Rafael Nadal

[Lucas]

Against Nadal, Do Not Fall Behind On Serve

Spoiler:

Imagine losing the opening point of your service game and consequently not being favoured to hold serve. You must be playing Rafael Nadal.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the 2018 year-end Top 25 of the ATP Rankings identifies that there is just one player who statistically becomes the favourite when returning if he wins the opening point of the game.


The data set is from the past four seasons and uncovers that Nadal has won 50.4 per cent (649/1288) of his return games when he wins the opening point.

The average for the current Top 25 is breaking 39.5 per cent (9543/23,682) of the time when they win the opening point of the game, which highlights Nadal’s superiority in this specific area.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic comes in second best breaking serve when he wins the opening point of the game when returning, at 49.2 per cent (673/1367).

Current Top 25 Over Past Four Seasons: Breaking Serve When Leading 0/15

Ranking

Player

% Breaking Serve When Leading 0/15

Return Games W/L From 0/15

1

R. Nadal

50.4%

649/1288

2

N. Djokovic

49.2%

673/1367

3

D. Schwartzman

49.1%

439/895

4

F. Fognini

47.1%

511/1086

5

D. Goffin

45.7%

557/1220

Diego Schwartzman moved to a career-high ranking of No. 11 in June, and was the No. 1 returner on the ATP Stats Return LEADERBOARD, powered by Infosys Nia Data, in 2017.

Fabio Fognini was the fourth best returner on tour in 2018, and finished this season with his career-best ranking of No. 13. David Goffin finished second to Nadal in the Infosys Return Ratings in 2018.

Winning the opening point when serving against these return giants is crucial. Otherwise, the game may be over before it’s really started.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/infosys ... ember-2018

[Lucas]

Nadal Honoured By Peers With Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award

Spoiler:

Fellow players voted Rafael Nadal as the winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award in the 2018 ATP World Tour Awards presented by Moët & Chandon, recognising the Spaniard for his fair play, professionalism and integrity on and off the court. Nadal also received this honour in 2010.

This season, the 32-year-old spent 36 weeks atop the ATP Rankings and won five titles, including record 11th trophies at Roland Garros, the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. Off the court, Nadal supported flood relief efforts in Mallorca.

Nadal has won an ATP World Tour Award in each of the player-voted categories: Newcomer (2003), Most Improved (2005), Comeback (2013), Sportsmanship (2010, 2018). He has also been awarded the ATP World Tour No. 1 trophy on four occasions (2008, 2010, 2013, 2017) and was named Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year in 2011.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/nadal-a ... ship-award

[Lucas]

Nadal, Djokovic, Delpo Among Surface Leaders Of 2018

Spoiler:

Spaniard was again almost unbeatable on clay, while Serb excelled on both grass and hard courts
To thrive on the ATP World Tour, it's a given that players must find a way to succeed on various surfaces under different conditions throughout the year's 64 tournaments. The 2018 season was no different, according to the FedEx ATP Performance Zone. Here's a look at some of the best performers by surface this year:

Clay Courts (minimum 10 matches)
It's no surprise that Rafael Nadal was the best player on clay in 2018, winning three more titles on the surface (4) than he had losses (1). The Spaniard claimed his 11th titles at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and Roland Garros, also triumphing at the Internazionali BNL D'Italia. Nadal now owns 57 clay-court tour-level trophies, which would rank 12th all-time among title winners on all surfaces.

While Alexander Zverev shone brightest in London, where he claimed the Nitto ATP Finals crown, the German was successful on clay as well, winning 84 per cent (21-4) of his matches on the surface.

Player W-L Record Winning %
Rafael Nadal 26-1 96.3%
Alexander Zverev 21-4 84.0%
Martin Klizan 16-4 80.0%
Dominic Thiem 30-8 78.9%
David Goffin 12-5 70.6%
Hard Courts (minimum 10 matches)
Nadal also had the ATP World Tour's best winning percentage on hard courts, but he played just three tournaments on the surface, finishing with a 14-2 record. Other Top 10 players produced standout performances on hard courts, including Juan Martin del Potro, who won back-to-back titles in Acapulco and Indian Wells (his first ATP Masters 1000 title). He also reached four hard-court finals, including the US Open. The Argentine claimed 36 wins on the surface, as did Roger Federer, who won his sixth Australian Open, the ATP 500 title in Rotterdam (where he returned to World No. 1) and his ninth title in Basel.

