CAMELOT FANTASIES

Lady TT, thanks for sharing the article!

Respectfully,
masterclass

hard work will fix some of the issues but absolutely nothing can be accomplished with the drastically reduced fitness levels and the significantly diminished physicality he is bringing to the battlefield right now.


there is plenty of inspiration to be had from the likes of djokovic, murray, and Federer.

and then there is serena. all these players are working harder than ever before on their fitness. they are also doing more physical work in the gym than ever before.

if you cant win then you start looking at the winners and see what they are doing and how they are doing it.

Greetings Lady TT, General CD , General Masterclass

Great threads and Vamos Rafa!

Thank you for the clarity
You're all masters

Good night
Love and light
Divine

Hey Divine, I read some of your poetry, divine as usual. Hope you're well.

Greetings Lady TT, General CD , General Masterclass

Great threads and Vamos Rafa!

Thank you for the clarity
You're all masters

Good night
Love and light
Divine

what a wonderful surprise.



great to see you here lady D.

Isn't this odd? Rafa doesn't want to talk about the Olympics? He's usually gung-ho where the Olympics are concerned. That's weird. I wonder if he's planning on participating.

http://rafaelnadalfans.com/2016/02/17/rafael-nadal-beats-pablo-carreno-busta-in-rio-open-2016-first-round/

Our champ won gold in the Beijing Olympics in 2008 but missed the London Olympics with an injury. Despite being asked about it repeatedly, he’s staying away from talking about the Rio Olympics that open in six months.

“The Olympics is a very important event, a very special one, and I’m going to try my best when the Olympics arrive,” Rafa said. “But for now I’m playing the ATP tournament in Rio. That’s the most important thing for me.”

we will hang on to just a little bit of hope.



there is about 2% chance that he will wake up one morning and decide to win again.


even then it will take all of this year to get ready for 2017.


2017 is his last window. he has to take it if he wants to sail into the sunset with his 10th RG.

Great post.

This post spells out the formula for some success for Rafa's camp.

Didn't want to leave a pic of Djokovic as the last thing in Lady TT's thread... I know she is not a big fan.

So here is an article yesterday from Sky Sports, Barry Cowan:

Rafael Nadal has lost his fear factor as next generation make their mark

Personally, I wouldn't be worried about young Thiem, after all, youngsters are supposed to challenge the older players eventually and push them out.
What is more worrying is that someone like Cuevas from Rafa's generation and others even older are having success against Rafa. 
Pablo Cuevas is 6 months older than Rafa born on New Year's day 1986.
Cuevas has undoubtedly worked hard on his fitness.  He finished off Rafa late at night while Pella was resting, and came back the next day and snatched the title in 3 sets.

The whole world of tennis reporting thinks that Rafa is having a crisis in confidence, and losing his nerve, but for me it all stems from two things:

1. Greater Dedication/Motivation needed to:
2. Work harder on his fitness and game

When you have the fire inside to work harder, success and results follow, and that builds confidence.
For me, we haven't seen that fire from Rafa since losing the Australian Open final in 2014. 
Actually it began earlier, in 2011 when he said he lost his passion for the game, but he was able to take a long break and restored the passion for awhile in 2013.

Yes, he won Roland Garros in 2014, and 4 other lesser titles since then, but 2014 RG was mostly won on inertia, and other players fear of Rafa on clay.
So Cowan makes a good point; other players do not fear Rafa anymore.  Why?

These players are on the court and in the locker room with Rafa and can see and feel close up what we here at Camelot have been seeing for the past few years.
Sadly, but inevitably I suppose, he is a shadow of his former self.  It happens to all players eventually, great and small. 
The great topspin players don't last as long; it's a brutal way to play tennis and the body and mind have to be extremely dedicated to play that game.

I just wanted to add that all should still respect what Rafa has done in the game. 
He is still #5 in the world even with these problems, perhaps due to the aging of the tour combined with the youngsters not coming up to speed fast enough.
Some forums have lots of people laughing and enjoying Nadal's decline. 
This is not respect and quite sad for one of the greatest players the tennis world has ever seen, and frankly idiotic, since it will happen to their favorites eventually. 
NO human is immune to Father Time.

Respectfully,
masterclass