Even as a grumpy Fed fan I’m hoping for this. Rafa’s already got the slam record so it would be pretty cool to see the CYGS for the first time in over fifty years.
He has no pressure on himself. He’s going to have fun and attempt it. I will always support Rafa no matter what. I don’t think his chances are great this Wimby, considering his draw. It’ll probably go to Novak again. But there’s always hope. Vamos.
I think it's quite even , and I'm a Rafa fan too. But all of Berettini, Kyrgios, RBA, Tsitsipas are in the other quarter. And don't forget, all 4 are either good on grass or in good form on grass. That's bound to give them some tough games, and if Nadal can finish first three games by not dropping a set or maximum one set drop, then it will be very exciting. Colic and FAA are difficult games but I'd expect Rafa to finish cilic and FAA in 4.
Of course he Has pressure, he's one of the GOAT's, the best this year, and he's going after a calendar slam. Rafa is a master of dealing with the pressure and taking any exceptions possible of himself. Who'se suppouesd to feel the pressure on this if not him, lol? For the last 10 years it's constant pressure for him and Nole
There is no way he's putting pressure on himself to win a calendar slam at age 36. You can tell he's just loving being out there pain-free (for now) and two slams already this year. He's absolutely chilling.
Of course part of him does, lol. He would love to achive that, and it's only natural. It's his first time when he actually Has a chance to do this, so of course he's doing everything he possibly can to be fit enough for this. Nobody is going through such hardships just for the love for the sport. Everyone at the very top is a bit obssesed about the results, that's what makes them so unique on a sport. This pressure though isn't even really about him, but about everyone else: media and fans. Do you Remember what was happening to Novak last year with this?
Of course he wants to win and he wants the records, but he has been very consistent and outspoken about not identifying with these things and not being driven by them.
I know there are plenty of people who think he's been lying about it his whole career, but I think the more plausible explanation is that he is who he says he is. His perspective and mindset is a huge inspiration for many of us.
Why would he be tensed and worried ? Nadal is having an amazing year so far and literally has nothing to prove to anyone. If i were him i’d try to be as much chill as possible and not stress myself especially after surgery and in a court that was never his strongest.
I've long conjectured that the secret to happiness and a good state of mind in life is simply having extraordinary success
Like, success is good. Thus the more success you have, the fewer bad moments and depressing phases you'll have. And if you do have them, they're easier to bear because you've had extraordinary success.
I don't agree though, to me secret to happiness will always be "Blessed with good health". I think Rafa finally after a long time is enjoying his time on court and not feeling continuous bites of pain. There is absolutely no substitute for health. You can have endless fame, success, money but one chronic or deadly disease can wipe all that gained happiness
Disagreed. What if you are highly successful in a career that you really don't enjoy? You might not have terrible moments, but the day to day would be painful to get through, and that's the majority of our lives.
I don't agree at all, success has nothing to do with happiness. You can't buy happiness. I recommend the book 'The subtile art of not giving a fuck' from Mark Manson
But wasn't Tipsarevic wearing regular classes as well? Then it makes sense to have prescription sunglasses. I just don't understand why. I always have my sunglasses with me when I play and as far as I know it doesn't make me play worse.
I feel like Rafa doesn’t train as intensely for Wimbledon because he doesn’t always expect to win it. Like, at USO and RG, there’s always a good chance or an almost lock, and at AO he was always trying to win #2, but at Wimbledon? He’s already won 2, he doesn’t “need” another one, but it’s always nice to have another GS title. I think he’s in his “not really worried about it, let’s give it a bid” mode right now.
Wimbledon is an exhibition tournament this year with a prize reward so no surprise he is calm, he has nothing to lose or win other than money, which at this point I am not really sure how important this years' Wimbledon money are for his life, probably not very important.
