CAMELOT FANTASIES

if rafa allows his backhand to be more engaged and returns well then he has a very good chance to finishing this deal.



that is how I am seeing it.


those 2 things will take some pressure off his own serve. his biggest liability remains the return against a player like nole. that is why he has lost 4 straight times to him.


nadal can beat the world but when he does lose, he returns horribly and wont allow his backhand to get into rhythm. and that is the statistic that gets masked.


that puts him under pressure and it puts his serve under pressure.

and now nadal himself acknowledges it but absolutely refuses to do anything about it. his backhand was just horrible yesterday and he never gave it a chance either.


general masterclass have talking about this for years. the game becomes a little easier for him when he plays a little closer to the baseline and is also able to control the center of the court a little bit better.


you cant play this game at the very highest level hitting only forehands deep from your backhand corner.


people need to take a look only at the last match. he left an enormous amount of space to be had.


andy had no legs and was very flat. you cant judge rafa's performance by that match.


or at least I cant. I saw a very poorly performing rafa who was looking at every possible opportunity to run around his backhand.

that wont cut the mustard.



and now the good news. I said this before the tournament. rafa only needs to play one great match and it will be in the final.

so if he uses all the gears available to him and catches nole a little bit off and shaky then rafa takes it in 3 or 4 sets.


I agree with general masterclass: it is too risky for rafa to let it go into the 5th set because then anybody can win.


rafa can do this and I think he will. he just has to produce one good match at these championships.


for the longer run, he needs to work on his fitness and try to improve.