Nadal's Greatest Worry vs Gasquet

[Tennis Miller]

Slipping on his own profuse drool over the thought of eating RG alive in the semis!

Cheers

TM

 

[Front242]

Well with back to back long matches Gasquet will be far from fresh compared to Nadal. Still, hopefully it'll be a better than expected match. I myself didn't expect him to win today even when seeing him up to sets to 0 given his fitness issues in the past so today was impressive. No offense to Robredo of course, but he ain't winning tonight.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Gasquet has a big serve, an attacking game, and a backhand that will at least cause Nadal some trouble. He also can hit huge off of his forehand side, though that wing remains far too inconsistent. The flip side of course, is that he's not someone who will hug the baseline and take Nadal's balls on the rise. He likes to stand far behind in order to allow himself the time to line up his backhand since he takes a big cut at the ball. That's a problem against Nadal, and it means that even if Gasquet causes damage early, it's going to be a losing proposition on the long run, as he'll eventually find himself chasing more and more balls, doing more and more running, with the match becoming increasingly one sided. I wouldn't be surprised if Richard takes the opening set, but that's about it. It's only a matter of time before his ground strokes start breaking down. Playing back-to-back five-setters will only make things worse. Though I guess it's still better than Nadal vs. Ferrer.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

Slipping on his own profuse drool over the thought of eating RG alive in the semis!

Cheers

TM

eh :huh: whats with this arrogant nonsense..this is disprespecting tennis uzzled

at least have the class to wait until nadal is actually in the SF until you poast stuff like this.

 

[DarthFed]

Gasquet has a big serve, an attacking game, and a backhand that will at least cause Nadal some trouble. He also can hit huge off of his forehand side, though that wing remains far too inconsistent. The flip side of course, is that he's not someone who will hug the baseline and take Nadal's balls on the rise. He likes to stand far behind in order to allow himself the time to line up his backhand since he takes a big cut at the ball. That's a problem against Nadal, and it means that even if Gasquet causes damage early, it's going to be a losing proposition on the long run, as he'll eventually find himself chasing more and more balls, doing more and more running, with the match becoming increasingly one sided. I wouldn't be surprised if Richard takes the opening set, but that's about it. It's only a matter of time before his ground strokes start breaking down. Playing back-to-back five-setters will only make things worse. Though I guess it's still better than Nadal vs. Ferrer.

Gasquet does not have a big serve and very rarely hits big off the forehand, that's why I always argued he is not the huge underachiever that everyone thinks he is. Good to see him play well though, the backhand is just money.

 

[Riotbeard]

Gasquet has a big serve, an attacking game, and a backhand that will at least cause Nadal some trouble. He also can hit huge off of his forehand side, though that wing remains far too inconsistent. The flip side of course, is that he's not someone who will hug the baseline and take Nadal's balls on the rise. He likes to stand far behind in order to allow himself the time to line up his backhand since he takes a big cut at the ball. That's a problem against Nadal, and it means that even if Gasquet causes damage early, it's going to be a losing proposition on the long run, as he'll eventually find himself chasing more and more balls, doing more and more running, with the match becoming increasingly one sided. I wouldn't be surprised if Richard takes the opening set, but that's about it. It's only a matter of time before his ground strokes start breaking down. Playing back-to-back five-setters will only make things worse. Though I guess it's still better than Nadal vs. Ferrer.

Gasquet does not have a big serve and very rarely hits big off the forehand, that's why I always argued he is not the huge underachiever that everyone thinks he is. Good to see him play well though, the backhand is just money.

He can pop the serve in the high 120s. I wouldn't say that is huge but maybe qualifies as pretty good or at least solid.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Gasquet has a big serve, an attacking game, and a backhand that will at least cause Nadal some trouble. He also can hit huge off of his forehand side, though that wing remains far too inconsistent. The flip side of course, is that he's not someone who will hug the baseline and take Nadal's balls on the rise. He likes to stand far behind in order to allow himself the time to line up his backhand since he takes a big cut at the ball. That's a problem against Nadal, and it means that even if Gasquet causes damage early, it's going to be a losing proposition on the long run, as he'll eventually find himself chasing more and more balls, doing more and more running, with the match becoming increasingly one sided. I wouldn't be surprised if Richard takes the opening set, but that's about it. It's only a matter of time before his ground strokes start breaking down. Playing back-to-back five-setters will only make things worse. Though I guess it's still better than Nadal vs. Ferrer.

