10.02.2014 Copa Claro
Buenos Aires, Argentina Clay $ 488,890
($ 567,760) SGL 32 DBL 16 +54-115-533-5533
so if what I have been reading is correct, rafa will leave for argentina next week.
he has medical treatment on Monday in Barcelona so I am guessing he might leave for argentina on Tuesday or Wednesday.
I previously thought he might leave on Monday but that might be difficult.
well today rafa is in Barcelona for medical treatment.
and then a decision will be made to go argentina for copa claro event.
I have not heard anything yet.
he is probably going to skip it if he has not been able to hit since the Australian Open.
there is some news out on the back issue:
rafa said the back is not ok. the trip to argentina is in question at the moment.
he will probably make a decision this weekend which likely to be too late.
I cant see how he can play in argentina if he has not hit since the Australian Open.
Rafa is out of Buenos Aires.
His facebook page confirms that he is not ready to play, even though most recent scans of his back looked better, but he unable to practice as he also got a stomach virus.
"Sorry announcing my withdraw from B Aires. Fans & Tournament can’t be better but stomach virus didn't allow practice today & tomorrow. I'm not ready" - Rafael Nadal
Respectfully,
masterclass
Agreed general. When Rafa feels better, he should practice 4-6 hours/day on his clay courts in Majorca until late February. He basically wasn't in great shape for the AO, and strained the back. That practice on clay should get him back to where he needs to be.
Then he should go to Indian Wells early (the week before), sit out in the sun and have piña coladas with his good buddy Larry Ellison, and then start practice on the hard courts for the tournament.
He doesn't need any more hard court work other than that, but I have a feeling he won't be able to resist playing doubles there with Lopez. He needs to keep his hard court play to a minimum before the long European clay season.
In other news, Andrew Murray, OBE, has accepted a wild card for Rotterdam.
Respectfully,
masterclass
there is no question in my mind that hard courts are brutal for nadal general masterclass.
in fact it is the hard courts that have led to almost all of his injuries. he was tired which led to straining the back.
he had already won 10 tournaments and took home 2 slams in 2013 but the quest to go after the #1 rank also cost him some much needed rest and recovery.
and then there was that south American exo tour that had to take its toll too. he was not home much at all for his rest and recuperation and some training.
tour is very demanding now and the top players need more rest than the others since they are the ones going deep into all the tournaments and winning majority of them.
excellent news about andy murray. he is progressing well after the back surgery.
Well, I can only blame Nadal for playing in the exhos, general hercules. Nobody forces him to. If he felt that he needed rest, he could have always canceled them. But the lure of easy money and an adoring crowd is tempting.
Anyway, what I said still stands. As soon as he is feeling well, rested, he should get back and practice on the clay and get ready for
Indian Wells. No need for him to play minor hard court tournament like Acapulco. Or if he feels better fast, maybe he'll play on the clay in
Rio de Janeiro.
Everything should be healed before he starts back, hand blister, back, stomach, etc. He should be as healthy as possible going into the clay season. History awaits him at
Rafael Garros. 
Respectfully,
masterclass
Well, I can only blame Nadal for playing in the exhos, general hercules. Nobody forces him to. If he felt that he needed rest, he could have always canceled them. But the lure of easy money and an adoring crowd is tempting.
Anyway, what I said still stands. As soon as he is feeling well, rested, he should get back and practice on the clay and get ready for Indian Wells. No need for him to play minor hard court tournament like Acapulco. Or if he feels better fast, maybe he'll play on the clay in Rio de Janeiro.
Everything should be healed before he starts back, hand blister, back, stomach, etc. He should be as healthy as possible going into the clay season. History awaits him at Rafael Garros.
Respectfully,
masterclass
So true, masterclass. I read once that Rafa is super hyper. He has to always be doing something. In some respects, he's like a big kid. Still, there's no excuse for not learning how to manage your schedule and peaking for the big tournaments. Every time I think he'll get it, he disappoints
.
incredibly I knew about the tradeoff involved with chasing the #1 ranking after having won 2 slams and a total of 10 tournaments already.
and that tradeoff was that something had to give sooner or later. the sport is way too demanding. you just cant win everything under the sun.
still the tables were set up like never before for him in Melbourne:
no Federer
no nole
no andy
no del potro
no Tsonga
all he had to do was beat a guy he had beaten 12 times in a row already.
his back betrayed him but it was his own doing. that was the tradeoff involved in chasing the #1 rank.
I always felt that taking the Oz slam away from nole would be a much bigger deal then taking away his #1 rank. #1 rank would have fallen in the lap anyway with the conquest of the Australian Open title.
now some players must be feeling like they have been shown a way by stan to deal with nadal. I think nadal will find a way to restore some order on the red clay but he cut it too close. this back injury could have been a lot worse and it could have ended his career. he went simply too hard to grab those 10 titles and needed to slow down after the u.s. open. his style of play is very demanding. it takes an immense amount out of him.
right now it should be all about an assault on history. and the history cares more about the slam record than anything else.
lot of players hit #1. it means very little in a long run scheme of things. especially for nadal who is close to the record.
the world and the history forever remembers the slam count.
if he gets the RG and the U.S. Open again then he has to slow down and start shutting it down a little bit and save himself for 2015.
same here general viruzzz.
all in with berlocq the warlocq.
that was one of the coolest threads ever about king carlos berlocq at mtf that you put together many moons ago general.
we all had a lot of fun with it.
Oh yes! Good humorous thread that is still alive everytime Charly makes something cool.
There's always someone to comment there.
Today he played pretty good, so little errors and fighting every ball 6-4 6-2 over Sousa.
He will face Haase-Alund next.
I'm all in, I think he will win again.