CAMELOT FANTASIES
Camelot Tennis Universe => General Pro Player Discussions => Topic started by: Clay Death on March 28, 2014, 09:17:15 pm
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General Hercules, you are right, it just wasn't to be for Roger Federer. He put himself in position to win, 1 set and into the tiebreaker, but a single muffed shot, early in the tiebreaker cost him as it turned out, as Stan played very solidly in the breaker, and the one mini-break was all he needed. Thereafter, I think Stan got a lot of energy from winning the set, and Federer looked a bit deflated, and a bit tired, and unable to raise his level. That's all Stan needed. He outplayed and outhit Roger in the final set to win going away, 6-2, and fully deserved the victory.
Lady TT, it was a bit of a strange match, due them being good friends as well as compatriots. I thought the first set was a bit nervous from both men at the start, but Federer came out of it sooner and better. He played aggressively and was very solid, especially on serve. He came to the net repeatedly, didn't give Wawrinka any rhythm, mixing everything up with variety. Wawrinka tried to respond in kind, but his shots simply were not finding the court as often as Roger's and he couldn't pass Federer, either dumping the ball into the net, over-hitting, or losing to Federer's superb anticipation and volleying, and Federer took the set 6-4.
The second set started off with Stan holding serve pretty easily, and then Federer had a sloppy service game, with a double fault and a couple of unforced errors, and Wawrinka played solid to get the break at 30. But then it was Wawrinka's turn to make some errors, and along with Federer's good play and Federer broke to love. The rest of the set was even, with each player holding a difficult service game, and both enduring a brief rain delay. I thought Federer backed off a little in his aggression though on Stan's service games, perhaps saving energy, and seemed content to let the set go to a tiebreaker. Stan, serving first in the set, always had the scoreboard pressure on, and Federer at 5-6, was forced to hold his serve to stay in the set. And he held very well, serving to love, crafting some nice points, and perhaps Stan was saving some energy as well.
Off of that last service game, it looked like Federer had the momentum going into the tiebreaker. But Stan served first, and bombed a nonreturnable serve in to take the 1-0 lead. Then Federer had a fine serve, but Wawrinka managed to get a decent return, and after a brief rally, Roger overhit a bit, and missed the court with a cross court backhand for a mini break - 0-2. Thereafter, both men played well on their serve. Stan served big, played aggressively, and Roger couldn't make a dent on his serve, Roger played equally well on his serve, but the damage had been done with the lone early mini-break, and Stan took the tiebreaker 7-5. Stan improved in that set, curbing his errors to only 10, while Federer made more, and an error too many.
I never expected that either man would be able to have more winners than errors, in the match, as they know each other's game very well, and it was difficult to put winners away in the slow heavy conditions. Also, they were both trying to control the court with aggressive play, and naturally made some errors with that style of play, as they went for lines. I think statisticians need to separate out unforced error stats better for people who don't happen to watch the match to give a better idea of what happened. There is a difference between dumping an easy ball into the net, or sailing one well past the lines; and the errors made going for your shot, and just missing a line.
In the third set, Federer had first serve, but appeared a bit deflated after losing the tiebreaker, and the chance to win the match in 2 sets, and was broken immediately with 3 forehand errors, 2 of them into the net, and then a backhand error into the net. Stan quickly won his next service game as Federer didn't seem to have the energy or will to fight back to prevent consolidation of the break with the same enthusiasm as he did in the second set. Stan played very well in the decider, playing a more error free and yet still aggressive ground game. So with Stan up 2-0, the 3rd game was the key game of the set. Federer quickly went down love-30, but managed to get to deuce, and then played well to get the advantage. But Stan was resolute, and with Federer looking in control of the next point, Stan turned it around and played a super down the line forehand winner to get it back to deuce. After a short rally, Federer then dumped a slice into the net. Stan then broke Federer for the double break with another excellent forehand winner, this time cross court. After that, it was clear that Federer didn't have the energy to raise his game to match Stan, Stan won his serve to go up 4-0, and then the rest of the set played out on serve. Federer didn't go to the net anywhere as much in the 3rd set, didn't serve that well, and just didn't seem to have it, while Stan was pumped and playing very well.
But at the end, as they met at the net, you could see that despite any disappointment Federer might have felt from losing, that he was very happy for Stan.
Stan and Roger had dinner the night before, practiced in the morning before the match, had lunch after practice, and then after the match were laughing together in the locker room. As Stan said, Roger is his best friend on the tour. So I think the Monte Carlo title helps Stan solidify his confidence, which will keep him a tough opponent for anyone going forward. Roger didn't seem too bothered about the loss, seemed happy for Stan, and fact they had an all Swiss final, and in retrospect was quite happy to make the final as a late wildcard entry in the first clay match of the season, was pleased overall with his season thus far, making 4 finals, winning one, along with a SF and QF, and tour leading matches won, and only said that his immediate goal was to get the wins when he reached the final going forward.
Respectfully,
masterclass
Well. I can just delete the match on my DVR now. That was an excellent blow-by-blow. It was a win-win for Federer, talking about making good use of a WC. But, isn't it ironic how certain titles elude different players for no apparent reason? I thought that was a done deal for Federer, but Stan proved me wrong.
His confidence has to be at its maximum. Thus far this year he has beat Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer, three guys he's struggled with all of his career. He definitely proved me wrong, I didn't think his euphoria would last at all. So far, he's maintaining his momentum. Not only that, he's gotten greedy too!
Monte Carlo turned out to be a wacky tournament, or is it a sign of things to come? Are there more surprises coming in the near future? And is the Big Four slowly becoming more human?
We really needed the upset thread on this particular tournament. I doubt any of us would have come close to getting it right.
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General Hercules, you are right, it just wasn't to be for Roger Federer. He put himself in position to win, 1 set and into the tiebreaker, but a single muffed shot, early in the tiebreaker cost him as it turned out, as Stan played very solidly in the breaker, and the one mini-break was all he needed. Thereafter, I think Stan got a lot of energy from winning the set, and Federer looked a bit deflated, and a bit tired, and unable to raise his level. That's all Stan needed. He outplayed and outhit Roger in the final set to win going away, 6-2, and fully deserved the victory.
Lady TT, it was a bit of a strange match, due them being good friends as well as compatriots. I thought the first set was a bit nervous from both men at the start, but Federer came out of it sooner and better. He played aggressively and was very solid, especially on serve. He came to the net repeatedly, didn't give Wawrinka any rhythm, mixing everything up with variety. Wawrinka tried to respond in kind, but his shots simply were not finding the court as often as Roger's and he couldn't pass Federer, either dumping the ball into the net, over-hitting, or losing to Federer's superb anticipation and volleying, and Federer took the set 6-4.
The second set started off with Stan holding serve pretty easily, and then Federer had a sloppy service game, with a double fault and a couple of unforced errors, and Wawrinka played solid to get the break at 30. But then it was Wawrinka's turn to make some errors, and along with Federer's good play and Federer broke to love. The rest of the set was even, with each player holding a difficult service game, and both enduring a brief rain delay. I thought Federer backed off a little in his aggression though on Stan's service games, perhaps saving energy, and seemed content to let the set go to a tiebreaker. Stan, serving first in the set, always had the scoreboard pressure on, and Federer at 5-6, was forced to hold his serve to stay in the set. And he held very well, serving to love, crafting some nice points, and perhaps Stan was saving some energy as well.
Off of that last service game, it looked like Federer had the momentum going into the tiebreaker. But Stan served first, and bombed a nonreturnable serve in to take the 1-0 lead. Then Federer had a fine serve, but Wawrinka managed to get a decent return, and after a brief rally, Roger overhit a bit, and missed the court with a cross court backhand for a mini break - 0-2. Thereafter, both men played well on their serve. Stan served big, played aggressively, and Roger couldn't make a dent on his serve, Roger played equally well on his serve, but the damage had been done with the lone early mini-break, and Stan took the tiebreaker 7-5. Stan improved in that set, curbing his errors to only 10, while Federer made more, and an error too many.
I never expected that either man would be able to have more winners than errors, in the match, as they know each other's game very well, and it was difficult to put winners away in the slow heavy conditions. Also, they were both trying to control the court with aggressive play, and naturally made some errors with that style of play, as they went for lines. I think statisticians need to separate out unforced error stats better for people who don't happen to watch the match to give a better idea of what happened. There is a difference between dumping an easy ball into the net, or sailing one well past the lines; and the errors made going for your shot, and just missing a line.
In the third set, Federer had first serve, but appeared a bit deflated after losing the tiebreaker, and the chance to win the match in 2 sets, and was broken immediately with 3 forehand errors, 2 of them into the net, and then a backhand error into the net. Stan quickly won his next service game as Federer didn't seem to have the energy or will to fight back to prevent consolidation of the break with the same enthusiasm as he did in the second set. Stan played very well in the decider, playing a more error free and yet still aggressive ground game. So with Stan up 2-0, the 3rd game was the key game of the set. Federer quickly went down love-30, but managed to get to deuce, and then played well to get the advantage. But Stan was resolute, and with Federer looking in control of the next point, Stan turned it around and played a super down the line forehand winner to get it back to deuce. After a short rally, Federer then dumped a slice into the net. Stan then broke Federer for the double break with another excellent forehand winner, this time cross court. After that, it was clear that Federer didn't have the energy to raise his game to match Stan, Stan won his serve to go up 4-0, and then the rest of the set played out on serve. Federer didn't go to the net anywhere as much in the 3rd set, didn't serve that well, and just didn't seem to have it, while Stan was pumped and playing very well.
But at the end, as they met at the net, you could see that despite any disappointment Federer might have felt from losing, that he was very happy for Stan.
Stan and Roger had dinner the night before, practiced in the morning before the match, had lunch after practice, and then after the match were laughing together in the locker room. As Stan said, Roger is his best friend on the tour. So I think the Monte Carlo title helps Stan solidify his confidence, which will keep him a tough opponent for anyone going forward. Roger didn't seem too bothered about the loss, seemed happy for Stan, and fact they had an all Swiss final, and in retrospect was quite happy to make the final as a late wildcard entry in the first clay match of the season, was pleased overall with his season thus far, making 4 finals, winning one, along with a SF and QF, and tour leading matches won, and only said that his immediate goal was to get the wins when he reached the final going forward.
