Aggasi or Chang is flawed because his game was built for and is best on softcourts. Even Federer avoided the wear and tear of playing a full summer on hardcourts before this year's US Open (he played 2 hardcourt events prior). Sampras is not a good comparison because his avoided long rallies by going for flat out winners when pushed off the middle of the court and with the most deceptive serve in tennis. Agassi recently said something like: Pete could beat you up good or barely beat you, but the result looked like the same score, usually by one break."
Nadal attacks with spin and angles that are harder to make productive on hardcourts. But his serve is picking up pace and he has shown he can adjust to grass, so I wouldn't put it past him to win the US Open in the future.
HIs knees will heal, at 20 he is only going to get stronger, so I wouldn't count out any grand slam winner so young.

Answer 6

My brother David was on the tour. He played a similar game where his primary weapon was his legs. Unless Nadal modifies game similar to what Borg did and develops other skills his career as a tennis player will burn out. He is a super pusher, who relies on his legs to keep him in the match. On clay and har tru it works because these two surfaces are slow but on faster surfaces the body takes a beating. If you notice that other than clay, Nadal has been losing to lower ranked players.

Answer 7

Hard to say, but it doesn't look too promising. He seems to be having recurring knee problems, and with his style of play that is very bad news. He's great but his game is so physically taxing. Even a 6-2, 6-2 win is a long arduous affair. It's tough to see him being able to keep that up for many more years. He needs to find a way to shorten points. It'll help him prolong his career and maybe avoid more injuries.

Answer 8

Of course I do! He's going to stay at number two, and when the time is right, he'll become number one and STAY THERE! If you think people like Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick and all of then are going to get the better of him, I disagree. Novak and Andy have NO consistence whatever. Andy Roddick has the consistence of a fruit fly. Novak is a bit better, but one final doesn't bring him eternal glory. He's going to have to wait, because now there's Federer and then there's going to be Rafa. =P

Answer 9

i do not think so nadal is strong talented player and young maybe with time improving and experience he will be no1 and keep free from injuries you know what makes him loss in us open that he have pain in his knee and he in Barcelona for recover now i think when he totally recovered he will come back better than first and about that clay thing i agree with you he is do good on clay he is not always bad on hard as he beats roger in a finals on hard courts it is time trained and exprince federer not become federer in one day

Answer 10

Only if he play less tennis per year. The guy has a lot of gut but no brain.