Author Topic: The Truth's Rant And Rave Show: Now In Progress (Read 66106 times)

thetruth · « **Reply #2640 on:** July 19, 2015, 02:52:30 pm »

Quote from: Clay Death on July 15, 2015, 02:51:35 pm

Serena is not wasting valuable time.

She knows she will soon have 50 years of vacationing.

She is in Bastad winning tennis matches.

total domination at this advance age.

It requires hard work and dedication and she is doing it.

Serena is amazing. She hasn't lost a step. At her age she is still heads and shoulders above the rest of the tour. She's also had to re-dedicate herself to the tour after having injuries. In retrospect, things have worked out to her advantage.

masterclass · « **Reply #2641 on:** July 20, 2015, 06:42:51 am »

It's official! Rafa has accepted a wild card for Hamburg at Am Rothenbaum!

7 years after his last appearance, Rafa returns to Hamburg!

This is good news. I wish he had played in Bastad though, but he said he couldn't commit. He has many irons in the fire.

I suppose 4 or 5 matches on clay is better than nothing.

After Hamburg, he has a decision to make.

1. Does he play the next week in the 250 event in Kitzbuhel, Austria on clay, the last clay event of the year?
2. Or, does he play the same week in the 500 event in Washington, DC on hard courts?
3. Or, does he skip those events and on Aug 10, go straight into the Canadian Masters in Montreal on hard courts?

I think he will choose #3. I might advise #1 (it's beautiful there

and clay court title leader Vilas won 4 titles there). Some others are advising #2. It depends on how much he wants to work and play, knowing the two hard court masters are back to back (Cincinnati follows Canada).

Respectfully,
masterclass

Clay Death · « **Reply #2642 on:** July 20, 2015, 08:57:58 pm »

I am in Baton Rouge with mom and dad.

I will be getting back home quite late.

Clay Death · « **Reply #2643 on:** July 21, 2015, 03:15:19 am »

Quote from: masterclass on July 20, 2015, 06:42:51 am

It's official! Rafa has accepted a wild card for Hamburg at Am Rothenbaum!

7 years after his last appearance, Rafa returns to Hamburg!

This is good news. I wish he had played in Bastad though, but he said he couldn't commit. He has many irons in the fire.

I suppose 4 or 5 matches on clay is better than nothing.

After Hamburg, he has a decision to make.

1. Does he play the next week in the 250 event in Kitzbuhel, Austria on clay, the last clay event of the year?
2. Or, does he play the same week in the 500 event in Washington, DC on hard courts?
3. Or, does he skip those events and on Aug 10, go straight into the Canadian Masters in Montreal on hard courts?

I think he will choose #3. I might advise #1 (it's beautiful there and clay court title leader Vilas won 4 titles there). Some others are advising #2. It depends on how much he wants to work and play, knowing the two hard court masters are back to back (Cincinnati follows Canada).

Respectfully,
masterclass

the great Vilas. he was called the bull also.

Rafa wont get far at this event with his current level of play and fitness.

but the good news is that he is on clay.

you saw serena waste no time in getting on clay after Wimbledon and she won Wimbledon.

vacations are far more important to Rafa than to save his career.

I am afraid it is too late his chances for another slam unless he totally and completely rededicates himself to the sport again and engages in as much practice and match play on clay as possible until RG next year.

he allowed himself too much of a drop. only he can come back but you know it cant happen unless he wins on clay.

and for him to win on clay will require considerable practice and match play on clay and also immense amount of work on fitness front.

this is not a sudden drop. this is a drop well over 2 years in the making.

conchita Martinez said that even Rafa does not or may not know what is happening to him. but Rafa does know. I will expound on this later in the next post.

and we know at Camelot: he has lost his relentless will and his drive to fight and win tennis matches.

and exactly why he managed to lose it right on the middle of his prime and with so close to staring down history is a topic for the tennis historians.

more on this later tomorrow.

masterclass · « **Reply #2644 on:** July 21, 2015, 07:05:14 am »

Great post general.