Respectfully,
masterclass
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good win for stan general masterclass.
masters title on clay is not that easy to get your hands on with the big sharks like nadal and nole around.
congrats to stan and his fans at Camelot.
this was a huge opportunity for roger to finally snatch this elusive title but evidently it was not meant to be.
it was just not in the stars for roger. he most assuredly had the inside track after snatching the first set but proceeded to let his advantage slip away from him.
After seeing the score I did watch a few highlights on YouTube. Fed looked to be playing well. What happened? Errors, or Stan raised his game?
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Congratulations to Spartan Stanimal Wawrinka, his team, his family, and his fans! Well done.
Commiserations to the current #2 Swiss, Roger Federer, his team and supporters. It was a good tournament for him, entering as a wildcard at the last minute, and a final result against a good friend and compatriot.
This win should keep Stan's confidence at a high level for awhile.
It will be interesting to see what happens the rest of the clay season.
Rafael Nadal needs to get back in the thick of things. Hard work and health is needed, and a title wouldn't hurt.
Novak Djokovic needs to get healthy. Status is unknown at the moment. We don't know how long he'll be out with that right wrist problem.
I'm sure General Hercules can tell you from experience that wrist injuries are tough to recover from in tennis.
Look at poor Juan Martin del Potro.
Respectfully,
masterclass
Stan's win was a shock! i guess he really does believe in himself now. Wow, the wonders of a tattoo, LOL! I didn't even watch the match thinking it was a write-in,plus I was too busy.
I also didn't want Fed and Nole, because I went to Columbus to see the Michael Jackson, Immortal Tour. Needless to say I was wiped out today and still had a paper to do.
So what happened to Novak's wrist. I haven't even checked the internet yet. I just submitted my paper with minutes to spare.
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good win for stan general masterclass.
masters title on clay is not that easy to get your hands on with the big sharks like nadal and nole around.
congrats to stan and his fans at Camelot.
this was a huge opportunity for roger to finally snatch this elusive title but evidently it was not meant to be.
it was just not in the stars for roger. he most assuredly had the inside track after snatching the first set but proceeded to let his advantage slip away from him.
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Congratulations to Spartan Stanimal Wawrinka, his team, his family, and his fans! Well done.
Commiserations to the current #2 Swiss, Roger Federer, his team and supporters. It was a good tournament for him, entering as a wildcard at the last minute, and a final result against a good friend and compatriot.
This win should keep Stan's confidence at a high level for awhile.
It will be interesting to see what happens the rest of the clay season.
Rafael Nadal needs to get back in the thick of things. Hard work and health is needed, and a title wouldn't hurt.
Novak Djokovic needs to get healthy. Status is unknown at the moment. We don't know how long he'll be out with that right wrist problem.
I'm sure General Hercules can tell you from experience that wrist injuries are tough to recover from in tennis.
Look at poor Juan Martin del Potro.
Respectfully,
masterclass
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I got one right and one wrong.
ferru lost and Federer was able to get by in straights today.
congrats to the swiss players and their fans.
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Federer snatched the first set 7-5.
can he keep this up?
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that is earliest exit from the event that he has won 8 times.
and when was the last time he lost to ferru at monte carlo?
he had 44 unforced errors in that match.
the guy has almost no rhythm off the ground. he is also lacking his usual fitness.
I think he showed up unprepared. clay has always saved him and it has done that for 10 years.
one day it had to catch up with him. I just never thought he would let his fitness and his game drop so much from 2013 levels.
it is pretty clear emma that he has been **** around and it is costing him.
now I know he has back issues but there still things you can do to get more fit. you can swim more for example. and there are endless other exercises you can do.
you can also get on the red clay and stay on the bloody red clay.
he had no business wasting 15 days after his early loss in indian wells. if he can play that event on the hard courts then he can also practice on the red clay.
he is just paying for the hard yards that are missing from his training on the fitness front and also on the practice courts.
this was the single most important clay season of his life very simply because he has 2 years left at best at the top.
it is still very salvageable. he just has to get to work.
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If I know one thing about Nadal I know he takes his tennis super seriously. So to think he went into this match unprepared is hard to digest. And also, Nadal might just be focusing much more on RG at this point of his career and the trend shows that he's always vulnerable when he's No. 1.
Beating Nadal at RG is the toughest deal for any player right now so I definitely think the main challenge is there.
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I don't think Nadal's opponents who tend to beat him from time to time will ever get any credit from Nadal fans any time soon or perhaps never.
Anyway, I believe Wawrinka had 33 winners and 40 errors. These aggressive players including Federer (especially these days) strike me as mostly ball bashers. I don't remember Sampras having so many errors in a 2 sets match while being super aggressive. That's the unfortunate part of today's game.
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good win for stan. ferru is usually a tough customer on clay against most of the players. he made the final at RG last year.
it just goes to show that he can be overpowered deep in big events due to his diminutive size.
nadal basically had no business losing to anybody here. he showed up unprepared. he has nobody to blame but himself.
he took home 10 events that included 2 slams in 2013. he willed himself the top rank.
so it is safe to say he is in his prime. he dominated the hard courts last years so he certainly should be dominating on his best surface.
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Wawrinka has just blasted off Ferrer in straight sets. He's now beaten Cilic, Raonic and Ferrer in straight sets to make the final here. That's pretty good and a well earned position.
Ferrer though might have been somewhat overwhelmed after beating Nadal in straight.
Judging by Wawrinka's form here, I wonder how the match would have panned out against Nadal had Ferrer not beaten him, especially when Nadal recently admitted the AO loss being on his mind quite a bit and affecting his performance of late. In other words, he's not feeling as confident. I can't forget how a lot of fans said both during AO and Miami how brilliant Nadal looked, but the same tone changed after he got beaten in both events and by worthy opponents.
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excellent post general masterclass.
nadal does not have much time left to salvage the clay season. it is do-able but he has to drop all the extracurricular activities asap.
all the top players are working as hard as they can on their games and their fitness.
nadal is not doing that anymore. his idea of a training session is 90 minutes to a 2 hour hitting session where he may play a set.
that is something a college level player would do. he is not going to get it done that way.
even 33-36 year old players are working harder than nadal. I know his fitness and his game. I have been watching him for 10 years now.
he has allowed his fitness and his game take a hit after the last u.s. open. you saw that it actually cost him a slam in Melbourne.
his body quit on him there.
unless he fixes his fitness and his ground game on the practice courts he is pretty much asking to struggle.
2013 was all set for him to use as a springboard for more success in 2014. and sure enough he blew his lead and blew his advantage.
now he is behind the curve.
he even admitted in abu dhabi that others had been working harder than him. and there you have it.
he alone is responsible for what has happened to him in 2014 so far. he keeps chasing after money so that is also costing him.
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The quarter finals have come and gone with one major upset and two survivals.
The upset was not expected, but not surprising to me, and left me disappointed.
Ferrer beat Nadal in straight sets on the clay at Monte Carlo. Nadal had been as unbeatable there as at Roland Garros, winning 8 of the last 9 years. Ferrer hadn't beaten Rafa on clay in ten years. How did it happen? Well, obviously something is missing or lacking in Nadal's game at the moment. The most disturbing thing from a mental point of view, is that he looked flat, he looked like he didn't care a whole lot, or was distracted.
Tennis wise, Rafa wasn't hitting balls deep, especially from the backhand wing. He was lucky if they were landing further than the service line. Ferrer is not a bad clay court player and took full advantage, and was blasting balls left and right. Nadal looks like he is playing with little confidence at the moment. Or it could be that he is protecting his back more than he wants to let on, who knows?
He said in his press conference that he was physically fine, but that he was low on confidence. So why wasn't this surprising to me? I think he has let himself go a bit since winning all those titles last year. And what of it? He is only one man. He cannot just keep going out there and playing the brutal style he plays, especially on the joint jarring unnatural and especially slower hard courts, without something happening.
Look, most physically demanding sports were obviously meant to be played on dirt and grass. Look at sports like football, baseball, soccer, where players are jumping, falling, sliding, as well as running. Can you imagine those professional sports being played on hard pavement? Of course not. Look in history, at what happened when some playing fields went to artificial turf in the name of saving money on upkeep. Injuries increased, and players complained at the unnatural feel and balls bouncing like super balls. I've played all these sports, some at a higher level, and I can tell you that they are meant to be played on a natural surface.
Hard courts may offer a truer bounce in tennis, and provide solid footing for those not adept at good footwork, but running a lot on the hard courts takes its toll, not to mention what happens when you have to stretch for a shot, or jump, and fall. Now of course, in cold climates or winter, one has to go indoors for tennis. Indoor courts were played on wood for a long time, then soft carpet, often over a wood base. Typically, the indoor courts played fast. So there wasn't that much wear and tear on the players from these courts. But the acrylic hard courts came along, and have gradually replaced all those indoor courts. The problem is that indoor and outdoor hard courts have gradually been made slower, usually medium to slow, with a couple faster, but not fast, decoturf courts like Cincinnati and the US Open. We saw Djokovic and Nadal play for close to 6 hours on the medium-slow Plexicushion courts on Rod Laver. That takes it's toll in the long run. And Rafa is not exempt. I wouldn't have a problem with playing on the harder surface if they varied between medium to fast conditions. It is a more neutral surface, and generally more competitive, as it doesn't require the more specialized technical and physical skills that clay and grass require.
We saw what happened last year when he started on the clay instead of Australia and tourneys like Rotterdam. He ended up with one of the best seasons of his career. He was so confident once he hit the hard courts in the summer, that he won the masters and US Open, and ended up with 10 titles. But that kind of success also comes at a price.
After a so-so fall, where he failed to win a title, which is not unusual, he spent his off time playing exhibitions on hard court. He didn't give himself time to get to the practice courts and work on his game and fitness. This cost him at the Australian Open. He just wasn't fit enough in my opinion and the hard courts at Rod Laver didn't help him. He had to play a hard match against Federer, and then followed it up with Wawrinka. Stan played very well, stretched Rafa to his limits, and Rafa's back injury cost him any chance of winning. This also had to hurt Nadal's confidence some, though some of his fans might deny that. After this, we could see how close he came to losing matches where he should not have had trouble. Again, he was unable to train properly once his back was hurt. Now what did he do after Miami? Did he jump right on the clay courts and start practicing many hours/day to get his clay game and fitness going? I don't know, but he seemed to be everywhere. So did it surprise me that he lost to Ferrer so badly, committing some 44 unforced errors in 2 sets at a tournament and surface he has dominated? Hmmm.
