Much has been said about Fed getting his collection with RG, but does anyone believe Nadal will have the longevity and versatility to do it too? I think he will be a force to reckon with on all surfaces, assuming his fitness doesnt let him down in the long term

I'm not sure, but he's definitely had a dramatic improvement on grass the last year or so. Does anyone remember him losing to Gilles Muller at Wimbledon in 2004 I think it was? Completely different player from then.

Exactly, i think he is capable of mastering any challenge, unlike previous clay wonders, and he is still so young. Barring any long term health problems im sure he is capable of winning any GS, and probably all 4. I think we are fortunate to live in an era where we have 2 no.1s on the trot that will win the slam (not that long after Agassi has done it too!!!!)

I don't think Nadal will win all four slams. But he will win more non RG slams I think. Would really like to see him get to number one at some point too, he seems like he's earned it after being number two for so long :chesire:

He is still young and can improve. He has the potential to win on other surfaces and no matter what anyone says about an easy draw he took a set off Roger at Wimbledon and threatened in another.

Will he improve? I am not so sure. If I was a betting man I would say he would get 1-2 GS Tournaments outside of RG in his career but no more and they are more than likely going to be Australian Open titles as the Rebound Ace would suit his game more I believe.....but who knows eh? Time will tell.

On the longevity- i think Nadals game is far too energy inefficient-he has to do a hell of a lot of running to win matches, these physical exertions can't do any good in the long term. So i doubt his career will be a long one.
As for him winning slams other than the French, the possibility is there and can't be ruled out, but he has done very little in the US and Aussie opens so far, and i still believe his run to the finals of Wimbledon were a fluke-only time will tell i guess.

On the theoretical basis that his body holds up for another 5 or so years and he continues to improve on hard surfaces, I think he could definitely win the Australian Open, has a good chance of a Wimbledon title, but a very small chance at the US. Would be amazed if he got the full set, but he certainly has the drive and the determination.

I think to be fair, Roger was under an awful lot of pressure to win that day .Having lost in Paris , on a 6-1 H2H, a loss on grass could have virtually destroyed his career (certainly his confidence) .
But Nadal did adapt very well to the grass and I would expect to see him in the final again and even win some day.

I've been really impressed with some of what Rafa has been doing as of late. I never would have expected him to reach Wimbledon last year but yet he did.
I think the Key factor is how well is body can hold up as his game is very physical.
He is still so young as well that I won't rule out him getting the grand slam but at this point in time I think its unlikely,

In future years he might have to change his game a bit to be able to prolong his career as long as he wants to.

I have always said that Nadal has the ability to be successful on all surfaces. As has been said, he needs to adapt his game to make sure that he can be successful on hard courts, and also to not put too much pressure on his body and mind.

I think he has very much started to do that already. He comes to the net more; he has improved his serve a lot (although that department could still use some work). He doesn't always have to rely on slugging it out in long rallies; he can mix in his volleys, even some S&V, drop shots, etc. ...

I think he's on the right path. Whether he can complete the career slam ... that's another question. But I don't think it's out of the question. He has shown that he is willing to put in the hard work, tweak his game. As long as he stays motivated, why not? He might have to wait though, as I don't think that Roger wants to give up too many Wimbledons, US Opens or Aussie Opens in the next couple of years ...

RG - He certainly has what it takes to take this one this year and maybe another or two. The game evolves very rapidly though and we saw with Coria, Ferrero, Gaudio, Moya and many others that clay can suddenly turn against you. The Borg time is over and I can easily imagine a new youngster in a year or two emerging and taking over.

Wimbledon - Frankly, it depends to what they decide with the speed of the court, balls etc... Any faster than last year and Nadal is simply out before the 1/4 final. I believe they are too many young good guys on tour whose game are much more suitable than Nadal. I think he will never win it. I said that last year and was shocked to see him the final. Having said that he was close of going out in the 1st round and had an extremely easy draw in the sense that he did not face a single grass specialist before the final.

