re: The Unofficial 2018 Non-GS Tennis Thread

quote:

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t's easy to say, "Well he's not in his prime anymore", but is this true? You could make the argument that, while 2018 Nadal isn't as physically gifted as say, 2008 Nadal, the current version may actually be a better tennis player. An improved serve and more aggressive groundstrokes should translate over to grass in theory.

So, what is it? Lack of motivation? Lack of grass court preparation? Hangovers from putting so much effort into the clay season in recent years?

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I don't know. It's a really good question. I've heard that the way he has to position himself to hit the ball on grass bothers his knees, but it would have bothered his knees in 2011 as well.

Last year I thought he was actually in decent form, and came up against a tough grass court player and lost a well-played match that could have gone either way. And Kyrgios was young at the time, but he was still Kyrgios.

There's no excuse for Darcis, Rosol, or Dustin Brown.

It might be motivation. Of preparation via motivation.