The last time Rafa played in Hamburg he beat many of the toughest players around.

R1 - Bye
R2 - Potito Starace
R3 - #15 Andy Murray
QF - #11 Carlos Moya
SF - #3 Novak Djokovic
F - #1 Roger Federer

When he took the title back in 2008, the German Open in Hamburg was part of the Masters Series on clay. The next year, this historic and one of the oldest tournaments (since 1892) shamefully got demoted to an ATP 500 event, and Madrid changed from hard courts to clay and took its slot.

They tried to do a similar thing with historic Monte Carlo but there were too many protests, so it stayed a Masters, but it is not mandatory like the other Masters.

Rafa has not played in Hamburg since 2008. This time, the field will be much easier, and instead of a 64 man draw it will only be 32, and instead of 16 seeds, it will only be eight.

Scheduled #1 seed Ferrer and #3 Simon were entered to play, but Simon was injured in Davis Cup, and Ferrer has been out with an injury as well.

So if those two don't play, Rafa will be top seed and may only have to face players ranked between 20 and higher. It's an excellent tournament for him to get some match play and hit a lot of ground strokes which is what he needs. The grass season didn't help him much in that regard. Yes, he won Stuttgart, but he didn't get much rhythm there and losing early in Wimbledon didn't help him either.

I remember when Borg and Vilas played at Roland Garros, and used to hit 60 and longer stroke rallies. Maybe the balls weren't whizzing back and forth like they do today due to vastly improved racquet and string tech (lubricated polyester strings), but on clay the slower tactical play builds fitness and timing.

Borg-Vilas 86 stroke rally

Respectfully,
masterclass

Clay Death · « **Reply #2645 on:** July 21, 2015, 11:29:00 am »

Quote from: masterclass on July 21, 2015, 07:05:14 am

Great post general.

The last time Rafa played in Hamburg he beat many of the toughest players around.

R1 - Bye
R2 - Potito Starace
R3 - #15 Andy Murray
QF - #11 Carlos Moya
SF - #3 Novak Djokovic
F - #1 Roger Federer

When he took the title back in 2008, the German Open in Hamburg was part of the Masters Series on clay. The next year, this historic and one of the oldest tournaments (since 1892) shamefully got demoted to an ATP 500 event, and Madrid changed from hard courts to clay and took its slot.

They tried to do a similar thing with historic Monte Carlo but there were too many protests, so it stayed a Masters, but it is not mandatory like the other Masters.

Rafa has not played in Hamburg since 2008. This time, the field will be much easier, and instead of a 64 man draw it will only be 32, and instead of 16 seeds, it will only be eight.

Scheduled #1 seed Ferrer and #3 Simon were entered to play, but Simon was injured in Davis Cup, and Ferrer has been out with an injury as well.

So if those two don't play, Rafa will be top seed and may only have to face players ranked between 20 and higher. It's an excellent tournament for him to get some match play and hit a lot of ground strokes which is what he needs. The grass season didn't help him much in that regard. Yes, he won Stuttgart, but he didn't get much rhythm there and losing early in Wimbledon didn't help him either.

I remember when Borg and Vilas played at Roland Garros, and used to hit 60 and longer stroke rallies. Maybe the balls weren't whizzing back and forth like they do today due to vastly improved racquet and string tech (lubricated polyester strings), but on clay the slower tactical play builds fitness and timing.

Borg-Vilas 86 stroke rally

Respectfully,
masterclass

love that rally general. I have seen it before but thanks for posting it. I can watch it many times again.

this sort of spells it all out. Rafa heavy and reckless neglect of clay cost him in the end.

so he has to go back to his roots. he has to stick to his knitting.

clay is the wellspring from which he flows.

playing one clay event here and one there is not going to help but at least he is taking a few right steps anyway.

at some point he has to learn for once and for all that he cant win any event anywhere now unless he embraces clay.

he has to go to hamburg and fight to the death and try to snag the title. he has to be himself again.

masterclass · « **Reply #2646 on:** July 22, 2015, 11:50:16 am »

Hello all.

