CAMELOT FANTASIES

Barcelona is a VIT for Rafa - Very Important Tournament.  He must make the final at least or he is in danger of not being ready for Roland Garros.

He put so much time on the hard courts, and almost no time preparing on the clay, he somehow forgot how to play the right way on clay at Monte Carlo, even though he is one of, if not the greatest clay court players in history?  No.  He knows how to play on clay, he just hasn't practiced enough on clay for himself to get the right rhythm and feeling on it. 

Maybe it was due to his back, as some say.  But why the back? In  my opinion it started at the end of last year.  He went on the exhibition tour, made a lot of money, but didn't prepare enough for the new year.  It has cost him fitness and training he needed, and he went into the AO without it, and we know the rest.  He has given himself almost no time to prepare properly for the clay season and it shows.

He only played 3 matches on the clay at Monte Carlo.  That's further reduced his preparation for RG. There is a vicious cycle that can occur if you don't get enough preparation. You lose early in tournaments and don't get enough matches.  You have little time to prepare between tournaments, so you must depend on the matches in each tournament to prepare you. But if you go out early, you don't get them.

There are 5 possible matches each at Barcelona, Madrid, and Rome if he makes the final in each of them.

General Hercules will tell you the significance of # of clay court matches for Rafa prior to RG. 

He needs to stop that vicious cycle in its tracks right here in Barcelona.  He said a few days ago that he now feels great physically.  Let's see if he can do it.

History awaits him at Roland Garros, but it won't wait forever.

Respectfully,
masterclass