But among players with 30 or more hard-court match wins this season, Novak Djokovic had the best winning percentage of 83.8 per cent (31-6), despite starting the year 3-3 on the surface. The Serb won 26 of his final 28 matches, all on hard courts. During that span, he completed the Career Golden Masters at the Western & Southern Open, was victorious at the US Open and captured the Rolex Shanghai Masters crown.

Player W-L Record Winning %
Rafael Nadal 14-2 87.5%
Novak Djokovic 31-6 83.8%
Roger Federer 36-8 81.8%
Juan Martin del Potro 36-9 80.0%
Kevin Anderson 35-13 72.9%
Alexander Zverev 35-13 72.9%
Grass Courts (minimum 5 matches)
Djokovic's resurgence after a 6-6 start to the year got underway during the grass season. He held championship point at the Fever-Tree Championships before ultimately falling against Marin Cilic, who had the third best record on the surface this year. But Djokovic used that event as a launching pad to capture his fourth Wimbledon crown.

Roger Federer won a record 18th grass-court title in 2018, triumphing at the MercedesCup in Stuttgart, while also reaching the final at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle.

Player W-L Record Winning %
Novak Djokovic 11-1 91.7%
Roger Federer 12-2 85.7%
Marin Cilic 6-1 85.7%
Borna Coric 5-1 83.3%
John Isner 5-1 83.3%
Rafael Nadal 5-1 83.3%
Indoor Courts (minimum 10 matches)
While indoors is not a surface, Karen Khachanov rode great success indoors to his breakthrough in 2018. The Russian won his maiden ATP World Tour title two years ago in Chengdu. But Khachanov added three more trophies to his total this year, with all of those victories coming on indoor hard courts. Khachanov won the Open 13 Provence, the VTB Kremlin Cup and he earned his maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title at the Rolex Paris Masters, finishing the season 20-4 indoors.

Player W-L Record Winning %
Karen Khachanov 20-4 83.3%
Roger Federer 14-3 82.4%
Novak Djokovic 8-2 80.0%
David Goffin 8-2 80.0%%
Kevin Anderson 13-4 76.5%
Overall
It's fitting that the Top 3 players in the year-end ATP Rankings — Nadal (No. 2), Federer (No. 3) and Djokovic (No.1) — are also in the Top 3 in overall winning percentage in 2018. Djokovic lost just six matches after his 6-6 start, finishing with wins in 47 of his last 53 matches. Zverev, who led the ATP World Tour with 58 match wins, earned a 75.3 winning percentage.

Player W-L Record Winning %
Rafael Nadal 45-4 91.8%
Roger Federer 48-10 82.8%
Novak Djokovic 53-12 81.5%
Juan Martin del Potro 47-13 78.3%
Alexander Zverev 58-19 75.3%

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/fedex-z ... by-surface

[Żilu]

[Damian]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1073158392355713024

[Żilu]

[Barty]

Musiałeś to wrzucać, Żilu?

[Żilu]

Taka praca

[Damian]

Rafael Nadal: “I am having a better off-season than last year”

Spoiler:

Rafael Nadal spoke to the CNN about his preparation for the 2019 season and the tragedy which hit his homeland Mallorca last autumn

Rafael Nadal is preparing to make his seasonal debut at next week’s Mubadala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi. He will kick off the 2019 ATP season in Brisbane two weeks before the start of the Australian Open in Melbourne.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion said in a recent interview with CNN that she is happy with his preparation ahead of the new season. The Spanish legend admitted that he is in better shape than one year ago. Nadal suffered from injury problems during the hard-court season and was forced to skip the Nitto ATP Finals in London.

“I am making a lot of steps forward since the foot surgery. I started practising tennis one week earlier than planned, and in higher intensity than we had thought. It was a little bit of risk that we don’t make it into the beginning of the season. We are practising more or less hard and we are excited to start the new season.Being honest, we are having a better off-season than last year. I finished 2017 very badly with my knees. I did not arrive very well prepared to the beginning”, said Nadal to the CNN.

Nadal lived up once again as the “King of Clay” with record 11th titles in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona and Roland Garros. The Mallorcan player also won the Internazionali d’Italia in Rome for the 8th time in his career beating Alexander Zverev in a three-set final clinching the 78th career title and his 32th Masters 1000 title. He dropped just one set en route to his 11th triumph at the French Open, where he beat Dominic Thiem in a three-set final.

During the summer he showed good form on other surfaces reaching the semifinal at Wimbledon on grass and won his first Masters 1000 title on hard-court since 2013 beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.

