How well will Nadal do - what do you all reckon?

In spite of the weakness of the current era, Nadal will not make the semis and will be beaten by at least one journeyman not fit to lace Buster Mottram's shoes.

On that surface, and in his present form, Nadal is still capable of beating Robredo and possibly Davydenko, but I'd expect him to lose to everyone else in that field.

I think he will make the semi-finals at least and if he meets Federer I'd like to see Nadal make it tough. But on current form I see him getting whooped by the Swiss genius if they meet up in this tournament.

I reckon he'll end up in the semis - but i don't think he'll win there. I just don't htink he's been good enough in recent weeks, plus it's possible he's carrying an injury. I'd personally like him to play fed again, but i jst don't htink it's gonna happen....

(Excuse typos, my fingers are cold!!!)

They are playing on a rebound ace (unlike last year) which should be more receptive to Nadal's top spin and is less conducive to power serving, so he has a better chance this year than last (not that he was there!)

i could see nadal falling in the semis...but ultimately federer will romp to the title. i don't believe there is a player in shanghai - nadal included - that is capable of beating federer at this juncture.

Tough call. I'm going to vote for him to make the finals, mostly because I would like to see it end up being a Fed v. Nadal final, but he could have a tough time with the folks in his group. He's had trouble with Blake in the past, and Davydenko is probably in about the best form of anyone, other than Federer.

It's indoors so it's going to be tough despite the surface.I think the relative warmth of a purpose built stadium,warm lights and no interference from air flow in the arena will quicken up the ball.

Of course Nadal will get some help from the higher bounce,but as we have seen from winners of the AO it also favours the flatter hitters.If he gets a good start then I would expect him to make the semi,but Nadal's second part of the season has hardly been inspiring so if he crashed out it wouldn't suprise me a whole lot.

Need him to as well as possible for his appetite as this confidence thing you know could seep into the start of next season,as the AO beckons.

Nadal, I saw him play today, he was shittttte. He better play like superman tomorrow otherwise he will answer to moiiiiiiiii. Oh shite I think he will lose. You didnt hear me say this. :devil:

Thanks for that valuable insight. :yikes:

Your response wasnt bad either. roflmao

From my perspective there is a chance that he will play like Superman and this simply because he is a fantastic competitor (ole :rolleyes: ). He will meet FED the player he considers ( as a lot of other players BTW) the best of his generation (the generation of FED I mean...Nadal is 5 years younger so for me should be consider as a player of another generation or at least on the border :wacko: ) ...In any case his motivation will be at the top: He has nothing to lose and everything to earn and he faces a great player. I go for the Superman scenario an therefore three very exiting sets in which ( I hope given the results of the season is simply justice) FED will finally manage to win...But it could be as well Nadal... :whistle: We will see

PS: Hi chairman, as usual, your post was straight to the point roflmao

It doesn't really matter how good/bad Raffa plays. He extremely tough to beat anyway. He played like superman against Blake yet he lost, he played poorly against Robredo yet he won..
What matters is; how to fight this dude. You can paint the lines all you can but if it's not powerfull enough (davydenko) you will go down. An other option is to play very smart (youzny). And this is what Federer should do. Short block returns and only go for the down the line winner (both forehand and backhand). Also important; avoid crosscourt rallies at all time.

He'll lose in the semis :)

My god, you were right!!!! :o roflmao

;)