CAMELOT FANTASIES

It's a long haul back for Delpo.  If he doesn't make it back this time then I fear he may hang up the stick.

I agree, there have been too many stops-starts for him in the last couple of years. It's heartbreaking when you think of how hard these guys work for so many years only to get put out of the game in your prime. I can't imagine how Juan Martin feels; an emotional rollercoaster I bet.

Lady TT, I didn't get a chance to watch this live as I was elsewhere.  Finished downloading it a little while ago.  Maybe I shouldn't have.

The first set was painful to watch as a tennis or Nadal fan.  Thiem didn't start well.  Nadal was a bit better and had a 2-0 lead but horribly dropped his own serve and soon it was 2-2.  Rafa's forehand was suspect. They went that way until 4-3 Nadal, and Nadal had a break point at 30-40, second serve, then put a routine forehand return into the net, and Thiem held serve.  Then again,  at 4-4, Nadal dropped his serve with some poor shots, many on the forehand and Thiem closed out the first set.  Many errors.  Rallies didn't last long at all. 

The second set was fairly even, some good play and some not, but this time Nadal broke Thiem at 4-4, and won the set.

The 3rd set was a little better play, but at 5-4 Nadal, with Thiem serving to stay in the match, Rafa threw away a match point with another poor return of second serve that did not make it to the service line, and Thiem was on top of the point from there and rescued the game.   After that they went through the motions, barely, as Rafa did not seem to even go after balls that he normally would, to the tiebreaker, and Rafa just looked flat or tired or demoralized or uninterested, take your pick.  He started with a double fault that barely made the bottom of the net, made 3 more errors and was down 6-1 before he knew what hit him.  Even though Thiem stumbled a bit, it still felt like a foregone conclusion and Thiem took the tiebreak 7-4 and the match.

Thiem played ok, hit some balls hard like others that have beaten Nadal recently, but nothing special. Rafa, was up and down way too much, and at the end seemed to be thinking of Rio or something, maybe Mallorca.  Who knows? 

To me it was just sad to see the Clay King like this, beaten in a 250 against a player that shouldn't beat him.  But the same story, no consistency, a poor first set, and then seemed to tire late,  like he isn't getting enough practice or training, or something.  Maybe he was sick.  I saw him taking pill a couple of times against Monaco and Lorenzi.  But look, even Ferrer was beaten by Almagro yesterday, so you never know.

Let's see if Rafa will be better in Rio.  That tournament has tougher players, and if Rafa doesn't improve, I don't think he can make it far there.  He has Pablo Carreno Busta in the first round and maybe Almagro in the second, with Dogopolov, Tsonga, Cuevas also lurking in his half.

I guess I was hoping for more from Rafa. After going out early in Australia, I thought he would be highly motivated to do well in Buenos Aires.  Oh well.  Unfortunately I don't see that much has changed.  In this match, he seemed unwilling to keep points going, going to drop shots, trying for winners, instead of keeping the ball in play and grinding.  But again, maybe he isn't feeling fit.

I had looked for him to start giving it his usual big clay effort so that he might make a run at Roland Garros this year, and maybe he still can, but he seems to still lack a lot.
If he can't get it done this year, then he has to put in a lot of hard work this year, to do it in 2017, or else I think he retires.  At times, it looks like he doesn't want to be out there, no matter what his team and he are saying publicly.   His new Tennis Academy in Manacor is scheduled to open in around June this year; my guess is right after Roland Garros.  Maybe he is thinking about that. 

Rafa really hasn't been the quite the same since the Australian Open of 2014, even though he somehow managed to win Roland Garros later.   Certainly after RG, things deteriorated in a big way.    Losing to Fognini 3 times last year, a player that hadn't beaten him in the past, twice on clay and once at the US Open after leading 2 sets to love tells the story.  We saw signs of this after 2010, in 2011 were he said he had lost his passion for the sport.  He became distracted with other things like fishing, golf, poker, whatever, but after taking a long break in 2012, he came back on fire in 2013 and had another superb year.  But even great players have only so many comebacks in them.

Regardless of all that, Rafa has had a great career.  One hopes he can end it on his terms.