The good news is that he still has time to get his clay game in shape, but he's going to have to put in the hard yards. He only got in 3 matches in Monte Carlo. He needs at least 16-18 by Roland Garros, which means he has to go deep in these other clay tournaments. To do this, he has to be healthy, he has to be fit, and he has to be confident.
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In the other matches, Wawrinka won in 2 sets over Raonic after a tight 1st set and tiebreak, which could have gone either way. But once he won that, he was off to the races, and Raonic looked increasingly frustrated. Wawrinka served well and played solid. He should be tough nut for Ferrer to crack.
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In the bottom half of the draw, Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga contended for a place in the semifinal. Tsonga has upped his game recently after a dismal start to the year. He has returned to using his old racquet, and it seems to have restored his confidence in his game. For over a set against Federer he was the better player, playing very strong on his normally weaker backhand wing.
But in the second set, Federer upped his level and constantly had Tsonga in trouble on his serve, had many break points, but he couldn't seem to take the break, and Tsonga saved many of them with spectacular play himself. It was a very hard fought and well played second set by both men, winners flying off their racquets, and solid play all around. It was decided in the tiebreak, where Federer finally could take advantage of his edge on Tsonga's service, which had to have been tiring as the match progressed. At one point late in the second set, Jo had served close to twice as many serves as Federer after so many deuce games.
After Federer won the 2nd set tiebreak 8-6, he never looked back, had all the momentum, and Tsonga looked the beaten man and Federer mercifully finished it off fairly quickly with a breadstick.
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In the final match of the day, #2 in the world Novak Djokovic had to contend with the unseeded, but very in-form Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, known as GGL for short. Garcia-Lopez was coming off winning his first title in 4 years at Casablanca, and showed a lot of confidence beating an in-form Alex Dogopolov and strong Tomas Berdych. Djokovic had convincingly steamrolled his two previous opponents, but as they were a qualifier and lucky loser, he obviously wasn't tested. Well that changed. GGL gave Novak all he could handle, winning the first set in a convincing 6-4. He actually had a two break lead in the set, but squandered one, before buckling down and taking the set. Novak looked a bit undercooked in his play, and made too many errors as he struggled with his level of play.
In the second set, GGL also played quite well, and had Djokovic in trouble in his service games to 3-3 and even beyond. But Djokovic had finally upped his game, and was playing some amazing tennis to hold his serves, as GGL was not missing much, defending extremely well. And finally, it seemed like all the matches GGL has played the last couple of weeks began to take its toll. He wasn't quite getting to everything as he did earlier in the match, and Novak was playing extremely well and his backhand down the line was starting to do damage. He ended up breaking GGL, and won the second set.
The third set was more of the same, Djokovic playing at a high level, and GGL just couldn't stay with him. The play was closer than the final set breadstick would indicate as many games went to deuce, but it didn't matter. Djokovic won going away as they say. I think Djokovic needed this match, prior to playing Federer as it turns out.
I'm looking for a good battle between them on the morrow, but who knows? I think recovery from today's matches will be the key. It's only best of 3, but on clay, even that can feel like a marathon at times, depending on the play.
I think whoever can get off to a faster start will have the advantage, but if it goes 3, I think I'll have to give the edge to Djokovic.
That's how I see and saw it. Over and out... :)
Respectfully,
masterclass
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Yesterday, I thought Stan would want to avoid meeting with Nadal if he's not ready though one must admit that, there's no shame in losing to Nadal on clay, but now I am thinking if Nadal lost deliberately today to avoid meeting with Stan in the next match. I mean the way Stan dismissed Cilic in the round before may have raised a few eye brows and he dismissed Raonic this morning too in straight as well, so clearly Stan seems to be ready given that that was the first match. And losing to Stan again this time on clay and there's always the chance of that, would really damage Nadal's confidence to no end.
Well, I have many Rafa connections and in the last few months, he's been everywhere. Maybe a lot of it is sponsor-oriented, but he's been all over the place. And while it's good to relax, I live by that, you probably shouldn't be relaxing so much during your most productive time of year. He can relax after the USO, since he rarely does much after the North American hard court season anyway.
But, it's his life, and he can do what he wants to do. In his shoes I would do the same thing, simply because I felt like it, LOL.
I think these are good points, Emma. I'm inclined to agree. Knowing that his game isn't where it's supposed to be, taking a loss to Ferrer is ideal.
Even in the first rounds, although he won comfortably, he still didn't look like a man on a mission. He looked in both prior matches like he was trying to go on and off the court.
Dominating Seppi one minute and then going on a walkabout when he was so close to closing it out.
He's been doing too many unnecessary things off court, during this most crucial time.
What are those things? I am not actually aware but I did see him boating on the ATP side. I would have thought those would relax him, no? And take his mind off serious things? I think he really needs to be serious when he is on court and off court, he should try and relax as much as possible.
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Possibly. I just hate when he goes out that way. He's so much fun to watch.
Nole is on fire. Will Roger be able to stop him? I don't know. I wasn't really watching his match so I don't know what happened. I saw that Rosol was up a break and then he was down a set. Looked like he phoned it in that third set, so...
It's hard to say. I'd say it's 50-50. Federer likes playing Nole.
Hi TT, there was no 3rd set in that match. Federer took Rosol out in straight...unless you meant the 2nd set then yes, he might have done so since he couldn't win more than 1 game.
Hey Emma,
Another psychotic post from me, I can see how you read it that way. I was actually talking about the Fognini match when I was referencing the third set.
The Fed-Rosol match I didn't watch. Just fast forwarded through. I did see that he only won one game though.
Oh I do that sometime! I say or think one thing and in the next sentence, I take complete 180 turn and say or think something totally different and so on..and it continues for a while. haha
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Some serious grueling rallies in this game but Nole finally holds his serve. 4-0 Nole.
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Yesterday, I thought Stan would want to avoid meeting with Nadal if he's not ready though one must admit that, there's no shame in losing to Nadal on clay, but now I am thinking if Nadal lost deliberately today to avoid meeting with Stan in the next match. I mean the way Stan dismissed Cilic in the round before may have raised a few eye brows and he dismissed Raonic this morning too in straight as well, so clearly Stan seems to be ready given that that was the first match. And losing to Stan again this time on clay and there's always the chance of that, would really damage Nadal's confidence to no end.
I think these are good points, Emma. I'm inclined to agree. Knowing that his game isn't where it's supposed to be, taking a loss to Ferrer is ideal.
Even in the first rounds, although he won comfortably, he still didn't look like a man on a mission. He looked in both prior matches like he was trying to go on and off the court.
Dominating Seppi one minute and then going on a walkabout when he was so close to closing it out.
He's been doing too many unnecessary things off court, during this most crucial time.
What are those things? I am not actually aware but I did see him boating on the ATP side. I would have thought those would relax him, no? And take his mind off serious things? I think he really needs to be serious when he is on court and off court, he should try and relax as much as possible.
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Another thing is that, since Nadal's comeback last year, he's won a lot and most important matches; whereas, Nole has seen some really big and bad losses and that made him think that he had much to improve. So since then both of these players have gone in two separate directions. That's how the mind works after all. But now that he has taken a few losses and the AO final being the biggest one since then, it's time for him to turn his mind around into winning mode again. But while he's still No. 1, and a record to chase, it's a tough deal altogether and the fact that, he might be slightly jaded, makes it even harder. But to be fair, all the other players are on the same boat (especially Nole) as they are all playing week in week out as well.
This actually makes me appreciate Sampras so much more when I look back and see how jaded he was after 1999. He won only 2 Slams after that where he used to win 2 Slams each year when he was in peak form. But that 6 years straight at No. 1 was the hardest thing he had to do and it took a lot out of him. And the early competition in his time, where he had to deal with all the legends of all time, made it even tougher since his domination peaked in 1993. But after 1995, he still had to deal with the likes of Rafter, Agassi, Kafelnikov, Muster, Guga, Moya, Corretja, Krajicek, Ivanisevic, Henman and countless others. And then later in his years, he had to deal with Roddick, Safin, Hewitt, Federer etc. It was never easy for him. Lots of respect for this living legend Pistol Pete. Without a doubt that he's the toughest out there to date.
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herc, let's say all is true and that, it was a true loss to that 33 year old midget (now, now herc, you know you love Ferrer) but if he were to lose, then it's still a much better loss than to lose to either Stan or Nole. I mean as a Murray fan while I'd be pissed about the loss had it happened to him, where he was more destined to win than not, part of me would have been very relived thinking he had lost to a player I don't care about one way or another. But most importantly, it wouldn't hurt him or damage him.
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I couldn't tell what was worse about the 2nd set of this Tsonga/Federer match. Was it the fact that Federer couldn't convert 1 breakpoint given so many; or was it the fact that he got a code violation for swearing. Or maybe Tsonga deserves more credit for holding each service game after a long struggle.
In any case, Fed had to take it in a TB and lots of drama was there too. No wonder though that he is now 3-0 up in the 3rd. Tsonga I don't believe has much left in him and Federer really wants it.
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there were articles surfacing weeks ago about how vital this particular clay season was for nadal since time is running out.
of course we at Camelot said that long before those articles started to surface.
still time to salvage it. he has to win Barcelona, rome, and Madrid. that would go way a long way to restore some order.
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I don't know about that emma. rafa does not ever lose anything on purpose.
the fact of the matter is that he is worn out already. that was the real reason he lost.
not sufficient energy and fire. even a very bad rafa does not lost to ferru at monte carlo.
nadal had no business being in Miami. he went there to pick up a few points and to collect his $1.5 million appearance fee.
what is at cost? maybe zero slams and nole taking over the rankings.
nadal does not need the money anymore. endorsements keep coming. his 8 French opens also will translate into nearly a $1 billion for him over a lifetime.
what he needs is his fitness and his ground game so he can compete with these guys. losing to 33 year old midget with no weapons at monte carlo no less is pretty damn bad.
nole lost the u.s. open and decided to change a few things. one thing he did was to decide to outwork everybody on the tour right away. he still talks about it. he says he is just going to outwork everybody.
nadal has too many diversions and his lazy 2 hour practice sessions are not paying off anymore. he is older and slower so he has to do more and he is not doing it.
he should have skipped Miami and gone home to get on the red clay. he hung around indian well to **** around for a few days after losing early. that was just a tragic lost of critical time which he could have used to work on his game on the red clay at home.