Gasquet does not have a big serve and very rarely hits big off the forehand, that's why I always argued he is not the huge underachiever that everyone thinks he is. Good to see him play well though, the backhand is just money.

Gasquet DOES have a big serve. In fact, he's routinely served up to 134 Mph in his career. Not sure how big he's serving this US Open, but in general, yeah, I'd say it's a fairly big serve. It's the biggest misconception about his game that he doesn't serve big, because many seem to associate him with finesse. He rarely hits big off the forehand because it's generally not a great shot, and his rally forehand is relatively sub-par. However, he can absolutely let rip off that side. He's just not going to do it consistently, and when he does, he's going to miss quite often, since he's not comfortable off of that side.

 

[Postpre]

Not to disrespect, but Gasquet has a big serve? I've seen him play plenty, and I don't see that. I'd call it simply an average ATP serve.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Not to disrespect, but Gasquet has a big serve? I've seen him play plenty, and I don't see that. I'd call it simply an average ATP serve.

Agreed.. Its just an average serve which was evident today because he couldn't sustain any separation from Ferrer. Sure.. RG can crank serves at upper 120 mph at times but to have a great serve you need great placement at all times and very special players like Sampras and Isner can still crank the upper 120 mphs after 3 or more hours

 

[Andrew William]

Gasquet has a big serve, an attacking game, and a backhand that will at least cause Nadal some trouble. He also can hit huge off of his forehand side, though that wing remains far too inconsistent. The flip side of course, is that he's not someone who will hug the baseline and take Nadal's balls on the rise. He likes to stand far behind in order to allow himself the time to line up his backhand since he takes a big cut at the ball. That's a problem against Nadal, and it means that even if Gasquet causes damage early, it's going to be a losing proposition on the long run, as he'll eventually find himself chasing more and more balls, doing more and more running, with the match becoming increasingly one sided. I wouldn't be surprised if Richard takes the opening set, but that's about it. It's only a matter of time before his ground strokes start breaking down. Playing back-to-back five-setters will only make things worse. Though I guess it's still better than Nadal vs. Ferrer.

Gasquet does not have a big serve and very rarely hits big off the forehand, that's why I always argued he is not the huge underachiever that everyone thinks he is. Good to see him play well though, the backhand is just money.

Gasquet DOES have a big serve. In fact, he's routinely served up to 134 Mph in his career. Not sure how big he's serving this US Open, but in general, yeah, I'd say it's a fairly big serve. It's the biggest misconception about his game that he doesn't serve big, because many seem to associate him with finesse. He rarely hits big off the forehand because it's generally not a great shot, and his rally forehand is relatively sub-par. However, he can absolutely let rip off that side. He's just not going to do it consistently, and when he does, he's going to miss quite often, since he's not comfortable off of that side.

This is spot on. Richard has more sting on his serve than most realize. Ferrer can attest to that. His biggest weakness is his lack of stamina and discipline. He's made improvements in the discipline department, but unfortunately he is still lacking in energy and this forces you to play erratic as well. Even though he won two 5-set encounters in a row, you could see he devoted his energy more to certain sets than others.

I have difficulty seeing how he will recover enough to compete with Nadal. On top of that, Nadal's forehand and serve have been absolutely lethal at the Open. I fear Nadal will simply bully Gasquet into submission in this one. Richard will have to hope he has enough in the legs to serve well to keep this match close. Otherwise it will turn south in a hurry.

 

[Tennis Miller]

Slipping on his own profuse drool over the thought of eating RG alive in the semis!

Cheers

TM

eh :huh: whats with this arrogant nonsense..this is disprespecting tennis uzzled

at least have the class to wait until nadal is actually in the SF until you poast stuff like this.

Sorry, I meant to refer to Robredo in the quarters...first.

THEN Rishard.

Remember, Robredo is no Steve Darcis..

Cheers

TM

 

[kskate2]

So this whole thread is for nought. Shall I delete then Tennis Miller?

 

[brokenshoelace]

Not to disrespect, but Gasquet has a big serve? I've seen him play plenty, and I don't see that. I'd call it simply an average ATP serve.

