CAMELOT FANTASIES

looks like you and I have always been able to see eye to eye.


that is exactly what rafa is doing. he is enjoying life and he is enjoying his fans. his fans are just too much. they want so much of his time and space.

I don't even know how he makes it to the practice courts. they start lining up for him from here to china in order to be with him.


well I would come down hard on him but I have no choice but to cut him some slack because we don't really how much the back is hurting him still.

the mechanics of his backhand involve the back. the back comes into play when he is hitting his backhand.

it is not so with the forehand so much. he is so strong off that wing that he can just muscle the ball without involving his back to much.


the back also comes into play with the serve. in fact that is where it is in play the most.

so my theory:

1. rafa is laying low because he does not really want to take too much risk right now because RG is just a few weeks away. he figures he will have to let it all hang out there. I think he still has some back pain. of course he is not going to keep telling his competition that he is suffering.

2. complacency. there is a pattern of some complacency that I have detected. everytime he has become number #1 and destroyed the whole field in the process, he proceeds to lose his #1 rank and there is a dramatic/significant drop in his game and his fitness.

again I cant really come down too hard because his game is the most demanding ever. he has the most demanding style of play ever seen in the history of mankind.

it involves an immense expenditure of physical and mental capital. he has to work very blood hard for his wins.

and that leaves him depleted of his key resources which are mental and physical capital.

so he takes the following year to replenish all his resources before he goes on a tear again.

now only problem with that is that now he is out of time. he has 2 years left at best at the top to be able to win slams.

so he has to win RG and the u.s. open this year in order to try to chase down history.

that process would have been so much easier had he been able to take the Australian Open this year. everything lined up for him just right but the tragedy struck the last minute.

his body quit on him.


tomorrow we will talk about why his body quit on him in Melbourne.