I can assure you that he is in real trouble and we all saw this coming months ago.
he is not scared of stan or anybody else on clay. he has been **** around and it costing him.
a 35 year old with little or no singles game almost beat him in indian wells and should have beat him.
his lack of sufficient work on his fitness and his game is costing him.
These are good points too, as it's all true. His fitness is off and it shows.
he should have never gone to Miami and Oregon before Miami.
he **** around for 15 days which could have been spent at home on the red clay.
of course we don't know how much his back is still hurting. that could be the reason why he is taking it easy.
but still if the back is a bit of an issue and I know it is then it was even more imperative that he get off the stupid hard courts and go get on the soft clay.
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ferru has lost his last 13-15 tiebreakers in melborune.
rafa has no business going away in the breaker against ferru or anybody else for that matter.
only good thing that is going to come out of this is as follows:
1. maybe now he will start to focus better on his training and his fitness
2. maybe, just maybe, he will give up his 3000 outside activities until the RG is in the bag.
what is most tragic is that he has never lost this much ground after having a good year like he did in 2013.
we knew he would lose some ground but not this much. his game and his fitness is in total shambles.
like general Tee says, nothing is given right now with the way he is going about his business the last 3 events.
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I don't know about that emma. rafa does not ever lose anything on purpose.
the fact of the matter is that he is worn out already. that was the real reason he lost.
not sufficient energy and fire. even a very bad rafa does not lost to ferru at monte carlo.
nadal had no business being in Miami. he went there to pick up a few points and to collect his $1.5 million appearance fee.
what is at cost? maybe zero slams and nole taking over the rankings.
nadal does not need the money anymore. endorsements keep coming. his 8 French opens also will translate into nearly a $1 billion for him over a lifetime.
what he needs is his fitness and his ground game so he can compete with these guys. losing to 33 year old midget with no weapons at monte carlo no less is pretty damn bad.
nole lost the u.s. open and decided to change a few things. one thing he did was to decide to outwork everybody on the tour right away. he still talks about it. he says he is just going to outwork everybody.
nadal has too many diversions and his lazy 2 hour practice sessions are not paying off anymore. he is older and slower so he has to do more and he is not doing it.
he should have skipped Miami and gone home to get on the red clay. he hung around indian well to **** around for a few days after losing early. that was just a tragic lost of critical time which he could have used to work on his game on the red clay at home.
I can assure you that he is in real trouble and we all saw this coming months ago.
he is not scared of stan or anybody else on clay. he has been **** around and it costing him.
a 35 year old with little or no singles game almost beat him in indian wells and should have beat him.
his lack of sufficient work on his fitness and his game is costing him.
These are good points too, as it's all true. His fitness is off and it shows.
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Yesterday, I thought Stan would want to avoid meeting with Nadal if he's not ready though one must admit that, there's no shame in losing to Nadal on clay, but now I am thinking if Nadal lost deliberately today to avoid meeting with Stan in the next match. I mean the way Stan dismissed Cilic in the round before may have raised a few eye brows and he dismissed Raonic this morning too in straight as well, so clearly Stan seems to be ready given that that was the first match. And losing to Stan again this time on clay and there's always the chance of that, would really damage Nadal's confidence to no end.
I think these are good points, Emma. I'm inclined to agree. Knowing that his game isn't where it's supposed to be, taking a loss to Ferrer is ideal.
Even in the first rounds, although he won comfortably, he still didn't look like a man on a mission. He looked in both prior matches like he was trying to go on and off the court.
Dominating Seppi one minute and then going on a walkabout when he was so close to closing it out.
He's been doing too many unnecessary things off court, during this most crucial time.
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I didn't see the match. Do you think he tanked the match to avoid meeting with Nole or was Ferrer that good today? I can see Ferrer being that good only if Nadal is lacking confidence. But then again, that's not giving due credit to Ferrer. Although judging by the unusual amount of errors, it seems he didn't have enough confidence going into the match but Ferrer could have caused it too. I didn't see the mach so not sure what really happened.
I started watching at the beginning of the second set and Rafa was spraying errors left and right. He looked quite disinterested, no fire, no fist pumps. Ferrer was solid and aggressive, but Rafa was beyond awful. I don't know what the reason for that was, hopefully nothing physical. But his form has been crap lately and I am starting to wonder if he will be able to find it until Roland Garros.
Me too. I think he was lucky to win anything so far this year. He has been lackluster in his play, and in his attitude. Not the competitive warrior we're used to, at all.
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And just like that Rafa is out of Monte Carlo. Well, he's had it coming for a long time against Ferrer, especially in the best 2 out of 3 format and he finally lost. 44 unforced errors in 2 sets - I don't remember Rafa ever erring that much. In addition, Ferrer played pretty solid which made it pretty tough.
Rafa needs to hit the practice courts ASAP, things are not improving.
he has been **** around mate.
how often does he lose to a 33 year old midget with no weapons at monte carlo? here is the answer: in the last 10 never but today because he does not work hard enough. you can just see how much fitness and how much muscle tone is gone.
general backspin also spelled that out recently. he looked slow and unfit in Miami. well he looked even worse in indian well.
and this is the same rafa that dominated the tour last year.
its clear that his fitness and his game has taken a hit. his lazy 2 hour training sessions where he just tries to hit mostly forehands was going to catch up sooner or later.
nole would demolished him in the final at this rate.
way too many diversions. what was the need for that stupid poker tournament. he should have gone out worked hard on his ground game for 4 hours instead.
he did the same damn thing in indian wells.
All true. He deserved this loss. Like you said losing to Ferrer with no weapons? And a tiebreak winning only one point?
There has been no hunger this year and it shows.
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Possibly. I just hate when he goes out that way. He's so much fun to watch.
Nole is on fire. Will Roger be able to stop him? I don't know. I wasn't really watching his match so I don't know what happened. I saw that Rosol was up a break and then he was down a set. Looked like he phoned it in that third set, so...
It's hard to say. I'd say it's 50-50. Federer likes playing Nole.
Hi TT, there was no 3rd set in that match. Federer took Rosol out in straight...unless you meant the 2nd set then yes, he might have done so since he couldn't win more than 1 game.
Hey Emma,
Another psychotic post from me, I can see how you read it that way. I was actually talking about the Fognini match when I was referencing the third set.
The Fed-Rosol match I didn't watch. Just fast forwarded through. I did see that he only won one game though.
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I don't know about that emma. rafa does not ever lose anything on purpose.
the fact of the matter is that he is worn out already. that was the real reason he lost.
not sufficient energy and fire. even a very bad rafa does not lost to ferru at monte carlo.
nadal had no business being in Miami. he went there to pick up a few points and to collect his $1.5 million appearance fee.
what is at cost? maybe zero slams and nole taking over the rankings.
nadal does not need the money anymore. endorsements keep coming. his 8 French opens also will translate into nearly a $1 billion for him over a lifetime.
what he needs is his fitness and his ground game so he can compete with these guys. losing to 33 year old midget with no weapons at monte carlo no less is pretty damn bad.
nole lost the u.s. open and decided to change a few things. one thing he did was to decide to outwork everybody on the tour right away. he still talks about it. he says he is just going to outwork everybody.
nadal has too many diversions and his lazy 2 hour practice sessions are not paying off anymore. he is older and slower so he has to do more and he is not doing it.
he should have skipped Miami and gone home to get on the red clay. he hung around indian well to **** around for a few days after losing early. that was just a tragic lost of critical time which he could have used to work on his game on the red clay at home.
I can assure you that he is in real trouble and we all saw this coming months ago.
he is not scared of stan or anybody else on clay. he has been **** around and it costing him.
a 35 year old with little or no singles game almost beat him in indian wells and should have beat him.
his lack of sufficient work on his fitness and his game is costing him.
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And just like that Rafa is out of Monte Carlo. Well, he's had it coming for a long time against Ferrer, especially in the best 2 out of 3 format and he finally lost. 44 unforced errors in 2 sets - I don't remember Rafa ever erring that much. In addition, Ferrer played pretty solid which made it pretty tough.
Rafa needs to hit the practice courts ASAP, things are not improving.
Nope. He's been playing uninspired all year. He needs to rest, recover, and rejuvenate. I never got the sense he was into this tournament at all. Any decent player was going to take him out with the way he was playing.
Oh well, that's life.
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Tsonga held after a somewhat long game. 2-1 Tsonga, on serve, 2nd set. First set to Tsonga.
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I didn't see the match. Do you think he tanked the match to avoid meeting with Nole or was Ferrer that good today? I can see Ferrer being that good only if Nadal is lacking confidence. But then again, that's not giving due credit to Ferrer. Although judging by the unusual amount of errors, it seems he didn't have enough confidence going into the match but Ferrer could have caused it too. I didn't see the mach so not sure what really happened.
I started watching at the beginning of the second set and Rafa was spraying errors left and right. He looked quite disinterested, no fire, no fist pumps. Ferrer was solid and aggressive, but Rafa was beyond awful. I don't know what the reason for that was, hopefully nothing physical. But his form has been crap lately and I am starting to wonder if he will be able to find it until Roland Garros.
To be honest, I personally feel it's a good result for Nadal especially if he's not playing well and lacking confidence. Because at the end of the day, Nadal should look at what's on stake and it's RG. So losing to either Stan or Nole is not ideal at this stage before RG and MC isn't that important. Ferrer is an opponent he can always afford to lose and that won't damage his confidence.
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And just like that Rafa is out of Monte Carlo. Well, he's had it coming for a long time against Ferrer, especially in the best 2 out of 3 format and he finally lost. 44 unforced errors in 2 sets - I don't remember Rafa ever erring that much. In addition, Ferrer played pretty solid which made it pretty tough.
