CAMELOT FANTASIES

You said it all general hercules, nothing more to add...for the short term.   

For the long term, I hope Rafa doesn't go through with that new winter league.  He needs some down time.  He can't play all year long and win everything in sight.  He's only one man.  I can almost guarantee that if he tries to play all year long through the winter, he will be hurt by the clay season.  Does he really need the money so badly?  C'mon Uncle Toni, steer Rafa away from this crap. 

 If I were Rafa at this stage in his career, I would start thinking differently.  He's got 11 years or more worth of miles in those legs.  After the WTF, I would rest completely and re-energize until after Christmas, maybe until after New Year's.  Spend time with the family and friends.  Come back fresher mentally and physically.  Then I would start practicing on clay, not that indoor hard court he had built in Manacor.  I would skip the Australian Open, just like he did in 2013.  So he misses a major, big deal.  Except for one year, the tournament has been a negative for him.  He has pushed himself hard, and sometimes even injured himself there.   Also, another benefit is that long trip across the time zones is avoided, there and back.  That takes something out of you. 

Instead, he should spend the whole month of January training on clay 2-3 hours/day or more somewhere warm, working on his backhand as much as possible and getting pop on his shots. and improving depth on the return.  Then he should hit the ground running in South America and build his match toughness and clay level up.  I would stay on the clay as much as possible.  Play in Rio, don't play in Acapulco if it stays hard court.  Skip Indian Wells if he can (don't know if he has a contract with friend Larry Ellison) and Miami.  These slow hard court Masters just are a distraction in his clay preparation.  Miami has not been that good to him either.   Play in Houston in the US Clay championship or leave the Americas and start in Casablanca and start the European clay season.  I can practically guarantee that he will sweep the European clay season if he does this.

In fact, I hope that new league doesn't get off the ground.  Sounds like some glorified exhibition stunt to me.  It's all for the money.  Is Nadal really that needy or greedy?  He has hundreds of millions.   Players were complaining left and right that the season was too long only a couple of years ago.  They tried to shorten it a bit here and there.  They took away that extra week break after Paris and before the Year End Championships, and look what happened.  Paris started to be a joke for any player eligible for the WTF. 

My 2015 schedule for Nadal (starting with winter break through Roland Garros).

After Nov - WTF
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December  - OFF (take a break, go somewhere warm, play golf, go fishing, play poker|) Don't be tempted by hc exhibitions.
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January - Practice/training month, only on clay 
Jan 19 - Australian Open SLAM - HARD  (SKIP Australian Open)
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February   - South American Tour
Feb 02 - Vina del Mar (Chile)  250 - CLAY
Feb 16 - Rio de Janeiro  500 - CLAY
Feb 23 - Buenos Aires  250 - CLAY
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March - North American slow hard courts
Mar 09 - Indian Wells 1000 - HARD -  (OPTIONAL - would prefer he take a week off, then practice on CLAY instead of play)
Mar 23 - Miami 1000 - HARD (SKIP Miami - practice on CLAY)
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April - European Clay season starts
Apr 06 - Casablanca or Houston 250 - CLAY -  strictly a warm up tourney for Monte Carlo
Apr 13 - Monte Carlo 1000 - CLAY
Apr 20 - Barcelona 500 - CLAY
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May - European Clay season continues
May 04 - Madrid 1000 - CLAY
May 11 - Rome 1000 - CLAY
May 25 - Roland Garros SLAM - CLAY
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With this schedule, I think he could go undefeated.

Respectfully,
masterclass