Respectfully,
masterclass

he said he was tired after his match with verdasco in Melbourne.

and he says he feels tired after this match against Dominic.


he lost early in Melbourne. he has had all this time to work a little bit on his fitness and to put in some extra training on clay.


he is simply not doing what is required even for minimum standard at this level.


he has found himself on the golf course at least 4 times since that loss in Melbourne. and then there are other promotional and sponsorship driven appearances all over the place.


he doesn't have to worry about Djokovic now. he really cant win more than a match or 2 at any event at this current rate so he will never face Djokovic again.


of course Djokovic also doesn't have to play chicken **** 250 level events either so we know there is no chance of running into Djokovic there.


the problem is that of insufficient motivation. Rafa simply doesn't care to win anymore and he wont win.


we all are going to have to live with that.


it absolutely makes no sense but keep showing up time and again with horrible preparation and yet that is exactly what he is doing.


the man is not just worn out after the match. he is essentially worn out after just 40 minutes into the match.


he doubles over while holding the net after just 20-30 minutes of practice. his 2 hour practice sessions are really just 90 minutes of farting around from his backhand corner where he hits forehands. is it any wonder then why has little or no consistency.


and once in a blue moon he can get himself to hit a few backhands.


he does go to the gym but not regularly and it is just token/cosmetic work at best. absolutely zero gains are being made on the fitness front.


he himself said that he has to improve physically.


no **** Sherlock. you really should be ashamed of yourself now. there are guy out there nearly 10 years older that are putting in an immense of time on the fitness front and also doing tons of physical work in the gym.

he has no fitness and barely just 30% of his ground game.


Rafa as we knew him is done. we will just have to celebrate his 14 majors and relive them from time to time.


that is all we have left. who the hell cares to watch him play at such pathetic levels. I rather remember him as the gladiator he once was.



I cant even bear to watch the highlights. it just shatters my heart.

extreme amount of hard work and laser like focus on the profession will fix the issues.

and it has to be clay.


time is running out very fast.

When Rafa was Clay Warrior King


In 2008 at Roland Garros, Nadal did not lose a set during the tournament.

His last 4 matches were:

Round of 16:  vs. Verdasco  6-1, 6-0, 6-2
QuarterFinal: vs. Almagro  6-1, 6-1, 6-1
SemiFinal: vs. Djokovic 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(3)
Final: vs. Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-0

Respectfully,
masterclass

mass and utter devastation.


he was breaking serve 2 out of every 3 times in that event.



and last year--on clay against the top 10 players--he was not even able to break serve 20% of the time. it was slightly under 20% to be exact. he cant even get the ball back anymore.  you cant win if you cant break.



so people can get idea of the fall. it has been a free fall as well. he has done absolutely nothing to break the fall.



nothing. it has all been lip service and idle talk for public consumption.

Quote from: thetruth on February 16, 2016, 08:25:21 am

Quote from: masterclass on February 14, 2016, 03:33:21 am

Lady TT, I didn't get a chance to watch this live as I was elsewhere.  Finished downloading it a little while ago.  Maybe I shouldn't have.

The first set was painful to watch as a tennis or Nadal fan.  Thiem didn't start well.  Nadal was a bit better and had a 2-0 lead but horribly dropped his own serve and soon it was 2-2.  Rafa's forehand was suspect. They went that way until 4-3 Nadal, and Nadal had a break point at 30-40, second serve, then put a routine forehand return into the net, and Thiem held serve.  Then again,  at 4-4, Nadal dropped his serve with some poor shots, many on the forehand and Thiem closed out the first set.  Many errors.  Rallies didn't last long at all. 

The second set was fairly even, some good play and some not, but this time Nadal broke Thiem at 4-4, and won the set.

The 3rd set was a little better play, but at 5-4 Nadal, with Thiem serving to stay in the match, Rafa threw away a match point with another poor return of second serve that did not make it to the service line, and Thiem was on top of the point from there and rescued the game.   After that they went through the motions, barely, as Rafa did not seem to even go after balls that he normally would, to the tiebreaker, and Rafa just looked flat or tired or demoralized or uninterested, take your pick.  He started with a double fault that barely made the bottom of the net, made 3 more errors and was down 6-1 before he knew what hit him.  Even though Thiem stumbled a bit, it still felt like a foregone conclusion and Thiem took the tiebreak 7-4 and the match.