At the US Open he beat Dominic Thiem in an epic quarter final by the scoreline of 0-6 6-4 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-5) in a match which ended at 2 am local time. Unfortunately Nadal withdrew from the semifinal match against Juan Martin Del Potro due to a knee injury after losing the second set.

The 32-year-old Mallorcan player was voted by his fellow player as the winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmaship Award for the second time in his legendary career after receiving this honour in 2010. Outside the court Nadal assisted in the clean-up operation after a devastating flood hit his native island of Mallorca. During the interview to the CNN Nadal spoke about the tragedy which hit Mallorca last autumn.

“It was terrible. Scary and very sad. It happened in the village just next to us, just five or six kilometres away from here. It was a tough day. I really lived that tragedy, from very close. It was very sad for all the people that lost the materials, but especially the lives that can’t come back”, said Nadal.

https://www.ubitennis.net/2018/12/rafae ... last-year/

[grzes430]

Prezes Realu Madryt chwali Rafaela Nadala. "To najlepszy hiszpański sportowiec wszech czasów"

Spoiler:

Florentino Perez po raz kolejny pokazał, jak bardzo ceni Rafaela Nadala. Prezes Realu Madryt wychwalał utytułowanego tenisistę, gdy jego fundacja otrzymała nagrodę za pomoc niesioną innym.
Rafał Smoliński
Rafał Smoliński
21 Grudnia 2018, 21:42
REKLAMA


Getty Images / Julian Finney / Na zdjęciu: Rafael Nadal
REKLAMA


Piękny gest Rafaela Nadala. Hiszpan przekaże milion euro powodzianom na Majorce
- Jestem przekonany, że to najlepszy hiszpański sportowiec wszech czasów. Nie chodzi o to, że doceniam jego sympatię do Madrytu, ale ze względu na jego osiągnięcia sportowe i działalność społeczną - powiedział Florentino Perez.
Rafael Nadal to wielki fan Realu Madryt i jak tylko ma okazję, to stara się być obecny na trybunach stadionu Santiago Bernabeu. Jakiś czas temu przyznał, że gdyby miał możliwość, to chciałby zostać prezesem tego klubu. Jednak z drugiej strony docenia pracę wykonywaną przez Pereza.

REKLAMA

Nadal przygotowuje się do powrotu na kort. Po kontuzji mięśni brzucha i problemach z kostką nie ma już śladu. 17-krotny mistrz wielkoszlemowy zagra pod koniec grudnia w pokazówce w Abu Zabi. Sezon 2019 rozpocznie w turnieju ATP World Tour 250 na kortach twardych w Brisbane.

https://sportowefakty.wp.pl/tenis/79545 ... towiec-wsz

[Lucas]

Nadal, Federer Dominate The Break Points Better Than Anyone

Spoiler:

Rafael Nadal was the king of break points in 2018.

The 32-year-old Spaniard finished the season at No. 2 in the ATP Rankings with a 45-4 record, including five titles. He also earned more than $8.6 million dollars in prize money. Nadal's outstanding performance in the crucible of break points – both when serving and receiving – was a major reason.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of Nadal on break points in 2018 uncovered that he finished second best on tour this year with break points saved, and third best with break points converted.

Rafael Nadal: 2018 Season
No. 2: Break Points Saved = 70.46% (198//281)
No. 3: Break Points Converted = 45.57% (216/474)

The following analysis combines break points saved when serving along with converting break points when receiving into one number. As you will see from the table below, which includes the best 10 players in this combined metric, Nadal’s separation on break point is evident.

2018 Season: Combined Total - Break Points Saved & Converted

#

Player

Break Points Saved

Break Points Converted

Combined Total

1

Rafael Nadal

70.46%

45.57%

116.03

2

Roger Federer

68.49%

41.88%

110.37

3

Pierre-Hugues Herbert

66.56%

41.74%

108.30

4

Steve Johnson

70.75%

36.3%

107.05

5

Pablo Carreno Busta

62.57%

44.21%

106.78

6

Kei Nishikori

62.85%

42.63%

105.48

7

Borna Coric

62.18%

43.23%

105.41

8

Roberto Bautista Agut

63.64%

41.76%

105.40

9

Adrian Mannarino

59.25%

45.64%

104.89

10

Gael Monfils

58.42%

46.42%

104.84

Roger Federer finished second best with the combined total (110.37), which helped power the Swiss to an end-of-season ATP ranking of No. 3. He also spent six weeks at No. 1 earlier in the year.