Here is the latest Nadal preparation in Manacor video before Hamburg.

Looks like he is hitting with Uncle Toni. Hope he doesn't tire him out too much

Here is a video interview of Juan Monaco who was also in Mallorca practicing with Nadal this past week.
Monaco looks very quick and bouncy around the court.

Respectfully,
masterclass

thetruth · « **Reply #2647 on:** July 22, 2015, 01:26:57 pm »

Quote from: masterclass on July 22, 2015, 11:50:16 am

Hello all.

Here is the latest Nadal preparation in Manacor video before Hamburg.

Looks like he is hitting with Uncle Toni. Hope he doesn't tire him out too much

Here is a video interview of Juan Monaco who was also in Mallorca practicing with Nadal this past week.
Monaco looks very quick and bouncy around the court.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Nice video. I've always liked Monaco. He does look very spry around the court. You don't get to see him talk often, so that was cool.

Clay Death · « **Reply #2648 on:** July 22, 2015, 04:13:17 pm »

Rafa is in terrible shape.

He also can't seem to get out of his backhand corner.

Wake up Rafa. Work on your fitness now and at least give yourself a decent chance to get back in the game.

Clay Death · « **Reply #2649 on:** July 22, 2015, 04:19:00 pm »

Appearance fee was absolutely massive for Hamburg.

He is practicing with a guy with a wrist injury.

Again I am not sure if anything is going to happen in Hamburg.

I will just hope for the best and also pray that there are no injuries.

He is in horrible shape. Don't know why he did this to himself.

Life got in the way but life could have waited 2 years.

Soon he will have 50 years on his hands to enjoy life.

I just don't see any motivation and drive.

masterclass · « **Reply #2650 on:** July 23, 2015, 03:26:38 am »

Well general, I'm not sure if anything will happen in Hamburg. We'll see.

But it looks like the practice Monaco had with Rafa was not enough for Juan.

In his first match in Bastad, Juan lost 4-6, 2-6 against the promising 18 year old German, Alexander Zverev.

In the interview he said his wrist was ok again, but I don't know if he got enough work when he practiced with Rafa.

In the interview, Monaco actually said what they did every day. Wake up early. Breakfast. Start practice at 9 am. Finish practice about 12 noon. Go to the gym for a little rehab and then from 2-2:30 on the rest of the day, have a good time doing whatever, being with friends, boating, swimming, playing cards, etc.

So 3 hours on the court/day, general. And Monaco exited in his first match. So I don't know if that is going to get it done.

Heck general, I spend 3-4 hours on the court/day when I'm at my Mom's, and I'm not a pro.
And then yesterday we saw Rafa bent over trying to catch his breath in that hit with Uncle Toni. His footwork also looked like he was dragging his feet a lot, look how dirty his socks are, and he looked a bit lethargic. But we are only seeing bits and pieces in these videos, so who knows really.

Maybe Rafa will have better luck in Hamburg. But I remember the guys like Muster and Borg and Vilas would be practicing for 6 hours or more per day when they were coming off a break and getting ready for a tournament. They would hit in the morning take a break for lunch and then be back out there in the afternoon. But maybe things are different these days. Less time in the court, more time in the gym.

I think I understand more why Rafa needs 2-3 matches at the start of the tournament before he can be near his best. His practices aren't enough. They don't give him the timing and fitness he needs with his big topspin game. So his first 2-3 matches, he's trying to get that, and hopefully win against the lesser players in the early rounds. But if he gets a guy on fire in an early round, he isn't ready and can be beaten. But additionally, he just doesn't seem to have the fitness to go hard for 3 sets. It looks like he needs more work for his wind, and cardio. I don't think he's going to get that boating and diving with his friends. But maybe he would rather do that these days. He has done enough on court the past 10 years and wants to do other things in his life.