Thiem played ok, hit some balls hard like others that have beaten Nadal recently, but nothing special. Rafa, was up and down way too much, and at the end seemed to be thinking of Rio or something, maybe Mallorca.  Who knows? 

To me it was just sad to see the Clay King like this, beaten in a 250 against a player that shouldn't beat him.  But the same story, no consistency, a poor first set, and then seemed to tire late,  like he isn't getting enough practice or training, or something.  Maybe he was sick.  I saw him taking pill a couple of times against Monaco and Lorenzi.  But look, even Ferrer was beaten by Almagro yesterday, so you never know.

Let's see if Rafa will be better in Rio.  That tournament has tougher players, and if Rafa doesn't improve, I don't think he can make it far there.  He has Pablo Carreno Busta in the first round and maybe Almagro in the second, with Dogopolov, Tsonga, Cuevas also lurking in his half.

I guess I was hoping for more from Rafa. After going out early in Australia, I thought he would be highly motivated to do well in Buenos Aires.  Oh well.  Unfortunately I don't see that much has changed.  In this match, he seemed unwilling to keep points going, going to drop shots, trying for winners, instead of keeping the ball in play and grinding.  But again, maybe he isn't feeling fit.

I had looked for him to start giving it his usual big clay effort so that he might make a run at Roland Garros this year, and maybe he still can, but he seems to still lack a lot.
If he can't get it done this year, then he has to put in a lot of hard work this year, to do it in 2017, or else I think he retires.  At times, it looks like he doesn't want to be out there, no matter what his team and he are saying publicly.   His new Tennis Academy in Manacor is scheduled to open in around June this year; my guess is right after Roland Garros.  Maybe he is thinking about that. 

Rafa really hasn't been the quite the same since the Australian Open of 2014, even though he somehow managed to win Roland Garros later.   Certainly after RG, things deteriorated in a big way.    Losing to Fognini 3 times last year, a player that hadn't beaten him in the past, twice on clay and once at the US Open after leading 2 sets to love tells the story.  We saw signs of this after 2010, in 2011 were he said he had lost his passion for the sport.  He became distracted with other things like fishing, golf, poker, whatever, but after taking a long break in 2012, he came back on fire in 2013 and had another superb year.  But even great players have only so many comebacks in them.

Regardless of all that, Rafa has had a great career.  One hopes he can end it on his terms.

Respectfully,
masterclass

You know what? I was just frustrated that day seeing the inconsistency, bad errors, etc. But, then I saw him taking medicine during his matches and thought, "Hm, maybe something is wrong." Then I felt bad for judging him because the truth is we don't know what is going on. It could be a multitude of different issues.

Sometimes I have health problems, but things look fine on the outside. That doesn't mean that I don't have to go to the grocery store, the bank, etc. Last year my prescribed medications attacked my body. I didn't know why I had no energy, but I couldn't walk for more than a few paces without being weary and feeling like I was going to pass out. But when I went to the grocery store I had to use a motorized cart with a basket on it to get staples like eggs, milk, butter, etc. You can't imagine the dirty looks I got from patrons who assumed that I was being lazy. It was horrible, me sitting in that chair knowing that I physically couldn't peruse that many aisles and that the contraption that I was using was the only thing that allowed me to get food for me and my son.

After I wrote that post I remembered that and I felt bad, because I don't know what the problem is, only time will tell, but I am reserving judgment because many times we won't know what this period is about until twenty years later when it comes out in a book. I can't remember which tournament it was one year when Pete Sampras was going through a rough period and everyone was trying to find an answer. Later on we found out that he had, I think is was, the rotator cuff problem in his shoulder. So you never know what's going on.

For a person as competitive as Rafa is, this has to be a difficult time for him. I don't believe that he forgot how to play tennis, or he's intentionally giving a bad effort. I think there are things going on that can't be disclosed at this time.

And at the end of the day, the most important thing to me is Rafa, not tennis in general. I hope he gets through this rough patch, but even if he doesn't he's had a brilliant career.

