CAMELOT FANTASIES

Rafa narrowly avoids being broken again for the breadstick.  Kei had set point, but a good forehand by Rafa got him back to deuce, then Kei hit a drop shot attempt into the net (which Nadal was on anyway), and Nadal served it out.  Now Nishikori has a chance to serve for the set.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Nadal broken straight away in the opening game of the second set. Then Rafa had triple break point on Kei, and Kei somehow managed to come up with 5 straight points to win the game. Not looking good for Rafa.  Kei on a roll.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Nishikori and Nadal both hold, and it's 4-3 Nishikori to serve, but he has called the trainer.  Trainer is on taking care of his back, but no official MTO.  Oh my.  Nishikori so close to the finish line.  Two more holds will do it.  Rafa needs some divine intervention the way Kei has been playing.  He's simply outplaying Nadal, hitting strong to his backhand wing, opening up the court, and hitting sharp angles to the forehand.  If Rafa gets to those, then Kei hits behind Rafa as he runs to cover the backhand.  Same patterns.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Now Nishikori takes an official MTO for his back.  Worrying looks from his team.

Respectfully,
masterclass

And it's over. Nishikori clearly injured, down 3-0 , has retired. A real shame for him, he was playing so well.  Well, that's the story of his career also. He does get injured a lot, though he has been better this year than most.  Nadal takes Madrid.

Congratulations to Nadal and his supporters.
Commiserations to Nishikori and his fans.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Oh, did I forget to mention?  I'm quite unhappy with Clay Warrior. 
Now he has Rome to straighten things up.  He did not look good out there today folks.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Did not look good? He looked downright horrible. And as you predicted he needed divine intervention.

Although Nadal is going through a rough patch, it doesn't really bother me. It's hard to compete at such a high level for a decade and counting. Sometimes, something's got to give, and the rain must fall on everyone.

I don't think he's going to be able to recover in time this year. There appears to be too much going on in his psyche. I think the problem is mental more than anything and he hasn't quite gathered his bearings.

But hey, it's just tennis, matches, and careers. As long as you have your health, family, and a support system, those kinds of things go out the window for me.

Oh, did I forget to mention?  I'm quite unhappy with Clay Warrior. 
Now he has Rome to straighten things up.  He did not look good out there today folks.

Respectfully,
masterclass

he is just not working hard enough in practice general masterclass and it showed today.


and what is worse, he is not working hard on the things he needs to: the backhand and the return of serve.

this last 20 minutes at the end of his 90 minute practice sessions to play some points or a practice set does not give him a chance to work on his return. and in course of that practice set or just points that are played, he runs around his backhand as much as possible.


and as you have suggested and as I have noted in his practice sessions, he is just running around his backhand to hit as many forehands as possible.


he just does what he wants to. I can assure you that he is not listening to anybody but himself.


so all these short cuts are making his life very hard out there. that is why he got run over by ferru in monte carlo. he had not lost to ferru on in clay in 10 years.


same with almagro in Barcelona: he had never lost to almagro. he slaves away against him for 2 hours and 48 minutes in barcelona.


so they are all working and all improving. nadal refuses to improve this year.

on another note that is probably why the world watches him. he gives them all a chance to beat him and sometimes they do.


he gives them 1/2 the court. he gives up his chance to let his backhand get into some sort of rhythm. he gives them chances on their serve as he just looks to hit forehands on the return of serve if he can.

his slice as weak. he poses no threat at the net.


so I believe that nadal holds the world on the edge of the seat .  they all have their chances to beat him because he leaves so much off the table.


his athletic ability, his blinding speed, his physicality, his amazing movement, his topspin forehand, and his will has always been enough for most of them but now it is getting easier for them and harder for him.

why? very simple. as I have suggested, he just does not put in the work like he used to.

this is not rocket science.


now he has 1000 points to defend in rome also. what he needs to show himself is that he can improve with each match. that will get him the title and it will send out a clear message.

Nishi came into the final match with a plan. He's going to outhit and outrun Nadal and make it a very short and quick win. In his mind, either he'd win or lose but that was the plan - not that he though he'd definitely win but he definitely had his hope. And he did a good job too until he took the break in the 2nd set. You know, these top players especially Federer and Nadal - they are like sharks. They can smell blood from miles away and they are always hungry and desperate. So when Nishi took that break, it sent Nadal  a message that he was waiting for and he struck right away. Nishi knew he had no chance in the 3rd set since he was coming off a marathon match against Ferrer and had only less than 24 hours recovery time. Something that took away most of his stamina. So he wanted to keep things short if possible and had he not taken that short break to get his back fixed, I believe he would have won the match in straight sets. But that break was unfortunate and deciding factor of the match. He showed he was injured and it's never a good idea especially if you are leading the set and only a couple of games away from winning the match.

Well, what's done is done. Nadal did get lucky with the draw opening up nicely and then followed by a half dead opponent in the final. But then again, sometimes things do happen for a reason and players do get lucky - it's not just Nadal.

Congrats to both. Nishi played an excellent tournament. And I am glad he's taken himself out of Rome. This will give him enough time to heal his  back and get his strength back.

Nadal, along with Andy, is going through a very low phase at the moment though Nadal is still playing a lot better than Andy - clay's notwithstanding. They are humans after all.

Oh and I am surprised (or maybe not) Federer is playing in Rome only after a week long break.