Gael Monfils finished 10th best in the combined totals list, and actually finished first in Break Points Converted for all players on tour in 2018, winning 46.42 per cent (149/321). Steve Johnson was the tour leader in Break Points Saved, at 70.75 per cent (208/294).

Nadal and Federer both had an outstanding win rate on break points in 2018.

2018: Nadal & Federer - Percentage of Break Points Played

Players

Total Points Played

Break Points Played

% of Break Points

R. Nadal

7728

755

9.76%

R. Federer

9377

637

6.79%

The illustrious careers of both Nadal and Federer have been built around winning the big points, and 2018 was no exception.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/nadal-f ... s-dec-2018

[Damian]

Rafael Nadal unveils reduced 2019 schedule, entering only..

Spoiler:

Tennis - World no. 2 has signed to play just 16 tournaments in the next season, hoping to avoid injuries and give his 100% every time

DECEMBER 23, 2018 11:10
by JOVICA ILIC | VIEW 4951
Rafael Nadal unveils reduced 2019 schedule, entering only..


The 17-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal has been the no. 1 player in the biggest part of the season behind us, winning 45 out of 49 matches and conquering the Tour leading five ATP titles. Rafa was never beaten before the quarter-final stage and he played some epic matches on the biggest stage, giving his 120% but struggling with injuries that reduced his schedule to just nine tournaments. Right knee, hip and abdomen injuries sidelined Nadal in the majority of hard court events and he lost the ATP throne in the battle with Novak Djokovic after skipping the crucial tournaments in the closing months of the year that cost him the year-end no.

1 spot. Nadal was forced to retire at both Majors on hard court and the semi-final clash at the US Open against Juan Martin del Potro proved to be his last match of the season, unable to recover from a knee injury and missing Paris and the ATP Finals due to an abdominal injury.


Overall, the Spaniard had to skip Brisbane, Acapulco, Indian Wells, Miami, Cincinnati, Beijing, Shanghai, Paris and the ATP Finals and he will take a completely different approach in 2019, reducing the number of tournaments and making a perfect schedule that will allow him to give his best every time he steps on the court.

Rafa has been training at his Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca and he will travel to Abu Dhabi in a few days time to compete at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship between December 27-29. The official start of 2019 has been set for Brisbane in the first week of the new year and he will move to Sydney after that to hit the FAST4 Showdown before heading to Melbourne where he will seek the second Australian Open crown.


After a suitable rest, Rafa will play in Acapulco at the end of February after being forced to skip that tournament this season, preparing for the first Masters 1000 events of the year at Indian Wells and Miami, skipping them in 2018 as well.

Just like this season, the clay swing includes five biggest tournaments in the world on the slowest surface, looking to defend four titles he won in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome and Paris and to add some valuable points at home in Madrid where Thiem defeated him in the quarters this May.

In the last couple of seasons, Nadal had to make a break between Roland Garros and Wimbledon and he decided to sign for no events between two Majors this time, skipping Queen's that he had to skip in both 2017 and 2018 after conquering Roland Garros.

Montreal, Cincinnati and the US Open will follow after Wimbledon and Rafa will join Roger at the Laver Cup later in September, spending three thrilling days in Switzerland and charging batteries for the closing tournaments of the year.

Shanghai and Paris are in Nadal's schedule as well, completing the Masters 1000 run and hoping to qualify for the ATP Finals for the 15th season in a row and play on a high level in London where he never won the title.

Rafa will have the opportunity to wrap up the year in Madrid in front of the home fans, leading Spain in the first edition of the Davis Cup finals that will take place at Caja Magica. Rafael Nadal's official 2019 schedule:

Abu Dhabi (exho)
Brisbane
Sydney (exho)
Australian Open
Acapulco
Indian Wells
Miami
Monte Carlo
Barcelona
Madrid
Rome
Roland Garros
Wimbledon
Montreal
Cincinnati
US Open
Laver Cup (exho)
Shanghai
Paris
ATP Finals (if he qualifies)
Davis Cup finals

https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/n ... ring-only/

[Kiefer]

Rafa takie plany ma co roku, sezon weryfikuje co z nich wyniknie.

[Barty]

Tak czy siak informacje spływające z hiszpanskiego obozu nie napawają optymizmem. O powtórce 2015 czy 2016 można w zasadzie zapomnieć.

[Kiefer]

Trochę nie kumam, jakie informacje? I weź do diabła wróć do starego avatara!

[Barty]

Przekonałeś mnie, Maciek.