What you say rings true Lady TT.  We on the outside don't know all that is going on within a player's head or body, team, or directives from the tour.  Maybe we will find out later when books are written.  Maybe not. But as a long time observer of the game and Rafa, he is definitely not playing close to what he was,  and can only wonder at the reasons behind why his fitness has deteriorated so much.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Oh no, he doesn't even resemble the same player and it's not just physical. It's more than that. It's the lack of intensity and emotion. The fear of going for shots he used to take for granted. He doesn't hunker down on the big points anymore. He doesn't try to keep the error sheet clean and even more surprising he doesn't seem to care like the Rafa of old would have.

I just think it's a culmination of many things, not just this or that, but some other things have to be put in place before everything comes back together. There's something wrong. I can feel it, but I can't totally identify it. 

Great article by Steve Flink

02/15/2016

Steve Flink: Nadal is still fighting to get back to glory

http://tennischannel.com/steve-flink-nadal-is-still-fighting-to-get-back-to-glory/

Having been a close observer of tennis since 1965—and a full time reporter on the sport since 1974—I have had the good fortune to witness a cavalcade of prodigious performers through the years and across the decades. I have seen champions of every ilk, towering figures who transcended the game in many ways, outstanding individuals who have displayed their gifts, grit and greatness over long spans of time. The game has been blessed with an abundance of players who have enriched our lives with their collective talent, diversity and originality.

But perhaps no one in the last fifty years has intrigued me more as a human being than Rafael Nadal. He has brought a singular brand of joy, verve and intensity to the arena, an earnest and unshakable professionalism, and a deep sense of humility that has been exceeded by no one in the upper reaches of the sport with the exception of the honorable Australian Ken Rosewall. Nadal refuses every invitation to pat himself on the back. He is appreciative of all the prestigious prizes he garners, taking nothing for granted, respecting all of his adversaries regardless of their rankings. He is a fundamentally decent fellow with a highly unusual outlook for an athlete of his stature. No matter how much he wins, regardless of his standing at any given time, Nadal seems to be listening to a very loud inner voice telling him, “Don’t get carried away. Success is fleeting. This could be over tomorrow.”

That philosophy of treating himself as simply a hard working man doing the best he can to succeed in a ferociously competitive field has served the Spaniard remarkably well over the course of his storied career. His self effacing nature has defined his staunch character, and endeared him to fans in every corner of the globe. But now Nadal needs to remind himself who he is, why he has come through so frequently under pressure, and how he secured 14 major titles from 2005-2014. The fight for Nadal to reestablish his identity, recover his confidence and reignite his game will not be easy.

The past couple of years have been emotionally taxing and complicated for this left-hander with a singularly large heart and a work ethic that is surely second to none in his profession. The year 2014 was the start of a downward spiral for the Spaniard. He seemed certain to open that campaign with a triumph at the Australian Open. Nadal upended Roger Federer to reach the final in Melbourne, and faced Stan Wawrinka for the title. Nadal owned a 12-0 career winning record over the Swiss No. 2, and had never even lost a set to a big hitter who had never taken a major singles title.

In the warmup for that match, Nadal felt something uncomfortable in his back. After losing the first set and falling behind in the second, with the pain worsening, he took an injury timeout. Nadal returned but was clearly not himself, and Wawrinka played beautifully to win in four sets.The back issues lingered into the spring, and en route to Roland Garros even his revered clay court game was nowhere its normal level. Somehow he managed to collect a ninth crown at the French Open with a four set victory over Novak Djokovic, thus extending his men’s record of winning at least one major to ten consecutive seasons. He took that title essentially on reputation, determination, ingenuity and willpower.

And yet, the rest of that year was a wipeout. After losing to a highly charged Nick Kyrgios on the Centre Court of Wimbledon in the fourth round, Nadal barely competed the rest of the year, missing the U.S. Open with a wrist injury, dealing with an appendectomy in the autumn. Although he did capture three tournament titles in 2015, he fared badly in the majors, losing in the quarterfinals of the Australian and French Opens, falling in the second round of Wimbledon, and bowing out of the U.S. Open in the third round despite taking a two sets to love lead over Fabio Fognini.

