CAMELOT FANTASIES

affirmative. I just wonder what was on his mind.


he seemed really off. and that blood blister has to be painful.

I know he said it does not hurt but I am sure it does.


I will post a picture of that blood blister on his hand I can find it again.

this from the espn site. he ditched the full tape and used this small patch instead on his blood blister during practice today:


http://espn.go.com/espn/photos/wire/_/id/850/photo/3496350/tennis

I lost that picture too. I don't know how it disappeared.


he just to serve better, return better, and hit his backhand better. rest will fall in place.


and he has to stop pushing so many balls back. he does not have the best slice.

it is a defensive shot and they jump on it nearly 100% of the time.

roger will attack. he is not going to hang back and let rafa get into much rhythm. at least that is game plan.

his game plan is to attack, attack, and then attack some more. he wants to take time away from rafa and not give him a chance to gain much rhythm off the ground.



I believe rafa will win in 4  sets tomorrow. nadal knows what is at stake.

all of tennis history is at stake. roger already has the record.

now it is rafa's turn at some history. rafa has to seize this moment. he has no other option.

I lost that picture too. I don't know how it disappeared.


he just to serve better, return better, and hit his backhand better. rest will fall in place.


and he has to stop pushing so many balls back. he does not have the best slice.

it is a defensive shot and they jump on it nearly 100% of the time.

roger will attack. he is not going to hang back and let rafa get into much rhythm. at least that is game plan.

his game plan is to attack, attack, and then attack some more. he wants to take time away from rafa and not give him a chance to gain much rhythm off the ground.



I believe rafa will win in 4  sets tomorrow. nadal knows what is at stake.

all of tennis history is at stake. roger already has the record.

now it is rafa's turn at some history. rafa has to seize this moment. he has no other option.

I saw this at TW. I hope it's funny after Friday!


Interview with Tio Toni. At 4:10 Kelly asks about Federer's tactics to face Nadal, suggesting maybe he'll come more often the net. Tio Toni tries hard to stay serious, but finally can't hold a laugh:

http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/video/J...rr7yH0L2kI5Oxb
__________________
Fan of the fans.

I lost that picture too. I don't know how it disappeared.


he just to serve better, return better, and hit his backhand better. rest will fall in place.


and he has to stop pushing so many balls back. he does not have the best slice.

it is a defensive shot and they jump on it nearly 100% of the time.

roger will attack. he is not going to hang back and let rafa get into much rhythm. at least that is game plan.

his game plan is to attack, attack, and then attack some more. he wants to take time away from rafa and not give him a chance to gain much rhythm off the ground.



I believe rafa will win in 4  sets tomorrow. nadal knows what is at stake.

all of tennis history is at stake. roger already has the record.

now it is rafa's turn at some history. rafa has to seize this moment. he has no other option.

I guess we worry too much. I had it bad earlier, but then I re-watched the match and Nadal didn't play that bad. Dimitrov was playing out of his shoes, but Rafa playing crappy was still able to contain him. As the match wore on he got better. It's just that we've gotten used to the hard court monster and this tournament he hasn't displayed that, but...

Before this round he's been playing lesser ranked players with nothing to lose. Tomorrow there will be more on the line for both him and Federer. Nadal recognizes the significance of this match which is why I think he's practicing without the tape. He's ready, I'm sure of it.

I can't agree more, general and Lady TT. 

If Rafa stands more than 1-2 meters behind the baseline, he is doomed.   Gone are the days when he go back to the fence and return.  These balls are too light and quick for him to defend angles from downtown Melbourne.

Unfortunately for him, if he stands too near the baseline, he has to hit the quick ball on the rise and he doesn't have time for his massive topspin swing.  His timing and positioning have to be very precise.

So he's sort of damned if he does, damned if he doesn't.

In these conditions, he'll have to take care of his serve first, get about 80% of first serves in, and win at least 70% of them.
Second, he'll have to get the ball back deep and quickly with or without extreme topspin.  Short-mid court balls will be a disaster against this Federer. 
Third, his forehand down the line and cross court backhand have to be impeccable.  He can't spray them like he did against Dimitrov.
Fourth, he'll have to be ready to pass and lob with accuracy and impunity as the Swiss Assassin will be looking to come in and end the point at every good opportunity.
Fifth, he needs to keep his unforced error count down to around 5-10/set and get as many balls back as he can to force Federer to make the errors.

He can do it, but it will be a tall order considering he hasn't played anyone ranked higher than #16 so far.  He's not as hardened as Federer and he hasn't played as well.  To expect him to play well suddenly, just because it is Federer on the other side of the net might be a lot to ask.

Still, he has a tremendous amount of motivation and as we know, tenacity.  So Federer also has to serve very well and can't afford one of his games with a high number of errors or he'll just give the match away.  If they both play well at the same time, it should be an interesting match for sure.  It hasn't happened lately, but one can always hope.

Respectfully,
masterclass

I can't agree more, general and Lady TT. 

If Rafa stands more than 1-2 meters behind the baseline, he is doomed.   Gone are the days when he go back to the fence and return.  These balls are too light and quick for him to defend angles from downtown Melbourne.

Unfortunately for him, if he stands too near the baseline, he has to hit the quick ball on the rise and he doesn't have time for his massive topspin swing.  His timing and positioning have to be very precise.

So he's sort of damned if he does, damned if he doesn't.

In these conditions, he'll have to take care of his serve first, get about 80% of first serves in, and win at least 70% of them.
Second, he'll have to get the ball back deep and quickly with or without extreme topspin.  Short-mid court balls will be a disaster against this Federer. 
Third, his forehand down the line and cross court backhand have to be impeccable.  He can't spray them like he did against Dimitrov.
Fourth, he'll have to be ready to pass and lob with accuracy and impunity as the Swiss Assassin will be looking to come in and end the point at every good opportunity.
Fifth, he needs to keep his unforced error count down to around 5-10/set and get as many balls back as he can to force Federer to make the errors.

He can do it, but it will be a tall order considering he hasn't played anyone ranked higher than #16 so far.  He's not as hardened as Federer and he hasn't played as well.  To expect him to play well suddenly, just because it is Federer on the other side of the net might be a lot to ask.

Still, he has a tremendous amount of motivation and as we know, tenacity.  So Federer also has to serve very well and can't afford one of his games with a high number of errors or he'll just give the match away.  If they both play well at the same time, it should be an interesting match for sure.  It hasn't happened lately, but one can always hope.

Respectfully,
masterclass

well they both have extra gears general.


now it is just a matter of using those extra gears.


I know nadal is worried about his serve. I am more worried about his return game and his backhand.


if he can return effectively and get the ball back somewhat deep then he can start getting into the points.


another that will allow him to get into the points and stay engaged in the rally is a consistent backhand.


so basically he has to do 2 things well: return well and find some consistency with that backhand.


the rest should start to fall in place.


there is also that decisive mental edge that nadal holds. we have to see if that can have an effect on the way Federer plays.