CAMELOT FANTASIES

Rafa:

“My legs didn’t answer after a tough week, not [good enough] to arrive and to produce the power and to hit the ball longer so I let him play in positive positions,” Nadal said. His opening three wins were three of the four longest matches in Rome this week, with his first match against Gilles Simon lasting 3 hours and 19 minutes. It was the longest three-set match of the season. ” A lot of times when he had the first ball good, for me it was very difficult to arrive to the ball and to change the dynamic of the point. In general I can do a little bit better. But in general I am very proud about this week.”

Fitness, or lack thereof, plus his propensity to make things harder on himself with his court positioning that made matches longer than they should have been against those opponents, did him in, and Novak Djokovic is a good enough player to take advantage.

General, you know it, Rafa knows it, and so do his opponents.  There is no place to hide on the tennis court.  It's not like team sports where you can slowly play yourself into shape without affecting the outcome greatly. You have to be prepared.  It's a cruel sport and vultures are everywhere just waiting for signs of weakness.

The good news for Rafa is that he has a week and a few more matches to be ready for another RG final, if he can survive the first week.

Respectfully,
masterclass

I thought the long week without rest would be a factor. I didn't see how he would recover. You have to take into account the entire week. Getting Simon, back at his best, for a first round was difficult. Simon is going to feed and run you all day. I think that took a toll on him with Youzny. Then he had to face Murray in a long anticipated match, oh brother, and if that wasn't enough he had to subdue a young gun. So...it makes sense to me. A person can only handle so much. In these BO3's there's not enough time to recover.

However, it still comes down to his lack of fitness and preparation. He wasn't physically or emotionally prepared for the battle. He had to be expending a lot of emotional energy, because coming into Rome he hadn't been playing well at all. I don't think you can turn it on and off that quickly.

So for me, it's all good. Plus, Rafa needed this loss. I'm sure next week he will be ready, if he makes the necessary adjustments and gets the much needed rest that he needs.