CAMELOT FANTASIES

Quote from: Clay Death on June 03, 2015, 07:20:22 pm

success of serena, Federer, djokovic, and now andy murray should provide plenty of motivation.


serena and Federer are older than dirt and they are doing it. one is ranked #1 and the other one is #2.

djokovic is outworking them all. he works out 3 times a day and never misses a day. he also practices year around on clay as much as possible. that keeps his knees and joints healthy and also keeps his ground game tuned up and sharp.

and now andy murray is working very hard also.



unless rafa starts training 7-8 hours a day on clay it is going to be extremely hard for him to win even a 250 level tournament going forward.

that is how much his game and his fitness has dropped.


it is really that simple. he has to work if he wants it bad enough.


and the in the off season--which is a lot longer now than it used to be--he has to put in very long and hard yards on the fitness front.


there is no other way out.

I think he is tired and unmotivated right now. That simple. Everyone sits down for a minute. So did the people you mentioned. Andy had his time, Serena, and Federer. You have to hit a brick wall to recharge your batteries. I don't think it matters what his ranking is, once HE decides what he wants to do, nothing is going to change.

Everyone is acting like Nole was so spectacular. That's not what I saw. I saw a weary, non-battle test combatant who wasn't sure what he wanted to do. It wasn't health, it was a lack of motivation. If Rafa's mind was in the right place I think he would have won. But, right now he's not interested in winning. There are some life's questions that he's thinking about that has nothing to do with legacy, majors, history, or any of that.

If it was, his practice sessions wouldn't be the joke that they are. While his fans may want all of these things, I don't think Rafa does at this point. He has always said that he wouldn't play beyond the time that he wasn't motivated to do so. When he came back in 2013, he had something to prove to himself. The comeback in 2015 never had that feeling, from the beginning to now. He didn't pick up tournaments for points, he didn't work on his fitness like he did in the past. Instead, he focused on his foundation and his works. That says a lot.

The first two sets he was competitive, but not at his usual level. This brings me back to Nole. How do you lose a two break lead in the first set, against a guy who has been losing left and right? A guy low on confidence who has lost more this season than he has in ten years? Nole was beatable in this match. He wasn't supreme like everyone else seems to think, at least not to me.

Rafa is at a turning point. He is not injured and there is no reason for his lack of motivation, except that he's going through things in his own life. i think Rafa is deciding whether he wants to play or start a new chapter in his life. That simple.

It doesn't bother me that he lost RG this year, or if he even decides to play next year. That is my concern, does he want to play?

All signs point to maybe, or maybe not.

Wonderful post Lady TT.  I notice you tend to look at the human side a bit more; always nice to have a different perspective.  I agree with what you said about Novak. He was beatable, he did get nervous, when Rafa made it close, but Rafa wasn't really in the state to take advantage of it. Let's see what happens in the semifinals.  All of these players remaining are good enough to take the title if they get hot.

Respectfully,
masterclass