CAMELOT FANTASIES

Quote from: Clay Death on May 19, 2014, 01:01:56 am

que pasa sports fans.


be advised that general Hercules (me) and general masterclass (one of the foremost tennis experts and tennis analysts in the word) are in full agreement about what has happened this season:


rafa is simply short on practice and match play on clay.

he failed to prepare properly for his clay season on both fronts: his ground game and his fitness

I know it sounds harsh as I am probably his greatest fan in the world but he was reckless and careless with respect to his preparation going into the single most important clay season of his life.

and that cost him big time.


I don't know why he doesn't get it: its not about the rankings and the points at this point in his career. for instance he said he gained 600 points as a result of making the final in rome today.


it is about losing over and over to nole. he has now lost 8 of last 9 sets to nole.


if you look at this match from a slightly different perspective, nole basically spotted him a set and then proceeded to run over him in the next 2 sets 6-3, 6-3.

nole hit nearly 50 winners on him.


simon hit even more. he hit around 60 winners.


rafa is slow and sluggish in his movement. he is also not as supremely fit as in the past. he said he was tired and that his legs were weary.

general Tee was the first to notice this in Miami. he said rafa looked slow, sluggish, and not as fit as in the past.


basically all this senseless bloodshed could have been avoided if rafa had just left for Mallorca after losing early in indian wells. that was the blessing from the gods. his back was not 100% and his clay season was approaching. he proceeded to fart around for 15 days instead.

he went to Miami for 2 simple reasons: he went there to collect his appearance fee and to grab a few cheap points. I knew that he was making a massive mistake by going there.

there was no way in hell he was going to be able to take clay for granted forever. he is older now and he had not played well after the back injury.


it was time to go home after indian wells and jump on the soft clay to protect his back and to find his ground game in time for his clay season.

he is correct when he says he is out of confidence and stuff: what he is really trying to tell you that he is not confident enough of his ground game.

and the reason why he is not confident enough is because of 2 simple reasons: he wont put in the hard yards in practice on the red clay.

and he wont work diligently on his fitness.

that leaves him sort of unarmed in a way against nole: he is not really fully able to engage him in battle off the ground. he cant stay in the rallies like he has been able to for a decade. that is why ferru ran over him at monte carlo and then almagro got in the line too in Barcelona. he too took out rafa in the quarters.


nole won the long rallies today and he has been winning majority of the long rallies in his last 4 matches against rafa. and that is where the match was won and lost.

I did not see the match and I do not intend to. I am just not going to see rafa in this way.

I know he is a lot better than that.


he lost focus after the Australian open because of the back injury and he has yet to really fully find it again.


I can assure you that his 90 minute practice sessions are not getting the job done. he claims that he does not like to hit too many backhands.


and I will claim right now and right here that he cant beat a top gun like nole without a fully functioning backhand. you cant give up too much real estate. that is the reason why nole struck nearly 50 winners today.



now the sliver lining is that hopefully these losses will force him to focus more on his game and his fitness. he is still rafa. he will search deep to find some answers.

rafa does not lose much. he still has the highest winning percentage ever in the open era.


its just that he has lost a bit too much on clay this year. last time he lost 3 times on clay in such a short period was in 2004. he was just a kid then.


all he really needs is one good match in the final and he can take home his 9th RG crown. there is no other option left for him now.

he cant give up the king of clay title while still in his prime. I think he will do it. he will beat nole in straights or 4 sets in the final.

rafa's 8 RG finals wins in as many finals will give him the edge going into the final.  nole is tough but he is not as tough as rafa on the red clay.

rafa just happen to slip up and fall down. he will get up again.

he will take this RG crown but he is going to have to come back a lot fitter and a lot more lean and mean next year.

and of course he will have to prepare better for his clay season in 2015. there is no shame in playing smaller events in south America.

it beats the hell out of losing to players like ferru, almagro, and nole. and it sure as hell beats the hell out of winning damn near nothing and struggling against everybody.

OK. you win. You're Rafa's number 1 fan. I'll take number 2! I have nothing to add, you and masterclass warned of this as the season progressed.

But, let me run this by you. Do you think there was a problem with Xisca? She hadn't been at his matches for awhile. She just turned up this week, but I hadn't seen her. I wonder if that was a factor.


I know, I'm reaching, but I'm desperate, dang it!

we will just take turns princess TT. one week I will be his greatest fan and the following week you will take over. we will just alternate.



I don't think the problem is xisca. the problem is that he was either misled or misguided or both.

there is just immense demand on him around the globe. all his sponsors and his fans are almost weighing on him a bit.


he went to Oregon while farting around indian wells because NIKE asked him to be there. they sent  jet to go pick him up.

he played poker while right in the middle of the tournament because he has a huge contract with Poker Stars.

same thing in Monte Carlo. those Poker Stars people were again hounding him. and then he went sailing while there.

he also spent a day in Madrid. he took a train when he should have taken a jet. that was waste of 2 days. he was seen at the real Madrid soccer game.


it is just one thing after another. he did not bother to go jump on clay and stay there to figure out his ground game and his return. he also did not bother to put in sufficient work on fitness.


those are the only 2 things that are costing him: he is not the ground stroking machine he once was because he does not work as hard as he used to. he also does not work hard enough on his fitness.

now add to that the fact that others have significantly stepped up their efforts on the practice and the fitness fronts.


still we have a sliver lining: they still cant beat him in a best of 5 sets match on clay because he has the time to figure things out and do some problem solving in 5 sets matches.

he now just has to get rid of them all in straight sets until the final.


so its just one match---the one in the final----that he has to play well. he has to be focused and ready to deal with who ever is on the other side of the net. he has to let it all hang out as they say and fight tooth and nail for his crown.


I think he will do it.