USO. I see him with a bit more chance there if he can reproduce the form of IW or Dubai. Problem is the joints. Nadal can play for ever on clay and never get injured. As soon as he gets on HC, the injuries creeps in.

AO - Yes probably his best chance after the French. I even thought not so long ago that it was his favourite surface but they apparently sped it up a bit.

Any takers on how many slams Rafa will win overall?

I'm thinking maybe 4-5.. :shrug:

Im going with 5-6 :shrug:

4 FOs 1 AO and a Wimbledon? :unsure:

I don't know but anything less than 6 would be unlucky as he has the potential and charisma to be as great as Becker or Edberg but on the other hand his tennis is not as energy efficient.

Rafa's main focus will always be the first part of the year and specially the clay season. So i expect throughout his career Rafa will be the second part of the season more vunerable and/or tired. On US HC or indoors Rafa has to deal with a lot of contenders who are able to beat him, BTW; he can't profit from extreme conditions -as Rafa like it hot weather- like he can at AO (although the CC is airconditioned) and much of the clay season.
I'am still wondering if his "first 6 months of the year peak" will be enough to defend his potentional no. 1 spot for a longer time

On Topic; 6 slams

I don't think he'll ever do it - I don't think he'll ever win wimbledon thats for sure.

And if my memory serves me right he's not been past the quarters in the other two slams... (correct me if my lazy assumption is wrong)

I pretty much agree with what everyone has said.I funnily enough would like him to equal Borg on clay.I think he's more capable of winning 6 at RG now than anywhere else.

As Tenez says they speeded up Rebound Ace by stripping back some of the rubber.As you saw by the way Fed played he looked incredible.Gonzalez hit so mant inside out forehand winners,I lost count.

I seriously believe Nadal will last till he is 25,before this sucess catches up with him.I reckon the pounding on his body this early is storing up the demons in his physical frame.

The one way though in which he could offer himself some respite from this is to take the ball earlier.As we know Agassi was the master,but if Nadal is to have a genuine shot of winning more outside of clay,he needs to reduce his running and increase his attacking,something he managed to do to a limited degree at Wimbledon.

To really take it on the rise though like Agassi I think might be beyond him.

I agree. If he could, that is constantly with a minimum of UE, he would have developped that kind of game a long time ago. I think his slump last year till the AO was simply due to his trying to do so which made him lose confidence in his game. It is when he reverted to his old patient game than confidence came back.

I would add to that the fact that in the second part of last year, he kept returning to his old game as perhaps he was a little too far out of his comfort zone and that his game wasn't sufficuently developed to go down that route of hitting the ball early..

The problem then was that he was standing too far behind the baseline on the fast hardcourt and being punished for it, e.g. Youzhny at the USO.

But yes, his masters wins this year have been great for his confidence and it is on clay where he doesn't need to change his game..

What would really interest me is if some players really took the game to him, a bit like Mathieu did for a few sets last year and Fed for the first set. I'd like to see Rafa given some food for thought and see how he can adapt his game on clay to meet new challenges..

Well, we shall see, no? :)

Interesting. Clearly he was too way back versus Youshny. But It was with his old game that he won Montreal, Dubai and reached the Miami final (and almost won it).I think he lost his confidence after Wimbledon where there he took the ball earlier but could not do it consistantly and the UEs gripped in and destroyed his confidence and his main weapon (consistancy) versus the opposition. His defeat v Berdych in Montreal is understandable but his loss v Ferrero was a bit of a shock.

Watching Nadal v Murray while it rains in the FO, we can see that Nadal was trying to play closer to the baseline which made his swing less powerful hence shorter. He needs to be able to hit a full swing and use the body weight as well to make his shots heavier. On hard it is the thin balance between being to close to the baseline and too far. On clay, he is much more at ease and has more time to throw his punches. .