CAMELOT FANTASIES

Quote from: thetruth on June 13, 2015, 07:18:26 am

Quote from: Clay Death on June 12, 2015, 11:10:40 am

Let us hope for a good day tomorrow.

Monfils has been playing fairly decent tennis as of late.


Match could go the distance.

I hate to watch Monfils. He's either a beast or a bum, both to the highest degree. He almost acts like he likes to get down in the score to see if he can come back, especially in majors. It's illogical the way that he plays so many 5-set matches. I just never know if he cares, which makes me not care either.

monfils is a great athlete but he is also about 6 foot 4. he is not that great on grass. his movement is compromised somewhat on grass.



rafa took it in straights.

Thanks for the information. I can never figure him out. So,it appears that his height affects him on grass and inhibits his movement. I will put this in my mental Rolodex, so that I can know what to expect from him and on what surface.

Congrats to Rafa and his fans.


This is a great first step in the right direction.

Now he just has to keep working hard and keep improving.


This will energize and revitalize him.

he was huffing and puffing in a 1 hour 27 minute match.


don't know what he is going to do with the current fitness. it is really not good enough for top flight tennis.


he has to know he needs better fitness by now.

that said, this is a great start to next year. winning will energize him and revitalize him.


he did not play anybody great here but a title is a title and he needs titles to get going.

Wimbledon is almost here. a very deep run will keep his momentum  going.


I think he will try to get on clay after Wimbledon which is a very smart move. not to earn points for WTF because nothing is happening at WTF.  it has not happened in 11 years so it is surely not happening now. if anything he even takes a chance at injury at WTF in London.

he needs clay to re-discover his ground game again so he can have the confidence he needs to win the long rally.


win the long rally and you win the match. he does not have a big serve. he does not return well anymore. he cant blast winners left and right off both wings.

in that match against djokovic he hit just 3 forehand winners. this is the greatest forehand the world has ever known and just 3 forehand winners in that match.

he beat the world with the long rally. he brought his consistent ground game, his fitness, and his physicality to the courts and he beat them all.

he could outlast them and he could overpower them with his forehand.



so that is what he has to re-discover: his consistent ground game and that overpowering forehand.


and the fitness part has to be dealt with in all his spare time. there is a considerable off season now. he can log in the long hard yards on the fitness and physicality front in that off season.


no farting around now if he wants a couple of more slams. about 2 years is all that is left. might as well make the most of it.

Quote from: thetruth on June 14, 2015, 08:05:58 pm

Glad he won. He needed that.

affirmative. he needs these titles to get going again.

His demeanonr has changed for the good. All year he's been lackadaisical, but starting from day on of this tournament was the first time I've seen him actually engaged. It's good to see. Great for him and great for his fans.

agreed.


he said "winning is energy".


sort of like saying what winning is like a drug.


lets just hope and pray that he realizes that now he really is in a race against the clock.

next year started right after the miserable campaign at RG. and not next year because next year never comes.



now I am hoping that he wastes no more time and just jumps on the red clay after Wimbledon to keep improving.


clay is the wellspring from which he flows. clay is the only thing that can get him back in the game against the top guns.

he has to turn his ground game into a well oiled machine once again. I know he can do it but that time is now.


and one last thing: he has to ditch that miserable slice. about 1/2 the time they just bury it down his throat. other 1/2 the time it just puts him in a defensive position.


he himself has said repeatedly that his backhand let him down. he has to trust the instrument. he had one of the greatest backhands on the planet once.

it is a great backhand. he has to engage it to control the center of the court better.

it will make the game easier.

I don't know why he has abandoned his background. It's weird. But, why do you think he needs to get back on the clay so early? There's more to consider than RG.  Ten would be great, but nine is fine, too. He plays well on all surfaces. I think he just work hard. He's capable of winning on hard, grass, and clay. If that's what he decides to do.

because if he cant dominate the top guns on clay then he cant beat them anywhere.


rafa's best surface is clay. he has 46 titles on it to prove that point.


also clay will keep him healthy. too much time on the hard courts is sure to end his career instantly this time if there is another injury.

he needs clay to tune up his ground game. it can translate to wins on other surfaces.

I see. Are you saying get back to clay and shore up all your weaknesses? What about the other surfaces? Does he abandon them for the rest of the year? He would still play the majors on grass and hard?

Rafa gave viktor a ride to London:

clay for getting that ground game back. he has to go hit a million backhands and a few million forehands.


clay for safety and security: he faces nothing but injuries on the hard courts.


grass season is over after Wimbledon. all he can do on grass is gather a few points and take a few matches to keep the momentum going.


too much time on hard courts ends his career. you saw what happened after the u.s. open in 2013.

he chased the #1 rank on all the hard courts and killed his 2014 and 2015.



it is going to be very hard to come back this year and try to dominate the top guns. all he can do now is keep improving while keeping himself very healthy for 2016.


next injury ends the career.

so if he is wise he will go get on clay for practice and some match play after Wimbledon.

and try to minimize match play and practice on the hard courts after the u.s. open.


I would simply spend more time on clay to get that bullet proof ground game back.

Thanks for the explanation. It's hard no matter what. I don't know how he's played with that foot for so long, Hopefully everything will work out. I don't think it's his style of play at all, and I'm tired of hearing the commentators with that familiar refrain. An article that I read years ago explained how that bone affects his knees over time. His game is no more physical than anyone else's from what I can see.

Djokovic and Monfils come to mind. Anyway, the game is physical and everyone who plays today plays a physical game. That's why there are so many injuries. That's what i think.