CAMELOT FANTASIES

Rafael Nadal already 2014 Sportsman Of The Year
http://www.examiner.com/article/rafael-nadal
January 27, 2014

If you ever wanted to see a sportsman, you saw one on Sunday as Rafael Nadal gave a master class at the 2014 Australian Open men's final.
A back injury that kept Nadal from playing all out from early in the second set onward was not going to keep him from doing what he had to.
Nadal lost the final match to Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Wawrinka was already bullying the great Rafa before his back went out and spoiled the big media and fan story of Nadal taking his 14th Grand Slam tourney, tying Pete Sampras on the list.
There was majesty in the air, Sampras in the stands ready to hand the trophy to Nadal, but something happened on the way to that result.
Two things occurred in quick succession. Nadal went to the training room and came back, unable to chase down balls hit to the corner, losing more than 30% of his serve velocity. Then Wawrinka couldn't do anything to capitalize on it.
Rafa lost the second set as an observer, watching balls pass him. The crowd that booed him when he came back from the training room realized he was truly injured. No one in their right mind would go down two sets as a stalling tactic.
Wawrinka was stunned after he stirred the waters for the crowd when Rafa left the court. Stan went from pissed he wasn't told why his opponent was taking a break, to a player who couldn't or wouldn't take advantage of the injury.
ESPN commentary went from clueless to guessing games. Each game that Nadal lost in the second set, the guys on the microphone kept thinking would be his last. That was not going to happen.
The pain killers took time to kick in and while Nadal took the third set, he was at 3/4 speed and Wawrinka was still in his confused mental state about what the heck to do.
Nadal stayed on the court when he could have given up and given Wawrinka his first Grand Slam. He didn't. There was his pride, his respect for the game, the great tournament in Melbourne, the paying customers and the millions of fans around the world.
He stuck it out and put up as much of a fight as he could. He wiped away a tear or two after it was over, but gave the speech everyone expected. This was not about him, it was about Stan Wawrinka, who has come from the scrap heap of a few years ago to #3 in the world, out of the shadow of the great Federer.
The guy has always been a class act and proved it once again to those who doubted. Sure he's got his "quirks" as the media delicately calls his OCD-like behavior. And yes, he takes too much time between points, leaves opponents standing their with their rackets and no opponent across the net. But the guy should be the ultimate role model for anyone playing sports.
Gracious in both triumph and defeat, no enemies on the tour and a resume that could end up being the best of all time. He may have lost the match, but he won everything else there was on Sunday in Melbourne.