CAMELOT FANTASIES

well I am his greatest fan on the planet and also all the galaxies but I am also his greatest critic.

of course I am not happy with him.


but I always call it like I see it and I call it fairly and justly. and quite often I catch rafa saying the same thing I am saying. only me and general masterclass say it long before rafa says it or even so called the tennis experts say it.


it is probably because we have watched his every move on the court. we know his game and we know his tennis sensitivities on the court.


I never deviated for a second. I said rafa in straights or 4 in the final no matter who is the adversary.


rafa actually floundered a little bit in the first set. it could have been in straights.


at any rate this French open title was absolutely crucial to my calling it this early for the title at flushing meadows.

now I am certain that he will snatch his 15th major at the u.s. open.

its rafa in straights or 4 sets no matter who is the adversary.


he is 14-6 in slam finals. once he gets there, its a fairly tough ask to derail him.

it really should have been 17-3 already but those are lost opportunities. I think he has time to make that up.

I reread this post. I didn't word it correctly. I wasn't saying that you doubted him. I meant, I thought you were going to hit him upside the head for not doing what he was supposed to do.

From the beginning you said it would go four max. That was some awesome foresight.

Quote from: Clay Death on June 10, 2014, 02:26:28 pm

well I am his greatest fan on the planet and also all the galaxies but I am also his greatest critic.

of course I am not happy with him.


but I always call it like I see it and I call it fairly and justly. and quite often I catch rafa saying the same thing I am saying. only me and general masterclass say it long before rafa says it or even so called the tennis experts say it.


it is probably because we have watched his every move on the court. we know his game and we know his tennis sensitivities on the court.


I never deviated for a second. I said rafa in straights or 4 in the final no matter who is the adversary.


rafa actually floundered a little bit in the first set. it could have been in straights.


at any rate this French open title was absolutely crucial to my calling it this early for the title at flushing meadows.

now I am certain that he will snatch his 15th major at the u.s. open.

its rafa in straights or 4 sets no matter who is the adversary.


he is 14-6 in slam finals. once he gets there, its a fairly tough ask to derail him.

it really should have been 17-3 already but those are lost opportunities. I think he has time to make that up.

I reread this post. I didn't word it correctly. I wasn't saying that you doubted him. I meant, I thought you were going to hit him upside the head for not doing what he was supposed to do.

From the beginning you said it would go four max. That was some awesome foresight.

thanks princess TT.


well we always call it like we see it at Camelot. sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.



rafa is just too dangerous in a final of any grand slam but he is double dangerous in a final at RG. quite simply he just knows what he has to do there to get that win.

he makes the needed adjustments and he never ever lets go of his belief and his relentless will.


of course we have noticed that from him at RG before but he has always been so dominant there. he just ran over the people there in the past.


this year was a little different. he was not quite himself. his untimely back injury cost him a slam in Melbourne.

he had never lost as many matches on clay as he did this year going into Paris. his movement was off and his shots lacked the mustard.

he would dig deep and summon his will quietly and assuredly. it took a lot of work considering this was not the same supremely fit Rafa we had come to know but he would find a way.

nole is a brutal competitor who can do it all so it was not exactly simple or easy.

this took an immense amount of work, wisdom, and courage.

did you know that Rafa only lost 2 sets at RG this year? ridiculous achievement considering so many back issues and even some fitness issues.


what he has lost is some fitness and some of his physicality. that, in turn, has constrained his movement to some extent. and it has affected the velocity of his shots. he is not hitting the ball as hard as he has in the past.

he just has to dedicate some time to getting that back. he is still young having just made 28.

Quote from: thetruth on June 10, 2014, 08:08:57 pm

Quote from: Clay Death on June 10, 2014, 02:26:28 pm

well I am his greatest fan on the planet and also all the galaxies but I am also his greatest critic.

of course I am not happy with him.


but I always call it like I see it and I call it fairly and justly. and quite often I catch rafa saying the same thing I am saying. only me and general masterclass say it long before rafa says it or even so called the tennis experts say it.


it is probably because we have watched his every move on the court. we know his game and we know his tennis sensitivities on the court.


I never deviated for a second. I said rafa in straights or 4 in the final no matter who is the adversary.


rafa actually floundered a little bit in the first set. it could have been in straights.


at any rate this French open title was absolutely crucial to my calling it this early for the title at flushing meadows.

now I am certain that he will snatch his 15th major at the u.s. open.

its rafa in straights or 4 sets no matter who is the adversary.


he is 14-6 in slam finals. once he gets there, its a fairly tough ask to derail him.

it really should have been 17-3 already but those are lost opportunities. I think he has time to make that up.