Pointing the finger in fun

Pointing the finger at Djokovic falling on the net, winning Roland Garros

Respectfully,
masterclass

Clay Death · « **Reply #2651 on:** July 23, 2015, 09:03:11 am »

nothing short of 7-8 hours of training and hitting against 2-4 different practice partners is going to get it done.

all heavy topspin players require immense amount of training. especially those that have won a lot in our sport:

1. vilas
2. borg
3. muster
4. clay warrior (rafa)

rafa was hitting 7-8 hours a day in 2008 in the what little off season tennis gave the players. he also played a lot. for instance he played and won more hard court matches than anyone on the planet.

his youth did the rest. now with the youth gone he is not doing nearly enough. I am afraid the decline in the game and fitness will continue at this current rate.

Clay Death · « **Reply #2652 on:** July 24, 2015, 09:16:48 pm »

rogers cup in less than 2 weeks.

north american hard court circuit is here but I don't have much hope for some of my players.

nole has the best preparation and the most confidence. he will take everything.

he is simply outworking them all on every front with zero distractions. only thing that matters to him is his profession.

nole has beaten andy 10 times in a row on all surfaces now. rafa still refuses to put in the hard yards on the practice and fitness fronts.

and roger is getting old.

stan is not young either but he has the best chance to stop nole. stan is putting in the hard yards and he is focused.

with a little bit of luck stan could steal the u.s. open.

Clay Death · « **Reply #2653 on:** July 25, 2015, 10:27:17 pm »

i saw some of the highlights from rafa's practice session in hamburg.

i am afraid he looks listless and just hopelessly out of shape.

everybody is working as hard as they possible can and playing any tennis they can. andy just played in davis cup.

roger and stan are playing davis cup in september.

rafa is showing no desire to delve into the sport.

thetruth · « **Reply #2654 on:** July 25, 2015, 11:26:27 pm »

I can imagine that psychologically he's exhausted. they have maligned this man for a decade. Everything he does, or doesn't do is magnified. I can name every player that has a win over Rafa because they mention it in every single broadcast. We have been hearing about his tics and water bottles for ten years. Why. Who else's tics are talked about ad nauseum. How often do they mention the others's tics and assign traits to them like lack of confidence, insecurity and other crap like that. No one. Who beat Djokovic, Murray, or Federer in the last 12 majors. You'd have to check that on the internet, but not Rafa, nope, that's all they talk about.

The same with Maria. They are still showing her one major win at Wimbledon from 2004, never mind that Maria hasn't been Serena in eleven years, no, they keep bringing it up, and you have to ask why. Beyond it being nonsensical, what's the motive.

This man packs stadiums everywhere he goes and has been the social media king for years. Social media is derived from the fans, people, not the powers to be, so what's the deal here. There isn't an excuse out there that makes sense. It's BS pure and simple. It's the same garbage that they pulled with Pete and Andre. It's not about merit, it's about who they like and who they support and lobby for. Pete was the nicest, most humble guy on the tour and yet they constantly picked at him. They magnified his losses and begrudgingly gave him credit. I'm tired of the same old script. It's been playing on for years like a broken record. If you're not up in their face, kissing their behinds, this is what they do. Rafa has too much integrity to play their little games, ergo, this is the constant BS his fans have become accustomed to.

It's not going to matter what Rafa does, they'll never acknowledge it in its totality, because they're more interested in having their way and getting people to go along with it.

I'm sure he's tired of it, because I am and it's not even me. That's a lot to deal with. You haven't done anything and someone has you under a microscope all the darn time. I can't wait until Rafa retires so that i never have to deal with these idiots again. I know how much of this is smoke and mirrors, and during Wimbledon Chris Evert accidentally acknowledged how the fans never get behind Maria (something I've known and noticed for years), so how is she so marketable and has been even when she had one major.

Please. It's because they said so. And it's BS. I can't with these people and the minions who follow them. I've had enough.

CAMELOT FANTASIES

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Author Topic: The Truth's Rant And Rave Show: Now In Progress (Read 66106 times)

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