That was irrefutably the low point for Nadal, who had not squandered a two set lead since early in 2005 against Federer in Miami. He was clearly at an intricate crossroads. But then he seemed to move past his disappointments and toward the positive psychological territory he had regularly inhabited during sunnier stretches. It was a different and more self assured Nadal who recovered a large measure of pride and conviction across the autumn. After the Open, he appeared in five ATP World Tour events and also played one Davis Cup match. He won 17 of 22 matches in that span. In the five tournaments, he lost only to Djokovic (twice), Federer, Wawrinka and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He reached two finals (Beijing and Basel), two semifinals (Shanghai and London) and one quarterfinal (Paris). Moreover, he recorded two wins over Wawrinka and one over Andy Murray in that stretch.

Things were looking up for Nadal as he approached 2016. He plainly was revitalized, and was seemingly feeling considerably more optimistic. In the final of his opening tournament, he reached the final in Doha. Although he was clobbered 6-1, 6-2 by a sublime Djokovic, the fact remained that Nadal was maintaining his week in, week out consistency, and he seemed fully capable of reaching at least the semifinals and perhaps the final of the Australian Open. But he suffered a jarring setback there, falling in five sets against Fernando Verdasco in that clash of southpaw Spaniards.

Despite that startling and unjustifiable defeat—his third consecutive early round loss in a Grand Slam event—Nadal sounded upbeat and ready to make swift amends. He had a few weeks off, and then went this past week to Buenos Aires to the Argentina Open in search of a 48th career clay court title. Nadal had ample time to prepare for that event after the quick departure in Melbourne. This was a chance to jumpstart his 2016 season and get back into the stable mindset that characterized his play late in 2015.

Nadal was not very impressive in cutting down Juan Monaco and Paolo Lorenzi to set up a semifinal appointment with Dominic Thiem, the big hitting, 22-year-old Austrian. This was a significant test not only for Thiem—who had beaten only one top ten ranked player in his still young and rapidly evolving career— but also for Nadal, who knew full well that he was confronting a dangerous player who leaped into the world’s top twenty at the end of 2015 and now stood at No. 19.

Thiem has an awful lot going for him: a terrific one-handed topspin backhand, a vicious kick serve in the ad court that lands short and bounds up high and wide, a crackling forehand that is his point dictating shot, and a tactical flexibility that is rare for a player of his age and relative inexperience. To be sure, Thiem, who had played Nadal only once before back in 2014 at Roland Garros, was always going to be a dangerous opponent for the Spaniard, particularly if the Spaniard was not near the peak of his current powers.

Nadal made just the start he would have wanted, securing an early 2-0 lead by breaking Thiem in the second game with some solid returning and good depth in the rallies. Nadal thus had the opportunity to seize control of the set if he could hold in the third game. A confident Nadal would have done just that. Instead, he faltered, losing his serve at 15 with a pair or unforced errors off the forehand. Rather than building a 3-0 lead and leaving Thiem with a difficult uphill battle, Nadal had allowed his foe right back into the set. Thiem now started hitting out freely off the forehand. He rallied to 2-2 and both men held for 3-3.

In the seventh game, Nadal saved a break point with his familiar ad court wide serve setting up a trademark inside out forehand winner. He held for 4-3 and then had a break point in the eighth game. He stood one point away from serving for the set. Thiem’s second serve on that point was unexceptional, but Nadal bungled the return flagrantly, smothering his forehand with excessive topspin into the net. He looked baffled and disconcerted after that lost opportunity. Thiem held on, broke Nadal in the following game, and served out the set in the tenth game. The 6-4 scoreline for Thiem could easily have been reversed. Nadal had wasted his early chance with the 2-0 lead, and had then squandered that break point for 5-3.

On to the second set. Nadal competed with quiet fury to keep himself in the match while Thiem sustained a high level of play. At 3-3, Thiem had a break point but Nadal erased it with a magnificent inside in forehand winner. At 4-4, Nadal surged to 40-0 but needed five game points before holding on tenuously to establish a 5-4 lead. Nadal broke through in the following game to seal the set 6-4. It was one set all. Nadal seemed likely to seize control of the contest from that juncture on.

But Thiem had one of his most effective return games at the outset of the third set. He broke for 1-0. Nadal saved two break points but Thiem was controlling points largely, and he sealed the break on the third opportunity before holding for 2-0. Nadal proceeded to play a superb service game to hold at love in the third game, unleashing a backhand crosscourt winner, an inside out forehand winner, and a couple of stinging backhands that forced errors.