Agreed.. Its just an average serve which was evident today because he couldn't sustain any separation from Ferrer. Sure.. RG can crank serves at upper 120 mph at times but to have a great serve you need great placement at all times and very special players like Sampras and Isner can still crank the upper 120 mphs after 3 or more hours

Except I never said he had a great serve, placement, or that he can serve big after 3 hours. In fact, I pretty much said he'll fade as the match progressed. I only said he can serve big. Check out his serving throughout his career.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Remember, Robredo is no Steve Darcis..

He's actually had a better career...

 

[the AntiPusher]

Not to disrespect, but Gasquet has a big serve? I've seen him play plenty, and I don't see that. I'd call it simply an average ATP serve.

Agreed.. Its just an average serve which was evident today because he couldn't sustain any separation from Ferrer. Sure.. RG can crank serves at upper 120 mph at times but to have a great serve you need great placement at all times and very special players like Sampras and Isner can still crank the upper 120 mphs after 3 or more hours

Except I never said he had a great serve, placement, or that he can serve big after 3 hours. In fact, I pretty much said he'll fade as the match progressed. I only said he can serve big. Check out his serving throughout his career.

BS.. that's not much of a statement.. almost every ATP player can crank a few in the 120's or 130 a few times. Serena can crank it at 120s better than most men on the tour including Rafa:blush:

 

[Tennis Miller]

Remember, Robredo is no Steve Darcis..

He's actually had a better career...

It was a joke. You can substitute any name in place of Robredo and say "Well, He's no Steve Darcis". That's because a guy like Darcis with almost no major career accomplishments must have sold his soul to the devil to take out Rafa at Wimbledon in straights.

Sigh. Broken, I would have at least expected you to get the joke!

Cheers

TM

 

[Tennis Miller]

So this whole thread is for nought. Shall I delete then Tennis Miller?

No, like I said, first Tommy, THEN Rishard. The thread is prescient!

Cheers
TM

 

[DarthFed]

Not to disrespect, but Gasquet has a big serve? I've seen him play plenty, and I don't see that. I'd call it simply an average ATP serve.

Agreed.. Its just an average serve which was evident today because he couldn't sustain any separation from Ferrer. Sure.. RG can crank serves at upper 120 mph at times but to have a great serve you need great placement at all times and very special players like Sampras and Isner can still crank the upper 120 mphs after 3 or more hours

Except I never said he had a great serve, placement, or that he can serve big after 3 hours. In fact, I pretty much said he'll fade as the match progressed. I only said he can serve big. Check out his serving throughout his career.

BS.. that's not much of a statement.. almost every ATP player can crank a few in the 120's or 130 a few times. Serena can crank it at 120s better than most men on the tour including Rafa:blush:

That was my point, tons of players CAN serve high 120's but Gasquet is not going to do that consistently. I don't consider the serve a big weapon of his. Similarly, darn near everyone can rip the forehand here and there. The question is whether he can do that consistently, generally he doesn't have the confidence to do it often it seems. Against Rafa he will have to rip the forehand often and win a lot of cheap points on serve.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Not to disrespect, but Gasquet has a big serve? I've seen him play plenty, and I don't see that. I'd call it simply an average ATP serve.

Agreed.. Its just an average serve which was evident today because he couldn't sustain any separation from Ferrer. Sure.. RG can crank serves at upper 120 mph at times but to have a great serve you need great placement at all times and very special players like Sampras and Isner can still crank the upper 120 mphs after 3 or more hours

Except I never said he had a great serve, placement, or that he can serve big after 3 hours. In fact, I pretty much said he'll fade as the match progressed. I only said he can serve big. Check out his serving throughout his career.

BS.. that's not much of a statement.. almost every ATP player can crank a few in the 120's or 130 a few times. Serena can crank it at 120s better than most men on the tour including Rafa:blush:

Then many of these players can serve big. I know it's not much of statement because I didn't treat it like much of a statement. I simply said he can serve big, which is a fact. I didn't imply that serving big is going to be a huge factor in this match or anything. However, it will help him hold serve, stay in the sets, and make it more competitive than say, Robredo is making it right now. Gasquet will get cheap points. Against Nadal, this is important.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Remember, Robredo is no Steve Darcis..

He's actually had a better career...

It was a joke. You can substitute any name in place of Robredo and say "Well, He's no Steve Darcis". That's because a guy like Darcis with almost no major career accomplishments must have sold his soul to the devil to take out Rafa at Wimbledon in straights.

Sigh. Broken, I would have at least expected you to get the joke!

Cheers

TM

LOL, my bad.