CAMELOT FANTASIES

Quote from: Clay Death on April 23, 2015, 10:19:10 pm

this is what Rafa said:


“I didn't have enough power or speed on my forehand. I didn't have control of the points with my forehand. When I was in good positions, I couldn't push Fognini back. When that happens, my game can't hurt my opponent. That was the case today.”




and this is what I have been saying for nearly 3 years now. he was losing his fitness and his once supreme physicality little by little and he was not willing to reverse that process.


there is not sufficient velocity on his strokes. and he is also playing too far back from his backhand corner.


they know what he is going to do and they can get to his shots with a second to spare.


and as general Tee has pointed out, he is giving them over 1/2 of the court to blast away. he just cant get to those balls anymore with such diminished fitness and physicality.




he is doing the same thing in his practice sessions. often he just retreats to his backhand corner so he can just hit forehands.


bringing in Monaco to work with was a terrible idea. he was farting around with Monaco with his lazy practice session the day before he got run over Nick at Wimbledon last year. they don't really work hard. for about 90 minutes they fart around. and they have uncle tony as their ball boy.


until Rafa starts to train very seriously for 6-7 hours a day it is a very long and hard road back.



I am at a bloody loss. I would do something about it. he is the greatest gladiator of tennis the world has ever seen or known.


why cant he find the will to fight and win.

Farting around with Monaco. I had to laugh at that.

He doesn't seem to be focused at all.

Today was definitely a step backwards.

I'm at a loss too.  Moreso about the lackadaisical attitude.

This doesn't sound like our warrior...

Unless this is a strategy.

I'm so lost I'm inventing conspiracy theories.

I am still depressed and heartbroken.



I did not even feel like having lunch today.



I am not even sure I can sleep well tonight.



I have been saying this for years and you can ask general masterclass:


too much focus on outside activities and a little too much infatuation with the hard courts was going to cost him his fitness and his game. and worse, it was going to bring more injuries.


there was a time to let go of the hard court activity or at least back off a little bit to prevent injury and get back on clay to keep healthy and keep the ground game somewhat tuned up.

and that time was after the u.s. open title in 2013.



I have been saying for a very long time that he was taking his foot off the pedal on clay and that it was going to cost him the very thing that made him dominate the planet.

it was going to cost him his ground game. now he his left with nearly nothing.



time has just about run out. he will most likely retire next year if he finds himself out of top 30.


this is a tragic end for many and for me also. it did not have to be this way.

he was so close to rewriting history. that moment may never come again.


djokovic is way out in front and could win every single tournament he enters and every slam this year and the next.

djokovic has no competition out there simply because he never lost focus and he kept working on his fitness harder than ever. he never let up.


andy has no forehand and Federer is too old. rafa and djokovic are about the same age.


rafa is the only one who can stop djokovic but that window is closing so rapidly now.