Rafa needs to hit the practice courts ASAP, things are not improving.
he has been **** around mate.
how often does he lose to a 33 year old midget with no weapons at monte carlo? here is the answer: in the last 10 never but today because he does not work hard enough. you can just see how much fitness and how much muscle tone is gone.
general backspin also spelled that out recently. he looked slow and unfit in Miami. well he looked even worse in indian well.
and this is the same rafa that dominated the tour last year.
its clear that his fitness and his game has taken a hit. his lazy 2 hour training sessions where he just tries to hit mostly forehands was going to catch up sooner or later.
nole would demolished him in the final at this rate.
way too many diversions. what was the need for that stupid poker tournament. he should have gone out worked hard on his ground game for 4 hours instead.
he did the same damn thing in indian wells.
Yep, looks like the hunger for wins on the tennis court has somewhat faded. His facial expression today was that of disinterest and perhaps concern, I don't know. But if he doesn't take drastic measures soon, he may not win anything significant this year.
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Yesterday, I thought Stan would want to avoid meeting with Nadal if he's not ready though one must admit that, there's no shame in losing to Nadal on clay, but now I am thinking if Nadal lost deliberately today to avoid meeting with Stan in the next match. I mean the way Stan dismissed Cilic in the round before may have raised a few eye brows and he dismissed Raonic this morning too in straight as well, so clearly Stan seems to be ready given that that was the first match. And losing to Stan again this time on clay and there's always the chance of that, would really damage Nadal's confidence to no end.
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I didn't see the match. Do you think he tanked the match to avoid meeting with Nole or was Ferrer that good today? I can see Ferrer being that good only if Nadal is lacking confidence. But then again, that's not giving due credit to Ferrer. Although judging by the unusual amount of errors, it seems he didn't have enough confidence going into the match but Ferrer could have caused it too. I didn't see the mach so not sure what really happened.
I started watching at the beginning of the second set and Rafa was spraying errors left and right. He looked quite disinterested, no fire, no fist pumps. Ferrer was solid and aggressive, but Rafa was beyond awful. I don't know what the reason for that was, hopefully nothing physical. But his form has been crap lately and I am starting to wonder if he will be able to find it until Roland Garros.
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And just like that Rafa is out of Monte Carlo. Well, he's had it coming for a long time against Ferrer, especially in the best 2 out of 3 format and he finally lost. 44 unforced errors in 2 sets - I don't remember Rafa ever erring that much. In addition, Ferrer played pretty solid which made it pretty tough.
Rafa needs to hit the practice courts ASAP, things are not improving.
he has been **** around mate.
how often does he lose to a 33 year old midget with no weapons at monte carlo? here is the answer: in the last 10 never but today because he does not work hard enough. you can just see how much fitness and how much muscle tone is gone.
general backspin also spelled that out recently. he looked slow and unfit in Miami. well he looked even worse in indian well.
and this is the same rafa that dominated the tour last year.
its clear that his fitness and his game has taken a hit. his lazy 2 hour training sessions where he just tries to hit mostly forehands was going to catch up sooner or later.
nole would demolished him in the final at this rate.
way too many diversions. what was the need for that stupid poker tournament. he should have gone out worked hard on his ground game for 4 hours instead.
he did the same damn thing in indian wells.
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After struggling to hold a very long service game, Tsonga breaks Federer in the next game 4-2 Tsogna.
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Possibly. I just hate when he goes out that way. He's so much fun to watch.
Nole is on fire. Will Roger be able to stop him? I don't know. I wasn't really watching his match so I don't know what happened. I saw that Rosol was up a break and then he was down a set. Looked like he phoned it in that third set, so...
It's hard to say. I'd say it's 50-50. Federer likes playing Nole.
Hi TT, there was no 3rd set in that match. Federer took Rosol out in straight...unless you meant the 2nd set then yes, he might have done so since he couldn't win more than 1 game.
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I didn't see the match. Do you think he tanked the match to avoid meeting with Nole or was Ferrer that good today? I can see Ferrer being that good only if Nadal is lacking confidence. But then again, that's not giving due credit to Ferrer. Although judging by the unusual amount of errors, it seems he didn't have enough confidence going into the match but Ferrer could have caused it too. I didn't see the mach so not sure what really happened.
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And just like that Rafa is out of Monte Carlo. Well, he's had it coming for a long time against Ferrer, especially in the best 2 out of 3 format and he finally lost. 44 unforced errors in 2 sets - I don't remember Rafa ever erring that much. In addition, Ferrer played pretty solid which made it pretty tough.
Rafa needs to hit the practice courts ASAP, things are not improving.
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maybe Fog is carrying an injury.
what about Nole folks? he is tearing them all to shreds.
will Roger be able to slow him down?
Possibly. I just hate when he goes out that way. He's so much fun to watch.
Nole is on fire. Will Roger be able to stop him? I don't know. I wasn't really watching his match so I don't know what happened. I saw that Rosol was up a break and then he was down a set. Looked like he phoned it in that third set, so...
It's hard to say. I'd say it's 50-50. Federer likes playing Nole.
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and now Tsonga geta Federer.
should be a good battle.
here is the order of play for tomorrow:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Scores/schedule.aspx?EventId=410
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I'd rather kick Fog out of court than to fire a linesperson. They do a tough job and they can be wrong at times since they have to rely on their human eyes and it's perfectly normal to make a mistake. To call the supervisor over a call is going over the borderline. He's such a diva, your la drama queen.
In any case, no matter how you slice it or dice it, Tsonga still held the H2H going into this match and one on clay at RG. Fog just folded once Tsonga upped his game in the 2nd set. The fuss over the line call was just a convenient excuse for him.
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maybe Fog is carrying an injury.
what about Nole folks? he is tearing them all to shreds.
will Roger be able to slow him down?
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In what should have been the best battle of the day, Fognini demolished himself, which has been known to happen too often. He had a 1 set lead playing pretty well, and Tsonga was so-so, and at 3-3 in the second Fabio had 6 break points, including a 15-40 advantage, but then made a few errors, along with Tsonga hanging in there with some good play, and finally Tsonga took the nearly 10 minute game.
So now at 3-4, Fognini serving, at 40-30, served what looked like a game winning serve, but it was called out by the line judge. The umpire corrected the call, but said to replay the point. Fognini was not happy to have to serve again, but did so, and Tsonga took the point, brought it to deuce and then eventually broke an upset Fognini for 5-3 and served out the set. Fognini called for the supervisor and asked that the line judge who called the out serve be removed. The supervisor did not want to at first, but eventually the line judge was removed, though I don't know exactly when.
At any rate, in the final set, Fognini had evidently decided his match was done and lost about 20 of the next 21 points, in full tank mode, he was barely moving to any shot away from him. Fognini won 0 games, and a total of 4 of the 28 points in the final set. Fans booed him off the court, and some announcer though he should be fined for not trying.
Fognini has a lot of talent, but sometimes his mind goes AWOL and his coach is left with a big headache after face slapping himself repeatedly.
GGL, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez played very well, great defense, getting a lot of balls back, and just wore down and out-steadied Berdych who by the end looked quite frustrated. This was undoubtedly the upset of the day based on their seeding, but after GGL beat the in-form Dolgopolov, it was not that surprising.
The other top players played well, including Ferrer, who was too good for Dimitrov, who played way too defensively, similar to Gasquet.
Respectfully,
masterclass
Fog has to stop going AWOL, it's not as if he's green on the tour. Beredych was visibly frustrated in that last set. Not cool.
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So Rafa and Wafa are about 1 match away from the clash. Rafa must be waiting for this since AO. Won't be too surprised if Wafa goes out to Raonic to be honest if he's not ready, but let's see how big a ball he has for the upcoming war. Well, we should probably look at Norman and see what he comes up with so that will be the main doctor's order right there. I take it if Stan doesn't feel enough confident he'll tank his next match.
Worth noticing that these two have played 5 times on clay so far and of late, Stan the man didn't even come close but then again, he went into AO final without winning a match against Nadal. Just goes to show how anything is possible and subject to change at any point of time.
But of course, Nadal is still the King of clay. It's not going to be easy by any means - should they meet.
Really" I'd be shocked if Raonic beat Stan. Milos just doesn't seem quite ready for primetime. Too much pressure for him, I thihk.
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speaking of Dynamitrov (a term coined by general Javier) is out of there.
and how about Tsonga. he took apart fognini 6-0 in the deciding frame.
here are the rest of the scores:
http://www.tennisexplorer.com/live/#inscore_ifheight_xdc_3058
Federer has the first set 6-4 against rosol.
I was only half watching that match because I had too much to. I saw Fognini win the first set and Tsonga start coming back in the second. When I came back they were talking about the Fog having a meltdown. Must have been bad.
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In what should have been the best battle of the day, Fognini demolished himself, which has been known to happen too often. He had a 1 set lead playing pretty well, and Tsonga was so-so, and at 3-3 in the second Fabio had 6 break points, including a 15-40 advantage, but then made a few errors, along with Tsonga hanging in there with some good play, and finally Tsonga took the nearly 10 minute game.
So now at 3-4, Fognini serving, at game point, served what looked like a winning serve, but it was called out by the line judge. The umpire corrected the call, but said to replay the point. Fognini was not happy to have to serve again, but did so, and Tsonga took the point, and broke an upset Fognini for 5-3 and served out the set at love. Fognini called for the supervisor and asked that the line judge who called the out serve be removed. The supervisor did not want to at first, and Fognini was obviously incensed. Eventually, the line judge was removed, though I don't know exactly when, it was sometime into the 3rd set.
At any rate, in the 3rd and final set, Fognini had evidently decided his match was done and lost about 20 of the next 21 points, in full tank mode, he was barely moving to any shot away from him. Fognini won 0 games, and a total of 4 of the 28 points in the final set. Fans booed him off the court, and some announcer though he should be fined for not trying.
Fognini has a lot of talent, but sometimes his mind goes AWOL and his coach is left with a big headache after face slapping himself repeatedly.
GGL, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez played very well, great defense, getting a lot of balls back, and just wore down and out-steadied Berdych who by the end looked quite frustrated. This was undoubtedly the upset of the day based on their seeding, but after GGL beat the in-form Dolgopolov, it was not that surprising.
The other top players played well, including Ferrer, who was too good for Dimitrov, who played way too defensively, similar to Gasquet.
