CAMELOT FANTASIES

Really sad words from Ferrer. He will probably never reach his potential thinking this way.

I threw in the towel, says Ferrer after losing to Nadal
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/threw-towel-says-ferrer-losing-nadal-204509192--ten.html

"(In the second set) Rafael started playing a lot better, making fewer mistakes, and then it's like I threw in the towel," said the fifth-seed, who lost in the all-Spanish final against Nadal at Roland Garros last year.

"I don't usually do this, but I thought, I'm not going to be able to come back into the match. I thought, No, no, not against Rafa. He's such good a player."

"I wouldn't even use the word 'frustration' you see. What I missed is perhaps strength or the appetite to win and the drive," he said.

Disgusting from Ferrer.  He's at 1 set all and he thinks he can't come back, and throws in the towel, bagel and a breadstick? What the hell?
Even if he thought it, I think it would have been better to say nothing.
It was pretty obvious he was throwing the match away in the 3rd and 4th, but no need to rain on Rafa's parade.

Instead he should have learned from Rafa.   Rafa played relatively badly in the first set, while Ferrer played well.
I think Ferrer won almost every point over 15 shots, as he hammered Rafa's backhand repeatedly, and then occasionally went to Nadal's open forehand wing with flat angle shots.  Rafa's backhand simply did not stand up to more than 3 or 4 shots in a row. It crumbled, it ****, it was pitiful to see. 

And yet, and yet, in the second set Rafa tried to find a solution, and he did.  He moved about a meter closer to the baseline (FINALLY), and given any chance he just ran around the backhand and unleashed aggressive forehands.  No backhand, no problem, I hit the forehand, no?  Well not hitting his backhand is a problem, just not against Ferrer yesterday. More on that later.

Ferrer's problem? He failed to adjust to Nadal's change.  He kept hitting to Rafa's backhand side, but Rafa wasn't hitting backhands more than once or twice, instead he was going to the tram lines to run around it and hit the forehand across the court with power wide to Ferrer's forehand wing and Ferrer usually couldn't get it back.  The correct solution for David would have been to hit strongly to Nadal's forehand wing which was wide open because of Rafa being camped near the tramlines on his backhand wing. Rafa doesn't have the speed this year that he once did, and has had trouble getting over when running around his backhand.  Or Ferrer could have tried cutting off some of the looping forehands by coming to the net, since he was having a good day there, making about 7 out of 7 at the net at one stage.  But, David just didn't change. It was like he programmed himself to bash Rafa's backhand side, and when Rafa refused to hit backhands, Ferrer didn't know what to do, and just gave up. 

Really bad attitude from a top player, as he fully admitted.  Look, I know a lot of players bend over to the top guys, but to say I gave up when being one set all, just boggles the mind.  Where's the fight, the warrior spirit? He beat Nadal in Monte Carlo. Did he forget so soon? Look, even if Rafa raised his level, or changed what he was doing doesn't mean you crumple. You have to make changes to adapt.  Well, I guess that's why Ferrer tops out at #5. He can beat the rest, but he doesn't really believe he can beat the top 4 with any regularity.  Probably thinks he got lucky to beat Nadal at Monte Carlo, when the truth was that Rafa was not playing well, and David was and that was it and he should win in those circumstances.

Oh right, I said I would say more about why Rafa's solution to move closer and not hit the backhand by running around it to hit the forehand is still a problem, even if Ferrer didn't take advantage of it.  It's a problem if a player has the thought process to change tactics and see what Nadal is doing, and the ability to solve that by defending well, then either hitting hard and deep to Rafa's forehand wing, or drop shot short and wide on the forehand side.  Rafa will not be able to get to those these days. He's lost a step due to either age or lack of fitness or a combination of both.  If Rafa positions himself so that he leaves 3/4 of the court open, players like Djokovic, or Wawrinka (no longer in it), have the defense and power to go to Rafa's open wing.

Rafa must get his backhand working.  A day's practice isn't enough.  I would have two players peppering Nadal's backhand for 2 hours a day, and if Rafa ran around to hit his forehand, I would stop the practice right there, and make him do about 50 pushups.
Do this until he can hit about 20 backhands in a row without error.  Watch his practices sometime.  He practice on the backhand until he misses after about 3-5 shots, then he starts hitting his forehand.  If he misses in practice, he'll miss easier under game pressure.

It's no surprise, General Hercules and I have been seeing this decline in his backhand for years now. It was largely ignored I think because Rafa had a lot of speed to compensate.  But as he gets older, he won't be able to cheat to that side as much. Good players will figure it out and take advantage.

Anyway, Rafa is through to the semifinals.  I don't expect he'll have much trouble against Mr. Murray, OBE, who hasn't faced a top 20 player in the draw yet.  Nadal should win in straight sets, unless he is just bad for a set.

Respectfully,
masterclass