Raz, że ma dobry sezon przygotowawczy, teraz jakieś okrajanie startów... No prezenty na Święta to to nie są.

[Kiefer]

Mam dar przekonywania.
Wydaje się, że Nadal powinien być lepiej przygotowany do początku sezonu niż przed rokiem, ale jak będzie zobaczymy. Jest kolejny rok starszy, znowu kończył sezon z urazami, a kryzysowy rok prędzej czy później się pojawi, jeśli nie w tym to bardzo możliwe, że w 2020-ym. No i o jakim okrajaniu startów piszesz?

[Damian]

2. Rafael Nadal

Despite playing only 13 events – four less than even Roger Federer – Nadal still finished No. 2 in the ATP Rankings, backed by – alert: you've heard this before – his record-setting clay-court season, which featured four of his five titles, including his 11th Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and Roland Garros titles.

If Nadal can, yet again, produce a historic European clay-court swing in 2019, expect him to earn another Top 3 finish.

Chances of finishing in the...

Top 5: 97%
Top 10: 99%

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/djokovi ... s-for-2019

[DUN I LOVE]

Gdyby ktoś z was miał wątpliwości, czy na pewno Rafa zasłużył na nagrodę Edberga:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tReQV2r4mY

[Damian]

Rafael Nadal 'confident' he can be at 100 per cent at the Australian Open

Spoiler:

Rafael Nadal is “confident” he’ll be at 100 per cent physically when the Australian Open comes around in less than three weeks’ time despite enduring yet another tough battle with injuries over the past few months.

The Spanish world No. 2 had to pull the plug early on his 2018 season and hasn’t played since a knee problem forced him to retire during his US Open semi-final against Juan Martin del Potro in September. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his ankle to remove an intra-articular loose body in November and only stepped back on the court for training two weeks ago.

Nadal will dip his toes back into competition at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition in Abu Dhabi, where he faces either Kevin Anderson or Chung Hyeon in his opener on Friday.

“I started two weeks ago and of course doing the things step by step and I think I have time to be ready for Melbourne [Australian Open] at my 100 per cent,” Nadal told reporters in the UAE capital on Thursday.

“It’s going to be good to have some matches before but I’m confident that I’m going to arrive to Melbourne with the right situation.”

Related
Rafael Nadal, Serena and Venus Williams set for first appearances since US Open – Abu Dhabi preview
Serena Williams says new rule changes will encourage players to become mothers during their tennis careers
The 32-year-old retired during matches at two of the four Grand Slams in 2018, but still added a record-extending 11th French Open crown to his collection. He assures he remains motivated to launch yet another comeback from injury, despite a career plagued by physical problems throughout.

“After the second part of the year, have been tough last year in terms of injuries but that happens and that’s part of my tennis career too,” he added.

“Just try to stay with calm, try to work the right way and when I’m back I know things are not easy, I know at the beginning you always have tough feelings and pains in the body that normally you don’t have, but just I have experience in all of this and try to be ready for the everyday practices and when arrive the matches I don’t have to ask myself big things at the beginning, just trying to be positive with every improvement and that way normally you get the right point.”

Joining Nadal in Abu Dhabi is the man who replaced him at the top of the rankings, Novak Djokovic. The Serb is the reigning Wimbledon and US Open champion and will be looking to win a third major in a row at the Australian Open next month.

Djokovic ended a two-year Grand Slam title drought at Wimbledon in July and has lost just three matches since. He admits that he lost his motivation during that difficult period that followed the 2016 French Open, where he completed the career Grand Slam, but has now found different ways to attain gratification from the sport.

“I feel I’m not prioritising success on the tennis court for the sake of the success only as I used to do that probably up to five years ago. For me tennis is more of a platform now for other things and for the values I want to share, and the messages I want to share with the young generation,” Djokovic explained on Thursday.

“Ultimately a tennis court for me is a place where I get challenged in every possible way emotionally and my character is kind of on the line. I treat that as my own personal school of life. Not many places can trigger me in a positive or negative way as a tennis court does. So I just see it as a place where I can grow and regardless of where I am in the world, because it just demands extreme focus from my side and dedication, outbursts of emotions and so I get to learn a lot about myself that maybe I didn’t know that I have – things or emotions that are suppressed, they come out on the tennis that’s why I feel grateful to play this sport.”

Djokovic takes on either Karen Khachanov or Dominic Thiem in Abu Dhabi on Friday and officially kicks of his 2019 season at the Qatar Open in Doha next week.

https://sport360.com/article/tennis/313 ... alian-open