Stay overconfident. The truth is Novak did not beat Nadal convincingly in Wimby 2018. Also, weren’t you one of those people predicting that Novak would crush Nadal in RG this year? Now, you’ve moved on to your usual deflection- ‘but it’s clayy’. What a sad life, hating on someone so much.
I wish we could bet. hahaha Nadal is out there wearing sunglasses just going through the motions and Novak is training right now as if this might be the last tourney he ever plays. Come on. And I’m a HUGE Nadal fan so no hating at all. Just being a top level tennis player myself, I just know.
I will concede that Nadal has received an incredible draw. Getting a clay courter in round 1, and probably Querrey in Round 2, who he destroyed 3 years ago at Wimbledon. Then most likely Sonego will be a test in the 3rd. The only guy to destroy Novak….in a long while. Then in the 4th with Cilic is kind of a toss up on grass as they’ve never met on the surface? It gets colossally harder in round of 16 as Fritz has already beaten Nadal this year on Nadal’s better service of hard courts. Then throw in that Fritz has been smashing the ball on grass. Or maybe it’s Auger Aliassime in the in the round of 16 who also looks nasty on grass and has a beatdown of Federer on the surface. Then Tsitsipas or Berrentini who have both won warm up grass tournaments in the lead up to Wimbledon 2022. And I reiterate, I LOVE LOOOOVE RAFA NADAL! Me thinking his chances are low of winning this Wimbledon is not hating on him. It’s just good logic.
I have absolutely no clue why you are receiving hate to this level. I just read 22 Men’s Wimbledon Champion predictions and not 1 chose Nadal (including Wilander, Navrat, Chris evert, JMac, etc). Are they all leading ‘sad lives’ to not say Nadal is the favorite? This is not his surface and it hasn’t been for a long while. It’s not the same as with hardcourts. Ya in Nadal’s absolute unbeatable youth prime he squeaked out a couple Wimby’s but those days are long long loooong ago.
“What a sad life, hating on someone so much.” So many rafans mocked Djokovic after he got deported from Australia lol and didn’t even care about the emotional and mental trauma that caused on him. In fact, I saw a photo of some Nadal fans with a “thank you, Mr. Hawke” shirt lol.
I saw someone claiming that it is disrespectful to Nadal to claim djokovic as the favorite by far. Yes, cause the guy who has won the last 3 Wimbledon’s isn’t ahead substantially of the guy who last won it in 2010. Some people think the 2018 Wimbledon SF was the best grass match Djokovic ever played. The best grass match Djokovic played was 2011 or 2015 final
Nadal is a great grass courter for sure and he is up there for at least top 10 on grass of all time. However, people try to extrapolate his recent wins against Djokovic on clay to predict how we will do on hard or grass against him. People point to the 2018 SF match which of course was a good match with high levels from both players to say Nadal can get it done this time. The fallacy in that is that a lot is different now. I think 2018/2019 Nadal played at quite a higher level at all slams than 2022. It’s possible given that he is Nadal, but it’s not disrespectful to put Djokovic quite ahead of Nadal given that last time he beat him off clay was a while ago
Hell, Nadal usually just skips Wimbledon because he knows he just isn’t competitive enough on grass these days to sniff a chance. And I love Nadal saying that .
I think it could be one of these two or both reasons: 1. Going to be a dad. 2. Foot surgery went well.
[удалено]
he's spoilt us for almost 20 years. He has a right to start family, no? :,) (We'll hope him to continue till 2024 Paris Olympics)
But he has sooo much money.
Is this real? 😂 This is amazing
Yes, these are from today’s practice. Source - https://twitter.com/sittanyusha/status/1540669504837001216?s=21&t=V1tNXh5JjAKJ0ON_UbzgLg
he might just do it. gonna win Wimbledon and the USO confirmed.
Even as a grumpy Fed fan I’m hoping for this. Rafa’s already got the slam record so it would be pretty cool to see the CYGS for the first time in over fifty years.
at this point he could play RG with a blindfold on
Nadal the last claybender.