Respectfully,
masterclass
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So Rafa and Wafa are about 1 match away from the clash. Rafa must be waiting for this since AO. Won't be too surprised if Wafa goes out to Raonic to be honest if he's not ready, but let's see how big a ball he has for the upcoming war. Well, we should probably look at Norman and see what he comes up with so that will be the main doctor's order right there. I take it if Stan doesn't feel enough confident he'll tank his next match.
Worth noticing that these two have played 5 times on clay so far and of late, Stan the man didn't even come close but then again, he went into AO final without winning a match against Nadal. Just goes to show how anything is possible and subject to change at any point of time.
But of course, Nadal is still the King of clay. It's not going to be easy by any means - should they meet.
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Oh it was a walkover.
Last time Ferrer won a match vs Nadal on clay was back in 2004 and that was his only win so far.
Federer vs Tsonga looks interesting and Tsonga just demolished Foginin in the 3rd 6-0, but still, I feel Federer might just be in wounded mood since he got beaten by Tsonga in straight sets just last year at RG. So he might just give his all to win tomorrow's match.
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Well, Busta is no show here as Nole has dismissed him 0 and 1. He managed one game somehow.
What happened to Wawrinak vs Almagro match? I am not seeing any results but it says on ATP Wawrinka defeats Almagro?
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speaking of Dynamitrov (a term coined by general Javier) is out of there.
and how about Tsonga. he took apart fognini 6-0 in the deciding frame.
here are the rest of the scores:
http://www.tennisexplorer.com/live/#inscore_ifheight_xdc_3058
Federer has the first set 6-4 against rosol.
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Carenno Busta is good lady TT. tomorrow he will try his hand against nole. should be a grea match.
here is the order of play:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Scores/schedule.aspx?EventId=410
Carrena-Busta has been getting decent press. Wouldn't it be funny if a reincarnation occurred in the near future? The media is touting Dmitrov and here comes this Spanish upstart. That would be hilarious, more deja vu!
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Carenno Busta is good lady TT. tomorrow he will try his hand against nole. should be a grea match.
here is the order of play:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Scores/schedule.aspx?EventId=410
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Yes we are, and what this Carreno-Busta? I've read about him for awhile. He's a #62 in the rankings and playing Monfils very well. Great court sense and composure.
3-all in the second after Monfil gave back the break.
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easy wins for roger and wawrinka today.
Rafa encountered some difficulty in the first set but finished in straights.
so we are off to races.
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I have the order of play for tomorrow. top guns will be in action tomorrow.
Rafa, Roger, Wawrinka, and the like will get their campaigns going.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Scores/schedule.aspx?EventId=410
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Saw the Tsonga match. Looked good for awhile, but ended with a whimper.
I'm hoping to see Berdych, but they haven't been showing him much lately.
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order of play for tomorrow is out.
Tsonga and Berdych will be in action.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Scores/schedule.aspx?EventId=410
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order of play is out for tomorrow sports fans:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Scores/schedule.aspx?EventId=410
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I suppose we'll get to see how some of the players and their rivalry pans out here. The very first glimpse of the clay season though I am sure Monte Carlo won't tell it all.
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Very balanced draw, in my opinion. I would like to see Grigor play Rafa in the QF but I am not sure Grigor can handle Ferrer on clay in R4. He did beat him to win his first title but that was on a fast indoor court in Stockholm. Also, Ferrer has not been doing well so far this year so I expect him to try and jumpstart his season on the clay.
In the other half, I expect Nole and Fed to meet in the SF. Fognini and Berdych could be dangerous opponents, though.
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thanks for posting the draw general Javier the fearless.
plenty of challenges for the too guns. it is going to be a fascinating tournament.
I am expecting roger to do well here.
does anybody think he can make the final?
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morning sports fans. just waking up here.
I will have a look at the draw after some coffee. I need to get my bearings right.
eyes are still 1/2 closed.
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general masterclass you know me too well.
of course that is what he does even in practice. he avoids hitting backhands as much as possible. he even practices from his forehand corner.
tony cant do a damn thing. rafa brings home the bacon and is one of the greatest players ever lived. he has the highest winning percentage in the sport in the open era.
what the hell can you tell him? he wont listen. he listens to just 3 people: his mom, his dad, and his sister.
tony is a cheerleader. I keep telling people that for the last 7 years but nobody listens. rafa does not listen to tony. he only talks to him but on the court rafa does his own thing.
he is very much a creature of habit.
now he did produce some subtle changes last year on the hard court circuit which helped him win all those titles.
he had the misfortune of hurting his back in Melbourne. after that injury he went right back to his comfort zone.
it nearly cost him in rio. andujar had him on the ropes and should have won.
nadal does not target his practice sessions. it is pretty easy to tell.
he wont really work on his return which is his greatest liability. he avoids backhands as much as possible.
in a match he still finds himself terrified of the net. he makes is so hard on himself.
I know he wins a lot but there is a distrurbing trend that nobody has noticed: he has lost a lot of finals since the end of 2010.
the reason why I am worried is because he is nearly at the tail end of his prime. he has to make it work for 2-3 more years because he is going to find it difficult to win slams after that.
injuries keep holding him back but he also holds himself back to a considerable extent.
anyway I remain worried but we will see.
nole is on record for saying that he is simply going to outwork everybody on the tour. he is also blessed with good health so that does not hurt.
roger is pretty much injury free and working like a dog on his game. this clay season is not going to be that easy for Rafa based on what we have seen in indian wells and in Miami. he is going to need some luck along the way.
right now I have to say that he is far from his best.
Great post, CD. You do know Rafa well. He is stubborn alright.
I am his greatest fan and also his greatest critic.
I just know he has work to do on the practice courts and there such little time left.
Very true. It gives validity to your opinions.
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Yes, General, excellent post, but still frustrating. When I watch video of Muster doing targeted practice hour after hour after his accident, I just wonder how much Rafa could improve on his already great play. Oh well, it is what it is, I guess. And he has won so much, I guess it's hard for anyone to criticize him, even Toni. Most of his fans adore him and go bonkers when a fan has the nerve to critique his play, I guess like most player's fans.
Good night general, sleep well. Take care everyone, Lady TT, Backspin, and the rest. My day is starting. So long for now.
Respectfully,
masterclass
I know. Crazy fans! :)
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Greetings Sir Javier! Long time no see. Hope you are well. I'm here from time to time.
Anyway, thanks for the draw!
Here are my projections... (not knowing qualies)
Nadal/Simon - Seppi/ERV
Dimitrov/Nieminen - Chardy/Ferrer
-------------------
Wawrinka/Verdasco - Thiem/Almagro
Robredo/Melzer - Delbonis/Raonic
-------------------
Tsonga/Kohlschreiber - Bautista Agut/Fognini
Janowicz/Rosol - Stepanek/Federer
-------------------
Berdych/Tursunov - GGL/Dolgopolov
Monfils/Dodig - Paire/Djokovic
--------------------
Verdasco vs. Cilic might be interesting. 4-4 H2H and never played on clay.
Kohli should beat Bolelli, but who knows? Stepanek should handle Karlovic. Andrew Murray, OBE, and Juan Martin Del Potro are the top 10 MIA.
QF's I'd like to see...
Monfils vs. Dolgopolov,
Federer vs. Fognini,
Theim vs. Delbonis,
Nadal vs. Dimitrov
QF's I think we will see:
Berdych vs. Djokovic
Federer vs. Tsonga/Fognini
Wawrinka vs. Robredo
Nadal vs. Ferrer
Respectfully,
masterclass
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I guess you got what you wanted generalito...
Roger is in Noles half while Wawa is in Rafa's half.
here is the draw
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs3.postimg.org%2F86slrf8o3%2FScreen_Shot_2014_04_12_at_12_51_46.png&hash=2108d2c40a448225c85d879571022e66e8590641)
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que pasa generalito.
roger is fit again. I am sure he will be ready to make some noise on the red clay of monte carlo. we all know he can carve them up on clay.
big day tomorrow: we will have the draw ceremony.
I would not mind seeing a roger vs nole battle in monte carlo. only way that is possible is if roger lands in nole's 1/2 of the draw.
lets see how it all plays out.
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Bring it!
Roger needs to accept the WC so he can get his ground game going for clay and grass.
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truth be told lady TT when it comes down to it, most all time greats have always done it their way after they received so much success doing it.
I just worry because the sport of tennis does not give you that many prime years. and then there are so many injuries in tennis today.
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general masterclass you know me too well.
of course that is what he does even in practice. he avoids hitting backhands as much as possible. he even practices from his forehand corner.
tony cant do a damn thing. rafa brings home the bacon and is one of the greatest players ever lived. he has the highest winning percentage in the sport in the open era.
what the hell can you tell him? he wont listen. he listens to just 3 people: his mom, his dad, and his sister.
tony is a cheerleader. I keep telling people that for the last 7 years but nobody listens. rafa does not listen to tony. he only talks to him but on the court rafa does his own thing.
he is very much a creature of habit.
now he did produce some subtle changes last year on the hard court circuit which helped him win all those titles.
he had the misfortune of hurting his back in Melbourne. after that injury he went right back to his comfort zone.
it nearly cost him in rio. andujar had him on the ropes and should have won.
nadal does not target his practice sessions. it is pretty easy to tell.
he wont really work on his return which is his greatest liability. he avoids backhands as much as possible.
in a match he still finds himself terrified of the net. he makes is so hard on himself.
I know he wins a lot but there is a distrurbing trend that nobody has noticed: he has lost a lot of finals since the end of 2010.
the reason why I am worried is because he is nearly at the tail end of his prime. he has to make it work for 2-3 more years because he is going to find it difficult to win slams after that.
injuries keep holding him back but he also holds himself back to a considerable extent.
anyway I remain worried but we will see.
nole is on record for saying that he is simply going to outwork everybody on the tour. he is also blessed with good health so that does not hurt.
roger is pretty much injury free and working like a dog on his game. this clay season is not going to be that easy for Rafa based on what we have seen in indian wells and in Miami. he is going to need some luck along the way.
right now I have to say that he is far from his best.
Great post, CD. You do know Rafa well. He is stubborn alright.
I am his greatest fan and also his greatest critic.
I just know he has work to do on the practice courts and there such little time left.
