CAMELOT FANTASIES

I like to think that I am the voice of reason (sometimes). Maybe it's me, because I'll admit I'm not a very competitive person, that's why I've always enjoyed Rafa, because he gives it his all.

I don't think people are being fair to Rafa at all. Sure, Rafa did it in 2013, but that's more like an anomaly, not a given. Even he was surprised at how well he did. But it seems like everyone can be off the tour and come back and slowly get back into their groove without as much pressure.

I mean seriously, Andy isn't the player he was before the back surgery either. It takes time and there are many psychological, emotional, and physical elements into coming back from injury.

Everyone understands that Azarenka is not back to her top form either, but people understand that she's on the comeback trail.

Surely, no one thinks that del Potro is going to come back and be where he once was right off the bat without time, practice, and feeling the emotions of the moment. But with Rafa, everyone expects that he can just flip a switch like he's some kind of superhero. Rafa is the only one that I know where the expectations are so high.

When Federer had his back issues and was losing, everyone thought he was done, but in every broadcast they made comments about his back injury. No one expected him to continously blow people off the court while he was recovering. That's insane.

These guys are grooved. They've been playing week in and week out for the last year while Rafa was sitting at home, or in a hospital bed.

Since his return he's played very few tournaments. How can anyone expect him to be up there with the Big Four? That makes no sense to me.

And since his return he has only played in one big tournament, the AO. The other tournaments he was playing Tier 3 players. There was no Nole, Fed, and Murray. You have to give the Big Four credit for being the best and most consistent on the tour. Either the Big Four is heads above the rest of the tour, or they're not.

Just because you've been there for a decade doesn't mean you can just slip seamlessly back in the groove.

Do you guys really believe that Nole and Federer could be off the tour for seven months and slide right back into their spots? I don't. And we know that Andy didn't. For one, when you come back you are the hunted which adds psychological pressure.

I, for one did not think Rafa was going to beat Berdych at the Oz, because Berdych is Tier 2, second only to the Big Tour. That was a huge leap in level. So that didn't bother me, and neither does this loss when I consider all of the mitigating circumstances.

Anyway, I just wish that people did not heap so many expectations on Rafa, because they don't do it to anyone else to the same degree.

End of Rant.