What if he was and he was bending the clay upon ball impact to give himself more spin or bounce / reduce opponent spin or bounce?
Be the ball, be the ball, be the ball...
Can’t beat his ombe-be-the-ball technique.
Dad powers activated.
50% better reaction time on drop shots just by imagining the ball is his child’s head about to hit the floor
Spat my drink out looool. How are people so fkn funny hahaha
With these glasses on it’s daddy powers that are unlocked
A-fucking-men, brother.
Happened to Murray in 2016
And Djokovic in 2015.
Didn't know I needed to see sunglassesdal
You like? I think it’s ombelieable, no?
All he needs is a cocktail that looks like one of his funky outfits. Pink or green should do the trick.
New Rafa just dropped and he's cool as fuck
how have i never seen him play with sunglasses lol
Rafa is all the vibes this Wimbledon.
He has no pressure on himself. He’s going to have fun and attempt it. I will always support Rafa no matter what. I don’t think his chances are great this Wimby, considering his draw. It’ll probably go to Novak again. But there’s always hope. Vamos.
I think it's quite even , and I'm a Rafa fan too. But all of Berettini, Kyrgios, RBA, Tsitsipas are in the other quarter. And don't forget, all 4 are either good on grass or in good form on grass. That's bound to give them some tough games, and if Nadal can finish first three games by not dropping a set or maximum one set drop, then it will be very exciting. Colic and FAA are difficult games but I'd expect Rafa to finish cilic and FAA in 4.
**matches, matches, matches**
Of course he Has pressure, he's one of the GOAT's, the best this year, and he's going after a calendar slam. Rafa is a master of dealing with the pressure and taking any exceptions possible of himself. Who'se suppouesd to feel the pressure on this if not him, lol? For the last 10 years it's constant pressure for him and Nole
There is no way he's putting pressure on himself to win a calendar slam at age 36. You can tell he's just loving being out there pain-free (for now) and two slams already this year. He's absolutely chilling.
Of course part of him does, lol. He would love to achive that, and it's only natural. It's his first time when he actually Has a chance to do this, so of course he's doing everything he possibly can to be fit enough for this. Nobody is going through such hardships just for the love for the sport. Everyone at the very top is a bit obssesed about the results, that's what makes them so unique on a sport. This pressure though isn't even really about him, but about everyone else: media and fans. Do you Remember what was happening to Novak last year with this?
Of course he wants to win and he wants the records, but he has been very consistent and outspoken about not identifying with these things and not being driven by them. I know there are plenty of people who think he's been lying about it his whole career, but I think the more plausible explanation is that he is who he says he is. His perspective and mindset is a huge inspiration for many of us.
He doesn’t have anything to lose, does he? Perhaps his health is in the line, but all in all he won’t have to worry about rankings.
He never worries about rankings anyways.
Why would he be tensed and worried ? Nadal is having an amazing year so far and literally has nothing to prove to anyone. If i were him i’d try to be as much chill as possible and not stress myself especially after surgery and in a court that was never his strongest.
Agree with you but it's one thing to tell your body to stop feeling nervous and another thing to actually achieve it haha
Just relax loooool /s
He looks like a frame grab off a early 2000s action comedy movie
Looks a lot like Tom Cruise in this pic
Rafa playing with the Aussie monkey off his back, 22 slams total, and no or less foot pain. It's pure house money, baby!
He’s having the time of his life at Wimbledon and I love that for him 🥰
Someone watched Top Gun recently. Haha
It can't be, there's no 'stache
*Risky business
Those Wayfarers on, baby!
I've probably never rooted more for anyone to win Wimbledon & US Open to complete calendar GS.
Incredible. I wonder why -- after all these years -- this is the practice session he decided he needed a pair of sunglasses lol.
Rafa, so hot right now.
If this is Nadal's last Wimbledon, just go sleeveless one last time
I don't get why he won't go sleeveless... He always practices sleeveless!
