CAMELOT FANTASIES

General, I posted the following on Discuss Tennis in The Fall Of Rafael Nadal thread, quoting your post of Aug 14th (2 weeks before the US Open). 
Of course I expect to be attacked for telling the truth.

Quote from: ClayDeath, post: 29594, member: 46

I am a harsh task master.


I am rafa's greatest fan on this planet.

that is why I am also his greatest critic. that is because I care the most.

inspired effort and inspired/passionate heart at the Olympics does not equal any real progress for rafa.

still means zero titles on the hard courts since 2013.

it may show some intent to compete and win again. lets see how it goes in Cinci and at flushing meadows.

at this point I just want to see him shut it down after the u.s. open and go fix the fitness and physicality issues.

he cannot afford anymore injuries. way too much inactivity already in the last 3 years.

inactivity is his greatest enemy. he is basically just beating himself but continuing to show up unfit and unprepared.

"General ClayDeath called it correctly and before hand (see bold above).  No blind adoration, no spin, he said that Rafa should shut it down after the US Open, and he is not the only one who has said it.

Now after the fact Uncle Toni admits Rafa playing after the US Open was wrong. He lost unnecessarily and played with a wrist that couldn't hit the forehand properly because of the pain, and now they need to stop, recover, and train for next year.  Too bad he wasted that time.

This is not rocket science. If Rafa wants a chance at anything big in 2017, Rafa needs to rehabilitate the wrist if it is still bothering him, get his body as fit as he can, so he can avoid unnecessary injury, and then go and get on the clay and train hard.

He still has a small window of opportunity to rise again, as he has so many times, but everything has to be done right and he has to have some luck.  Time is not on his side.  The younger players want to prove themselves, other players like Murray are working hard to get to the top. Djokovic appears to be having a bit of a mini-crisis and Murray is poised to take advantage.   Things don't stand still in this sport.

Respectfully,
masterclass"

general you and I know Rafa too well.


we know he cant win without supreme fitness and supreme physicality.


he cant even really fight out there effectively without those 2 things.

he is worse on clay now than when he started as a teenager. there is just no end to this free fall and it is all by design.