Nadal lost on clay!

[a3dm86]

This is a surprise, caught some of it, howcome he lost?

The crowd was behind the other dude though, i think Soderling.

 

[APoc184]

Soderling was brilliant. Killer of a forehand that had Nadal scrambling for the ball each time. His serve is also pretty powerful.
His backhand is pretty poor but he made sure to hit it deep every time.
Was a pretty good game. Nice long rallies and good winners. Anybody was gonna struggle against Soderling today. He played very very good.

 

[Vernon]

The only thing I can say is that Federer better not mess this up. With Djokovic, Verdasco and now Nadal also losing, Fed will never have a better opportunity to win his first title at Roland Garros.

 

[GrootBaas]

He also lost in the final of the previous tournament on clay (to Federer) so not unbeatable after all. Hopefully Roger will do it this time though! Then he will have a good chance getting the Sampras record!

 

[APoc184]

I know of a few people that was extremely happy to see Nadal lose.
He is a stunning player but I do sometimes get this arrogant vibe from him. He must be both graceful in victory and defeat. Like Federer.
But Nadal is number 1 for a reason and this is only a hiccup along the way.

 

[Vernon]

Only a hiccup for Nadal you say, but on the other hand it just goes to show you what a champ Fed is with him making at least the semis in so many cosecutive slams and avoiding defeat in the earlier rounds of those tournaments. And I'm pretty sure along the way he faced stronger opposition than the Soderlings of this world.

 

[APoc184]

Only a hiccup for Nadal you say, but on the other hand it just goes to show you what a champ Fed is with him making at least the semis in so many cosecutive slams and avoiding defeat in the earlier rounds of those tournaments. And I'm pretty sure along the way he faced stronger opposition than the Soderlings of this world.

Don't get me wrong. I am a massive Fed fan but Nadal is the #1 player at the moment for a good reason. And although he is very arrogant in victory he deserves it. Federer had a great run and I'm positive that he will make comeback to #1 again.

 

[Morgoth]

it has to be a mental thing in tennis, look at all the greats
Bjorn Borg lost after a 5 year streak
Sampras the same after 4 years
Federer the same after 5 years
Nadal the same. after 4 years

I think Nadal is really burned out as federer was last year, Also I do not find Nadal Arrogant really.

I didn't find sodderling that great to be honest, his game plane seemed to be mapped out against Nadal, force him to come to the net and knock a few balls behind him.

 

[APoc184]

You cannot deny that his serve and forehand was on song today.
But like I said, his backhand is extremely weak and Nadal should have pounced on that but he didn't.

 

[HypoThesis]

Yeah, Nadal lost the game rather than Soderling winning it. He seemed fatigued somehow, like he had hit the proverbial wall. In their last match he beat Soderling 6-0 6-1

I think most people wanted Nadal to lose so that Federers fairytale can be complete.

Was a bit annoyed at Ana losing though, there goes the eye-candy add to that, Sharapova seems to not want to lose . Wish someone would beat her already, that screech of hers is seriously annoying this year.

 

[Vernon]

Also I do not find Nadal Arrogant really.

Exactly.
I don't see him as arrogant at all. He always conducts himself in a gracious manner be it either in victory or defeat.

But like I said, his backhand is extremely weak and Nadal should have pounced on that but he didn't.

I don't know about that. Soderling looked quite solid off both wings, and in fact he had much success with his backhand crosscourt to Nadal's forehand, always playing it deep and forcing Nadal on the back foot.

 

[guru_pitka]

All i can say is the FED EXPRESS better not mess this up ,I was kinda hoping he would win this years French and then beat pete's record at wimbledon

On the Nadal Issue i saw a comment from Sampras earlier in the year saying that Nadal will not be able to keep his form up as he puts alot of strain on his body in the way he plays tennis, he said Nadal will eventually suffer from fatigue and injuries

awesome athlete though

 

[Picard]

He isn't gaining any fans with this habit of his and that scew, sour face he always has. He is probably smelling his backside hence the buttpicking.

 

[ajax]

I was hoping for another Federer/Nadal showdown

 

[Vernon]

Yeah, Nadal lost the game rather than Soderling winning it. He seemed fatigued somehow, like he had hit the proverbial wall. In their last match he beat Soderling 6-0 6-1

There was no fatigue or tiredness, Nadal admitted as much in the after-match press interview. He was simply beaten on the day by a player who was super-agressive and who executed most of his shots perfectly.
That 6-1 6-0 scoreline in their previous match might suggest a whitewash but that's not really what happened. That match lasted for well over 1hour 30 mins and most games went to deuce. Nadal afterwards said it was the most competitive one and love scoreline that he was ever involved in. lol

Was a bit annoyed at Ana losing though, there goes the eye-candy add to that, Sharapova seems to not want to lose . Wish someone would beat her already, that screech of hers is seriously annoying this year.

You think Sharapova's scream is bad? Check out this video of both her and this de Brito girls on-court vocal talents. lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVfCcBzMeA0

 

[HypoThesis]

He isn't gaining any fans with this habit of his and that scew, sour face he always has. He is probably smelling his backside hence the buttpicking.

lol! thought i was the only one annoyed with that habit. If it really bugs him that much why doesn't he just wear a jock strap?

You think Sharapova's scream is bad? Check out this video of both her and this de Brito girls on-court vocal talents. lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVfCcBzMeA0

Oh my fek! She screams until the ball gets to the other player. Dunno why more players don't complain.
What I find weird is that during her training and pre-match warm ups she is completely silent.

 

[Morgoth]

Federer came back after being 2 sets down today, he needs to be careful.

 

[jeffrisk]

Any thing happen in world. but that is not
good news for tennis lovers.

 

[APoc184]

This guy is on a roll......

Swede Robin Soderling built on the momentum that allowed him to beat Rafael Nadal and reached the French Open semi-finals on Tuesday with a 6-1 6-3 6-1 drubbing of Russian 10th seed Nikolay Davydenko.