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Yes, General, excellent post, but still frustrating. When I watch video of Muster doing targeted practice hour after hour after his accident, I just wonder how much Rafa could improve on his already great play. Oh well, it is what it is, I guess. And he has won so much, I guess it's hard for anyone to criticize him, even Toni. Most of his fans adore him and go bonkers when a fan has the nerve to critique his play, I guess like most player's fans.
Good night general, sleep well. Take care everyone, Lady TT, Backspin, and the rest. My day is starting. So long for now.
Respectfully,
masterclass
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general masterclass you know me too well.
of course that is what he does even in practice. he avoids hitting backhands as much as possible. he even practices from his forehand corner.
tony cant do a damn thing. rafa brings home the bacon and is one of the greatest players ever lived. he has the highest winning percentage in the sport in the open era.
what the hell can you tell him? he wont listen. he listens to just 3 people: his mom, his dad, and his sister.
tony is a cheerleader. I keep telling people that for the last 7 years but nobody listens. rafa does not listen to tony. he only talks to him but on the court rafa does his own thing.
he is very much a creature of habit.
now he did produce some subtle changes last year on the hard court circuit which helped him win all those titles.
he had the misfortune of hurting his back in Melbourne. after that injury he went right back to his comfort zone.
it nearly cost him in rio. andujar had him on the ropes and should have won.
nadal does not target his practice sessions. it is pretty easy to tell.
he wont really work on his return which is his greatest liability. he avoids backhands as much as possible.
in a match he still finds himself terrified of the net. he makes is so hard on himself.
I know he wins a lot but there is a distrurbing trend that nobody has noticed: he has lost a lot of finals since the end of 2010.
the reason why I am worried is because he is nearly at the tail end of his prime. he has to make it work for 2-3 more years because he is going to find it difficult to win slams after that.
injuries keep holding him back but he also holds himself back to a considerable extent.
anyway I remain worried but we will see.
nole is on record for saying that he is simply going to outwork everybody on the tour. he is also blessed with good health so that does not hurt.
roger is pretty much injury free and working like a dog on his game. this clay season is not going to be that easy for Rafa based on what we have seen in indian wells and in Miami. he is going to need some luck along the way.
right now I have to say that he is far from his best.
Great post, CD. You do know Rafa well. He is stubborn alright.
-
I hear roger Federer has a wildcard for monte carlo.
great news. we are missing just 2 top guns now: andy and del potro.
Confirmed general. In fairly surprising news, Federer has taken the wild card. He hasn't played there since 2011. He must be feeling in good shape after his Davis Cup matches last weekend. He's been runner-up 3 times, never winning a title in Monte-Carlo - just so difficult when Clay Warrior King is always there and has won 8 of them. Maybe he senses Rafa is vulnerable after his recent losses? Or it might have something to do with Mirka.... Don't know for sure.
Respectfully,
masterclass
You have to give Federer credit, he's a master strategist, and it makes sense. Think how much confidence he would get if his hunch paid off.
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Rafa mentioned in his presser that he will travel to Mallorca on Thursday. So, he will have a couple of days to relax with his family (he mentioned his little cousins) and then start preparing for the clay court season. That gives him about a week of practice.
I think he will have enough time to play himself into form. Monte Carlo is crucial for his confidence, though. Last year he lost the Final to Nole and that did not seem to affect the rest of his clay season. But the circumstances were different then. He had just won Indian Wells and had about a month long break to recuperate, rest, and prepare for the clay.
This year he only has a week. The loss to Nole in Miami is probably still on his mind. Also, he might be still a little cautious about his back problems and not go out and serve/play at 100%.
I have seen Rafa battle through much tougher times so I am confident he will bounce back again. Can't wait for Monte Carlo :)
Yay, optimism! I was starting to become a Negative Nancy.
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well nadal can beat him Hoshi but it is fairly clear to me that a number of things have affected his game:
his back issues have kept him from training as hard as he needs to so that is one of them.
2nd one is lack of some focus but that is probably of all the back issues.
he is out doing too many things. he took a trip to Oregon after Indian Wells. he was in a Poker tournament in Miami. and then there is golf and all those press interviews.
he just has too much going on but not enough tennis practice. his game is visibly suffering.
I am worried about his fitness. those who were at this match yesterday said he looked slow and somewhat worn out. I am not sure about all that but it is easy to see that his fitness has taken a hit.
Yep. You forgot to add endorsements, accepting awards, and no telling what else.
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Roll on the clay. ;D
Improvement is needed though against Novak. He is a really bad matchup for Nadal in almost the same vein as Nadal is to Federer.
Nole always has been. Toni has always said that Nole was the player that he most worried about. Nadal was beating him earlier because of his will and desire to win, but when it comes down to the nuts and bolts, Nole can do everything just as well as Nadal, especially since he's fixed his endurance and mental aspect.
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thanks god for clay. the ultimate battlefield of the gods.
now the real battles begin. just 13 days to go now.
I am counting the days, hours, and the minutes.
You are so funny!
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good to see you lady TT, general masterclass and the others.
I am getting sleepy folks. I will see you all tomorrow.
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Can't agree with you more generals hercules and backspin. But he's training hard in Mallorca at the moment, so let's hope any back problems he had are gone. I still don't like that even in training the Spaniard isn't practicing his backhand, but is hitting his forehand near the backhand tram lines. This is practice. What the hell is Toni doing out there? Rafa should be hitting backhands, backhands, backhands, in practice if he is that scared of them. It is exactly what is opening up the court for players with the ability to hit the cross court backhand wide to Nadal's forehand wing like Djokovic and Wawrinka. I might have to start using General Hercules "blundering buffoon" phrase soon. Just look at this generals:
Rafa training in Manacor - April 5th
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c7uUlNem-k (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c7uUlNem-k)
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frafaelnadalfans.files.wordpress.com%2F2014%2F04%2Frafael-nadal-practices-in-mallorca-2014.jpg%3Fw%3D600&hash=e3b9d447af9783262f5c93b537111e25bfb8abdb)
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi2.wp.com%2Fwww.vilastennisacademy.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2FRafael-Nadal-training-April-5-10.jpg%3Fresize%3D696%252C1048&hash=f3874cfec20665dc3e6e4d9b146a358e823a6adc)
Respectfully,
masterclass
Nothing technical to add here, but what the heck is that ball doing placed where it is? Doesn't he know about Haas and how many freak accidents he's had practicing?
Oh Rafa!
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general masterclass you know me too well.
of course that is what he does even in practice. he avoids hitting backhands as much as possible. he even practices from his forehand corner.
tony cant do a damn thing. rafa brings home the bacon and is one of the greatest players ever lived. he has the highest winning percentage in the sport in the open era.
what the hell can you tell him? he wont listen. he listens to just 3 people: his mom, his dad, and his sister.
tony is a cheerleader. I keep telling people that for the last 7 years but nobody listens. rafa does not listen to tony. he only talks to him but on the court rafa does his own thing.
he is very much a creature of habit.
now he did produce some subtle changes last year on the hard court circuit which helped him win all those titles.
he had the misfortune of hurting his back in Melbourne. after that injury he went right back to his comfort zone.
it nearly cost him in rio. andujar had him on the ropes and should have won.
nadal does not target his practice sessions. it is pretty easy to tell.
he wont really work on his return which is his greatest liability. he avoids backhands as much as possible.
in a match he still finds himself terrified of the net. he makes is so hard on himself.
I know he wins a lot but there is a distrurbing trend that nobody has noticed: he has lost a lot of finals since the end of 2010.
the reason why I am worried is because he is nearly at the tail end of his prime. he has to make it work for 2-3 more years because he is going to find it difficult to win slams after that.
injuries keep holding him back but he also holds himself back to a considerable extent.
anyway I remain worried but we will see.
nole is on record for saying that he is simply going to outwork everybody on the tour. he is also blessed with good health so that does not hurt.
roger is pretty much injury free and working like a dog on his game. this clay season is not going to be that easy for Rafa based on what we have seen in indian wells and in Miami. he is going to need some luck along the way.
right now I have to say that he is far from his best.
-
great post general backspin as usual.
I am going to have to agree with you general.
I am not really happy with rafa right now but I guess I have to allow for the fact that he is carrying a back injury. he may be just being very careful and cautious.
the reason I know and understand his game is because I played a very similar game. heavy topspin off both wings and the ability to run for a whole damn day.
but age and time does great deal of damage to all the athletes. it slows them down.
repeated injuries slow us down even more. there is nothing worse than a back injury or a wrist injury because those injuries never really go away.
rafa has not been working hard enough on the clay. I think he should have skipped Miami because his back was not 100%. his ground game was pathetic at best.
you got a good glimpse of it in indian wells when a 36 year old stepanek pushed him and nearly beat him. stepanek should have won that day.
nadal looked almost lost out there. that should have told him something: he needed to be on clay asap.
clay is the wellspring from which he flows. all he has is the ground game and his athletic ability.
all the relentless will on the planet is useless if you don't have the ability. little by little--and it is because of the bad back---his ground game and his athletic ability has take a little hit this year.
clay is the only thing that can fix it all.
he just cant keep handing nole match wins. he has to try to take the monte carlo masters and beat nole in the process.
the back wuld have been further along had he skipped Miami.
who gives a damn about Miami when you just cant afford to lose ground on clay. he has so much to defend there.
All true, General. But, maybe the two weeks will have helped him to rest and practice.
Considering his form lately though, Monte Carlo definitely isn't in the bag.
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take a look at this article sports fans. this is what I was talking about then I said that his fitness has taken a hit. it has and he admits it also.
only we at Camelot know this even before nadal admits or says it, let alone the experts in the field. this is why Camelot is required reading.
this is not exactly rocket science anyway. it is pretty damn clear to me anyway that the man is short on practice and a little short on fitness.
and we all understand that a large part of that has to do with the back issues. he really had no choice but to pull back a little in order to let the back heal, recover, and get stronger.
anyway take a look at this article:
http://www.sport24.co.za/Tennis/ATPTour/Nadal-hopes-to-fine-tune-form-20140401
"It is great that I am in the top of the race arriving to the claycourt season," Nadal said. "But now we start on clay and I need to be 100 percent.
"I need to work hard and try to be in better shape for clay."