Thiem missed a smash from on top of the net in the following game that enabled Nadal to reach 30-30, and the Spaniard took full advantage of that lapse. He broke for 2-2 and held at love for 3-2. Thiem appeared to be fatigued, but he halted Nadal’s three game surge, holding for 3-3. At 4-4, Nadal revealed some unmistakable anxiety, double faulting for 15-30. But Thiem failed to make good on his opening. Nadal squirmed out of trouble, winning three points in a row for 5-4. In the following game, he advanced to match point. He hit a reasonably deep ball down the middle, and Thiem seemed slightly off balance as he leaped up and out to hit an inside out forehand winner. He was rolling the dice to a degree, but the gamble worked to the hilt; his shot turned into a dazzling winner. After five deuces, with both men playing some extraordinary tennis, Thiem held on gamely for 5-5. Both men held to set up a tie-break.

Nadal commenced that sequence in the worst possible way, double faulting into the net on the first point. Thiem was buoyed by that surprise start. He used a strong first strong first serve to set up a forehand winner and then aced Nadal down the T for a 3-0 lead. Nadal won the next point, but followed with a forehand unforced error and a netted backhand drop shot. Those mistakes from Nadal lifted Thiem to 5-1. A winning overhead from the Austrian gave him a 6-1 lead. A typically resolute Nadal saved three match points, but, serving at 6-4, Thiem admirably came forward to force an errant backhand passing shot from the top seed. Thiem gained the victory 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (4).

To be sure, Thiem played a superb match, giving a first class effort all the way, somehow finding a second wind at the end, fending off Nadal down the stretch. He won the tournament on Sunday with another triumph in a final set tie-break, this time over Nicolas Almagro. Thiem is headed swiftly and surely toward the top ten, and he may challenge for the top five by next year.

But where does this loss leave Nadal? He keeps saying the right things and indicating that he is convinced he can turn things around. That is understandable. In all three matches at Buenos Aires, he was driving the forehand down the line like the prime time Rafa, and perhaps with even more authority. Against Thiem, he was cracking the backhand with improved velocity and good control, flattening out that stroke repeatedly, angling away shots crosscourt off that side and threading the needle down the line as well. The forehand drop shot was another added dimension in Nadal’s game.

And yet, the consistency we witnessed in the Nadal of old was sorely missing. He made too many unforced errors off both sides, and that was costly. Most importantly, Nadal is losing too many close encounters he once would have won; against Verdasco in Australia he was thrice two points from winning in four sets but never got across the finish line. Against Thiem, he did not convert his match point opportunity, and then played an abysmal final set tie-break.

Only a fool would say that Nadal has moved permanently beyond the point where he can be a serious threat at the majors. But he needs to make a move soon. Very soon. His supreme mental toughness and propensity to play the big points fearlessly were always his largest strengths, but not these days. The 29-year-old has not won a tournament of any kind since he triumphed on the clay of Hamburg last July. In the last three majors, he has won a total of three matches. He must be dismayed by showings that seem impossibly poor by his standards.

Nadal is an immensely modest man. Maybe that modesty is getting impeding him now. He might well be selling himself short, listening too frequently to that skeptical inner voice, and forgetting that he did not establish himself indisputably among the greatest players in the history of the game by accident. The fact remains that he has some very difficult work ahead if he wants to climb back up the ladder once more and find himself again in the latter stages of majors. His ground game must become as consistent as it once was. He needs to keep implementing the forehand down the line unhesitatingly. He would do well to use the forehand drop shot as judiciously as he did in Buenos Aires.

Above all else, Nadal can’t afford a 2016 that is strikingly reminiscent of the year gone by; this will surely be a make or break year for the unwavering Spaniard. He must start anew this week in Rio de Janeiro at the Rio Open, and demonstrate unequivocally that he still has what it takes to flourish in that rarefied air reserved only for the elite. I am beginning to have my doubts that he can still reside in the land of luminaries, but I do know this: Rafael Nadal will not surrender. He will fight with every fiber of his being to remind himself and the world that even the most humble of men can reemerge after a long time away from the summit to reclaim their former glories.