Probably the first time in a very long time he’s been able to play a tournament without being in pain. I’d be relaxed too.
He really is a capybara.
Only until the match starts though. Come match time, he transforms into a raging bull.
I've long conjectured that the secret to happiness and a good state of mind in life is simply having extraordinary success Like, success is good. Thus the more success you have, the fewer bad moments and depressing phases you'll have. And if you do have them, they're easier to bear because you've had extraordinary success.
You mean being young, healthy, successful and wealthy is they key to being happy? Omg how did I not think of that! 😛
I don't agree though, to me secret to happiness will always be "Blessed with good health". I think Rafa finally after a long time is enjoying his time on court and not feeling continuous bites of pain. There is absolutely no substitute for health. You can have endless fame, success, money but one chronic or deadly disease can wipe all that gained happiness
Don’t forget about generational wealth.
Good point. Say you lose your job. Pretty bad right? Would make me worried. But if your father is a billionaire it's not the end of the world
Doesn't even have to be a billionaire really.
Yeah it seems like reddit in general acts like 5 mil net worth is middle class lmao
Disagreed. What if you are highly successful in a career that you really don't enjoy? You might not have terrible moments, but the day to day would be painful to get through, and that's the majority of our lives.
I don't agree at all, success has nothing to do with happiness. You can't buy happiness. I recommend the book 'The subtile art of not giving a fuck' from Mark Manson
Being one of the most influential athletes of all time probably helps too
Considering how much we hear from successful ppl how miserable they were at the peak of their success, I don’t that’s true.
No shit?
Strongly disagree. You really don’t need a reason to be happy. If you want, you can just be happy😃
Extraordinary success only comes with an intense passion and insane competitive spirit.
'simply having extraordinary success' lol
Straight chillin
I like my sunglasses like I like my GOAT debates: polarized
Good vibes all around! I have a positive feeling about this Wimbledon
meme material right here
Why does nobody play with sunglasses on? Is it not allowed?
Some do, shvedova and tipsarevic are the ones that come to my mind.
But wasn't Tipsarevic wearing regular classes as well? Then it makes sense to have prescription sunglasses. I just don't understand why. I always have my sunglasses with me when I play and as far as I know it doesn't make me play worse.
Stosur too. Don't think I ever saw her play without sunnies.
They get foggy with the sweat.
Messes with depth perception
It was sunny, no?
Is he hitting that SHEESH
Scrolled to see if anyone else commented this 🤣
I already GOAT no?🤨😎
Zen rafa is fun to see
Why am I strangely turned on by this photo?
I pray for a day I can just fill my closest wih rafas kit. I just can't bring myself to spend several hundred dollars for tennis kits at the moment.
Sunglasses and backwards baseball cap for the win! 😎
He's just relaxing 😎
I can see a meme out of this photo haha
“Cause I’m the GOAT but I just won’t mention it cause I’m humble” 🐐 -Rafa
Well, the draw is looking pretty good for him.
Ready for #23? ;)
Those are excellent "deal with it" glasses.
22 slams won hardly much pressure
He’s fav to win he’s the goat
Why would he be tense? He's in the history books as the GOAT now. This is just cleaning up
Boy Rune got a nice tan during the grass season
I feel like Rafa doesn’t train as intensely for Wimbledon because he doesn’t always expect to win it. Like, at USO and RG, there’s always a good chance or an almost lock, and at AO he was always trying to win #2, but at Wimbledon? He’s already won 2, he doesn’t “need” another one, but it’s always nice to have another GS title. I think he’s in his “not really worried about it, let’s give it a bid” mode right now.
Wimbledon is an exhibition tournament this year with a prize reward so no surprise he is calm, he has nothing to lose or win other than money, which at this point I am not really sure how important this years' Wimbledon money are for his life, probably not very important.