Nadal did look low on energy in Miami final. He also looked a tad slower than his usual self. Some of the balls he couldn't get to, I'm pretty sure I could've gotten to myself. It was a bit strange to see him move slower than Berdych.
Of course Novak also made it very difficult for him to have any chance in the match. Nadal needed to be at his best to beat Novak on that slow hard court. He wasn't in his best form and Novak made him look ordinary at times tbh.
I am with you, general Clay Death. If the back isn't bothering him too much, he needs to practice more and be at his best to dominate the clay swing. He may be the king of clay, but his average game isn't going to intimidate his rivals. He better come out playing like he can on clay if he wants to retain his RG trophy and hold on the #1 ranking.
Great post, Backspin.
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I hear roger Federer has a wildcard for monte carlo.
great news. we are missing just 2 top guns now: andy and del potro.
Confirmed general. In fairly surprising news, Federer has taken the wild card. He hasn't played there since 2011. He must be feeling in good shape after his Davis Cup matches last weekend. He's been runner-up 3 times, never winning a title in Monte-Carlo - just so difficult when Clay Warrior King is always there and has won 8 of them. Maybe he senses Rafa is vulnerable after his recent losses? Or it might have something to do with Mirka.... Don't know for sure.
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
Can't agree with you more generals hercules and backspin. But he's training hard in Mallorca at the moment, so let's hope any back problems he had are gone. I still don't like that even in training the Spaniard isn't practicing his backhand, but is hitting his forehand near the backhand tram lines. This is practice. What the hell is Toni doing out there? Rafa should be hitting backhands, backhands, backhands, in practice if he is that scared of them. It is exactly what is opening up the court for players with the ability to hit the cross court backhand wide to Nadal's forehand wing like Djokovic and Wawrinka. I might have to start using General Hercules "blundering buffoon" phrase soon. Just look at this generals:
Rafa training in Manacor - April 5th
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c7uUlNem-k (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c7uUlNem-k)
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frafaelnadalfans.files.wordpress.com%2F2014%2F04%2Frafael-nadal-practices-in-mallorca-2014.jpg%3Fw%3D600&hash=e3b9d447af9783262f5c93b537111e25bfb8abdb)
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi2.wp.com%2Fwww.vilastennisacademy.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2FRafael-Nadal-training-April-5-10.jpg%3Fresize%3D696%252C1048&hash=f3874cfec20665dc3e6e4d9b146a358e823a6adc)
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
I hear roger Federer has a wildcard for monte carlo.
great news. we are missing just 2 top guns now: andy and del potro.
-
great post general backspin as usual.
I am going to have to agree with you general.
I am not really happy with rafa right now but I guess I have to allow for the fact that he is carrying a back injury. he may be just being very careful and cautious.
the reason I know and understand his game is because I played a very similar game. heavy topspin off both wings and the ability to run for a whole damn day.
but age and time does great deal of damage to all the athletes. it slows them down.
repeated injuries slow us down even more. there is nothing worse than a back injury or a wrist injury because those injuries never really go away.
rafa has not been working hard enough on the clay. I think he should have skipped Miami because his back was not 100%. his ground game was pathetic at best.
you got a good glimpse of it in indian wells when a 36 year old stepanek pushed him and nearly beat him. stepanek should have won that day.
nadal looked almost lost out there. that should have told him something: he needed to be on clay asap.
clay is the wellspring from which he flows. all he has is the ground game and his athletic ability.
all the relentless will on the planet is useless if you don't have the ability. little by little--and it is because of the bad back---his ground game and his athletic ability has take a little hit this year.
clay is the only thing that can fix it all.
he just cant keep handing nole match wins. he has to try to take the monte carlo masters and beat nole in the process.
the back wuld have been further along had he skipped Miami.
who gives a damn about Miami when you just cant afford to lose ground on clay. he has so much to defend there.
-
take a look at this article sports fans. this is what I was talking about then I said that his fitness has taken a hit. it has and he admits it also.
only we at Camelot know this even before nadal admits or says it, let alone the experts in the field. this is why Camelot is required reading.
this is not exactly rocket science anyway. it is pretty damn clear to me anyway that the man is short on practice and a little short on fitness.
and we all understand that a large part of that has to do with the back issues. he really had no choice but to pull back a little in order to let the back heal, recover, and get stronger.
anyway take a look at this article:
http://www.sport24.co.za/Tennis/ATPTour/Nadal-hopes-to-fine-tune-form-20140401
"It is great that I am in the top of the race arriving to the claycourt season," Nadal said. "But now we start on clay and I need to be 100 percent.
"I need to work hard and try to be in better shape for clay."
Nadal did look low on energy in Miami final. He also looked a tad slower than his usual self. Some of the balls he couldn't get to, I'm pretty sure I could've gotten to myself. It was a bit strange to see him move slower than Berdych.
Of course Novak also made it very difficult for him to have any chance in the match. Nadal needed to be at his best to beat Novak on that slow hard court. He wasn't in his best form and Novak made him look ordinary at times tbh.
I am with you, general Clay Death. If the back isn't bothering him too much, he needs to practice more and be at his best to dominate the clay swing. He may be the king of clay, but his average game isn't going to intimidate his rivals. He better come out playing like he can on clay if he wants to retain his RG trophy and hold on the #1 ranking.
-
take a look at this article sports fans. this is what I was talking about then I said that his fitness has taken a hit. it has and he admits it also.
only we at Camelot know this even before nadal admits or says it, let alone the experts in the field. this is why Camelot is required reading.
this is not exactly rocket science anyway. it is pretty damn clear to me anyway that the man is short on practice and a little short on fitness.
and we all understand that a large part of that has to do with the back issues. he really had no choice but to pull back a little in order to let the back heal, recover, and get stronger.
anyway take a look at this article:
http://www.sport24.co.za/Tennis/ATPTour/Nadal-hopes-to-fine-tune-form-20140401
"It is great that I am in the top of the race arriving to the claycourt season," Nadal said. "But now we start on clay and I need to be 100 percent.
"I need to work hard and try to be in better shape for clay."
You definitely called it!
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VAMOS! I think we will see a different Rafa come clay ;)
Time to start the quest to reclaim the lost kingdom of Monte Carlo, no? :D
Not at the expense of the French. I always take losses in stride, because there's always a bigger triumph around the corner.
If I had to choose, I'd rather he lost the Monte Carlo, than lose at the French.
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VAMOS! I think we will see a different Rafa come clay ;)
Time to start the quest to reclaim the lost kingdom of Monte Carlo, no? :D
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morning sports fans.
we are just 9 days away from Monte Carlo Masters.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
its time to get fired up.
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take a look at this article sports fans. this is what I was talking about then I said that his fitness has taken a hit. it has and he admits it also.
only we at Camelot know this even before nadal admits or says it, let alone the experts in the field. this is why Camelot is required reading.
this is not exactly rocket science anyway. it is pretty damn clear to me anyway that the man is short on practice and a little short on fitness.
and we all understand that a large part of that has to do with the back issues. he really had no choice but to pull back a little in order to let the back heal, recover, and get stronger.
anyway take a look at this article:
http://www.sport24.co.za/Tennis/ATPTour/Nadal-hopes-to-fine-tune-form-20140401
"It is great that I am in the top of the race arriving to the claycourt season," Nadal said. "But now we start on clay and I need to be 100 percent.
"I need to work hard and try to be in better shape for clay."
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General Hercules, Lady TT, I bumped the Rafael Nadal: Clay Warrior's Hunt for 50 Clay Titles and 16 majors thread at MTF.
He's got 43 clay titles now, just 3 short of Vilas' record. I might have to bump that 50 title target to 60 if he keeps winning at this rate. :)
But I think I'll wait till he hits 50.
Respectfully,
masterclass
I've never been to MTF. Heard a lot of bad things about it, so never joined. Saw a few posts and was like, no way. As bad as TW, that cesspool.
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Rafa mentioned in his presser that he will travel to Mallorca on Thursday. So, he will have a couple of days to relax with his family (he mentioned his little cousins) and then start preparing for the clay court season. That gives him about a week of practice.
I think he will have enough time to play himself into form. Monte Carlo is crucial for his confidence, though. Last year he lost the Final to Nole and that did not seem to affect the rest of his clay season. But the circumstances were different then. He had just won Indian Wells and had about a month long break to recuperate, rest, and prepare for the clay.
This year he only has a week. The loss to Nole in Miami is probably still on his mind. Also, he might be still a little cautious about his back problems and not go out and serve/play at 100%.
I have seen Rafa battle through much tougher times so I am confident he will bounce back again. Can't wait for Monte Carlo :)
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well nadal can beat him Hoshi but it is fairly clear to me that a number of things have affected his game:
his back issues have kept him from training as hard as he needs to so that is one of them.
2nd one is lack of some focus but that is probably of all the back issues.
he is out doing too many things. he took a trip to Oregon after Indian Wells. he was in a Poker tournament in Miami. and then there is golf and all those press interviews.
he just has too much going on but not enough tennis practice. his game is visibly suffering.
I am worried about his fitness. those who were at this match yesterday said he looked slow and somewhat worn out. I am not sure about all that but it is easy to see that his fitness has taken a hit.
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Roll on the clay. ;D
Improvement is needed though against Novak. He is a really bad matchup for Nadal in almost the same vein as Nadal is to Federer.
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thanks god for clay. the ultimate battlefield of the gods.
now the real battles begin. just 13 days to go now.
I am counting the days, hours, and the minutes.
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that must be some thread general masterclass. I will have to swing by and take a look at it.
I have not been to MTF in ages.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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General Hercules, Lady TT, I bumped the Rafael Nadal: Clay Warrior's Hunt for 50 Clay Titles and 16 majors thread at MTF.
He's got 43 clay titles now, just 3 short of Vilas' record. I might have to bump that 50 title target to 60 if he keeps winning at this rate. :)
But I think I'll wait till he hits 50.
Respectfully,
masterclass
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time flies, leaving behind only its shadow.
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Darn, that is coming up soon. This year is flying by. I still haven't done my taxes. I guess that has to moved up to the top of my to-do list.
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13.04.2014 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
Monte-Carlo, Monaco Clay € 2,884,675
(€ 3,452,415) SGL 56 DBL 24 Email Inquiry
+377/97-98-70-00
this is coming right up sports fans. it is closer than you think.
lets get this party started.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D