CAMELOT FANTASIES

Quote from: thetruth on April 17, 2015, 03:53:13 pm

Quote from: Clay Death on April 17, 2015, 12:02:33 pm

He coughed up that 2nd set but came back stronger in the deciding frame.


Vamossssssssssssssssss.

They said that match was almost three hours. It didn't seem like it to me. But, Rafa got to hit a lot of balls, that was good, but at times David had him running all over the court. It looked like Rafa was trying to hit only forehands and he was missing quite a few DTLs.

I fear Nole will kill him and relish the process. You know how he is, talking out of both sides of his mouth with his faux humility. But if Rafa has to lose, I'd rather he lose to him here, so that he can glean information for future reference.

I hope Nole doesn't do a lot of drop shots tomorrow; that's just a feeling that I have, that and trying to run Rafa ragged around the court.

Still, Rafa has improved since his first match on clay and by the time the French rolls around I think he'll be in a better place.

Rafa was serving for the match at 5-4.

He should have been able to put him away in straights.

Here is the problem:


He is playing too far off the court. And he is returning from the parking lot.

Those returns are too weak now that he has lost some of his usual fitness and his once incredible physicality.

He will have return better and maintain better control of the court tomorrow.

And then he has hit deep off both wings and wait for his opportunities.


If he does lose it is still a win for him:

He will know what he has to improve in order to improve his chances at RG.


Basically the returns are too weak and there is not much sufficient depth and pace on his shots.

A win would be nice for him but you are going to need some help from Djokovic this time.

Djokovic needs to be a little bit off.

Let's see how it plays out.

I agree totally. He was too far back. Even I noticed that, but I don't think he'll play Novak the same way he played David. Although Rafa usually beats Ferrer, he doesn't seem to have the same aggression when he's playing his countrymen.

Tomorrow he'll know he can't slip, so I don't think he'll take things for granted. What's great is that he's excited for this match. That's a good sign. Either way, as you said it's a win-win for Rafa because a few months ago, with the way he was playing he wouldn't have even reached Novak.

It's been a great tournament so far, but I'm too scared to get my hopes up. Let's hope Rafa comes through.