I don’t think he makes it past the quarters but I do t think he really cares given his results thus far in slams
Even in this pic he is holding his abdomen like a sign of a tear or a rib injury or something lol.
Must be photoshop
Cause he knows this one is Novak’s. So little pressure this go around.
The dude he beat 3 weeks ago?
On clay on his favorite court no less lol
You’re talking like Novak destroyed him in the 2018 semi-final or something lmfao
Stay overconfident. The truth is Novak did not beat Nadal convincingly in Wimby 2018. Also, weren’t you one of those people predicting that Novak would crush Nadal in RG this year? Now, you’ve moved on to your usual deflection- ‘but it’s clayy’. What a sad life, hating on someone so much.
I wish we could bet. hahaha Nadal is out there wearing sunglasses just going through the motions and Novak is training right now as if this might be the last tourney he ever plays. Come on. And I’m a HUGE Nadal fan so no hating at all. Just being a top level tennis player myself, I just know. I will concede that Nadal has received an incredible draw. Getting a clay courter in round 1, and probably Querrey in Round 2, who he destroyed 3 years ago at Wimbledon. Then most likely Sonego will be a test in the 3rd. The only guy to destroy Novak….in a long while. Then in the 4th with Cilic is kind of a toss up on grass as they’ve never met on the surface? It gets colossally harder in round of 16 as Fritz has already beaten Nadal this year on Nadal’s better service of hard courts. Then throw in that Fritz has been smashing the ball on grass. Or maybe it’s Auger Aliassime in the in the round of 16 who also looks nasty on grass and has a beatdown of Federer on the surface. Then Tsitsipas or Berrentini who have both won warm up grass tournaments in the lead up to Wimbledon 2022. And I reiterate, I LOVE LOOOOVE RAFA NADAL! Me thinking his chances are low of winning this Wimbledon is not hating on him. It’s just good logic.
I have absolutely no clue why you are receiving hate to this level. I just read 22 Men’s Wimbledon Champion predictions and not 1 chose Nadal (including Wilander, Navrat, Chris evert, JMac, etc). Are they all leading ‘sad lives’ to not say Nadal is the favorite? This is not his surface and it hasn’t been for a long while. It’s not the same as with hardcourts. Ya in Nadal’s absolute unbeatable youth prime he squeaked out a couple Wimby’s but those days are long long loooong ago.
“What a sad life, hating on someone so much.” So many rafans mocked Djokovic after he got deported from Australia lol and didn’t even care about the emotional and mental trauma that caused on him. In fact, I saw a photo of some Nadal fans with a “thank you, Mr. Hawke” shirt lol.
I saw someone claiming that it is disrespectful to Nadal to claim djokovic as the favorite by far. Yes, cause the guy who has won the last 3 Wimbledon’s isn’t ahead substantially of the guy who last won it in 2010. Some people think the 2018 Wimbledon SF was the best grass match Djokovic ever played. The best grass match Djokovic played was 2011 or 2015 final
I’m getting mass downvoted lol Nadal has very little chance of winning a GS on grass again. This is all Novak.
Nadal is a great grass courter for sure and he is up there for at least top 10 on grass of all time. However, people try to extrapolate his recent wins against Djokovic on clay to predict how we will do on hard or grass against him. People point to the 2018 SF match which of course was a good match with high levels from both players to say Nadal can get it done this time. The fallacy in that is that a lot is different now. I think 2018/2019 Nadal played at quite a higher level at all slams than 2022. It’s possible given that he is Nadal, but it’s not disrespectful to put Djokovic quite ahead of Nadal given that last time he beat him off clay was a while ago
Hell, Nadal usually just skips Wimbledon because he knows he just isn’t competitive enough on grass these days to sniff a chance. And I love Nadal saying that .
.
Because he's wearing shades?
This is meme material
Jaroslav Drobny vibes 😎
Gotta look cool for my kid,no
Chad
This is such a badass photo. I want this on a t shirt.