CAMELOT FANTASIES

Quote from: Clay Death on June 17, 2015, 06:32:32 pm

I have been thinking.



I looked at that match point again. against dolgopolov.



I have a funny feeling that in the back of his mind and in his heart of hearts he did not really want to go on in this event.



for any number of reasons. one might be that he does not really feel ready to challenge the top guns.


he just finished losing to both andy and wawrinka. wawrinka was here and lost only today.

another reason is that he did not really want to expend the mental and physical capital since it is in limited supply at the moment.


and then there was his stupid doubles which takes away some focus from his singles.


he could have won this tournament with a little bit of preparation.


all he had to do was believe in himself a little more and put in the practice time.


and of course some work on the backhand and the return of serve would have gone a long way.

he wants out of here to go back to Mallorca and come back a little fresher and a little stronger.



bottom line: I think, in looking at the overall picture at queens, he again did not show up with proper preparation and better focus.

and again he decided--in his heart of hearts-that it was better to not worry about winning it.


there were 500 points for grabs here. he could have snatched up those points.


that was a very short inside/out forehand he hit and then he took a little stroll to the net to get passed easily.


he was up 4-2 in the decider on the slick grass. 2 games and the match was in his pocket.


another factor which is tied into this is that he wanted out. he is a bit worn out. as I said, he did not feel like spending the limited physical and mental capital to go all the way here.


now the silver lining is that at least he is healthy. so he escapes this event with no injury.



he has never been like this before. he never went to RG to defend his crown this year. that was his last stand and he walked away from it.

now he says slams are not important.


about 2 months back he said that he would at least like to get past Sampras with 15 majors.



he can still make it happen. he is an all time great and there is still little bit of time left.



all this lost belief is a direct result of his absolute refusal to work very hard and very long in practice and on the fitness front.


which in turn is a function of lost focus. he lost his relentless will to battle and win.



now I am not sure what is going to happen at Wimbledon.


the title there is surely going to one of the following:


1. murray
2. Federer
3. djokovic
4. wawrinka




I was hoping rafa would put in the preparation to perhaps sneak into the final. he just does not believe in himself because his game has dropped so much and there is not sufficient fitness and physicality.

Great post.

It's mind-boggling in a way, but then again, not so much. He just does not seem to have the passion for the game that we're accustomed to seeing. The weird thing is, it's been like that all year. Maybe he's tired of the injuries too. It's one thing when you've caused injury to yourself, but it's a whole different ball of wax when you had all the freak injuries that he had last year. Psychologically that can be more devastating than regular injuries, because they come out of nowhere and it can feel like the universe is against you.

The back seized up in Australia. I saw it in the warm up. I was like uh oh, something's wrong. Then there was the wrist or something, the appendix, it was weird. He had a Haas like year in 2014, inexplicable injuries. That's hard to overcome.

I understand because last year was like that for me too. Strange things happened without cause. One day I had a headache, I don't usually get headaches. Matter of fact I'm usually throwing away that kind of medicine because it expires. But this one night my head was pounding and in desperation I took an Advil, that's right , something as simple as that.

Thankfully, I had a procedure planned and went to the hospital that morning. I can only thank God that I had that appointment, because when I got there my left kidney failed; out of nowhere. I was stunned because I had no symptoms, no pain, no nothing. Within a half an hour the right kidney failed and they had to rush me upstairs into a room.

They couldn't find a reason why it happened when I had just been at the doctor's office two days earlier and was tested. My kidneys were great. And then one of the doctors said, "Did you take an Advil?" I was shocked, why was he asking me that? It seemed so bizarre. Initially, I didn't remember taking it, because I might take a pain reliever once every five or ten years.

I had to stay in the hospital for a month while my body stabilized, but even in that I was never in any pain. The scary thing is that there is no warning.

After all the freak occurrences Rafa had last year, I understand. Even when you return to health, there is a fear that something else is coming around the corner. It's hard to motivate yourself during these periods, because in the mind you feel that once you get up, you're going to get knocked back down.

The latest freak occurrence I had. After all of these years I found out that I can no longer eat Doritos. Can you believe that? When I'm eating them I feel fine. But about twenty minutes later my heart starts racing and my blood pressure goes through the roof.

It doesn't make sense. I have been healthy all my life and the doctors still swear that I am in good health, but these things keep happening. My Nurse Practitioner was getting so frustrated, because there is no logical reason that these things happen.

I seriously think that's what's happening with Rafa. There is a reason, known only to him that he has about 10% of the passion for the game. He's made a lot of decisions like the one you listed above since his comeback, and until he shakes that off...

you have had to endure a lot. a lot of suffering and pain.

you must be a very strong woman. that is a lot to overcome.





I think you are right. the passion to go out there and dominate is not there.


injuries played a role. and now he is so deep in the hole with his game and his fitness that he just cant find the energy to work hard enough to come all the way back.



it is a shame with all the injuries he has had to deal with. by my calculations he is sitting on 18 slams today if you take away his injuries.



more on this later.