I reread this post. I didn't word it correctly. I wasn't saying that you doubted him. I meant, I thought you were going to hit him upside the head for not doing what he was supposed to do.

From the beginning you said it would go four max. That was some awesome foresight.

thanks princess TT.


well we always call it like we see it at Camelot. sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.



rafa is just too dangerous in a final of any grand slam but he is double dangerous in a final at RG. quite simply he just knows what he has to do there to get that win.

he makes the needed adjustments and he never ever lets go of his belief and his relentless will.


of course we have noticed that from him at RG before but he has always been so dominant there. he just ran over the people there in the past.


this year was a little different. he was not quite himself. his untimely back injury cost him a slam in Melbourne.

he had never lost as many matches on clay as he did this year going into Paris. his movement was off and his shots lacked the mustard.

he would dig deep and summon his will quietly and assuredly. it took a lot of work considering this was not the same supremely fit Rafa we had come to know but he would find a way.

nole is a brutal competitor who can do it all so it was not exactly simple or easy.

this took an immense amount of work, wisdom, and courage.

did you know that Rafa only lost 2 sets at RG this year? ridiculous achievement considering so many back issues and even some fitness issues.


what he has lost is some fitness and some of his physicality. that, in turn, has constrained his movement to some extent. and it has affected the velocity of his shots. he is not hitting the ball as hard as he has in the past.

he just has to dedicate some time to getting that back. he is still young having just made 28.

I'm so glad that it worked out. Melbourne was unbelievable. I liked when he said "this tournament gave me what Australian took away." I guess I should've factored in that he had lost Melbourne in such an unlikeyl manner. But, that's our Rafa he was determined to not go down 0-2 in majors, lose the #1 ranking and put himself behind the eight ball.

There was a picture of Toni talking to him before the final at RG and the look of concentration on his face was so intense. That's why Nadal is so good, he listens.

I keep trying to teach my son that. Listening is learning. Being stubborn only makes one a jackass. There are so many players who could be higher ranked and have/had better careers if only they had listened.

I was watching James Blake the other day in the PowerShares series and thinking about what he could've done. The commentators made the point that he had never used his speed and athleticism to stay in points longer and wait for the best shot.

His response has always been, "that's my game." Dumb, dumb, dumb. When you are gifted with tremendous talent it's your responsibility to maximize your potential. Unfortunately JB doesn't see it that way. Consequently, he barely squeaked past JMac, a player twenty years his senior.

my little nephew is a soccer star and a tennis player now.

yesterday I had to make a trip out of town to go have dinner with mom and dad at my brother's place.

my little nephew showed me his new tennis racquet. it was a babolat racquet for little kids. guess whose name was on that racquet?


Rafa.


I then asked my nephew--Nathan---to show me a picture of Rafa on his mini IPad. he had no trouble finding one.



Rafa is going to make over $1 billion over his entire lifetime from his 9-10 RG crowns. his name will be on everything under the sun. that is a feat of staggering herculean proportions. nobody is going to ever come close to even 1/2 of those totals. I say these days even 2 RG crowns are nearly impossible. the sport has become too demanding.


just look how good Nole is and he cant even capture one. it took Federer forever to grab one. Johnny Mac could not secure even a single RG. Sampras, Connors, Edberg, newcombe, and the like all got left out of RG.


Rafa will singlehandedly help Babolat dominate the global market for Babolat tennis racquets and other Babolat products.


and in the mean time his popularity continues to soar. more and more corporate sponsors are lining up everyday.



at any rate I am worried about his security. I don't know why his father doesn't make sure his son is protected by a few tall bodyguards at all times. I mean they only have over $300 million in the bank and another $1 billion on the way over a lifetime.

Nike made Rafa out of clay but Camelot went one step further:


Camelot made Rafa of pure gold because Rafa is golden:

I can't believe Andy Murray lost today.


Rafa is in trouble too. he really needs to go and get some rest.

More than trouble, but it's good because he needs the rest. Andy too, RG was the first major after the back surgery and he ran out of steam. Federer lost earlier than usual at RG so that at least gave him a bit of time to recover. Nole was the only one who took off. It's looking like a smart decision right about now.

I'm glad they're changing the schedule next year. Give the players time to rest and recover.

Rafa said he might play an Eco on grass next week.


he also said his knee is better this year.


so he might try to grab a few wins at Wimbledon.

That might not be a bad idea, especially since he at least got a feel of the grass, but rest would be good too.

I don't think this loss means much though in the grand scheme of things.