Apparently Theim dosen't feel he is at 100% to compete,there was no official reason why Ruud withdrew,seeing that it is only 4 weeks to the AO,good decision by both players.That's a huge "fall off" in ranking, skill, & ability! Oh well! I like them both well enough, but they'll never be elite level players!
Hmmm, and Thiem was all set to make his comeback from injury. EDIT: Ah, I see you addressed this above, Margaret, thanks!
Agree, I wonder if he will play a warm up tournament before the AO? I feel he needs the match play
It will be interesting to see how he looks, after so long, though it's hard to see him going deep at the AO.
I think he is very similar to Rafa, Thiem's game needs a lot of matches and match Play. Novak and Roger are the only ones I have known that can roll out of bed and have their game reach near the top levels.
I think the opinion of Rafa needing loads of match play to be ready is an old version of him. I think he's more confident about his match-readiness than he used to be, and he understands that over-playing doesn't serve him, late-career. Also, Roger just sprinting into form is also old news. I think we can get locked into "truisms," and miss the reality of the now.
There is no local wild card play off tournaments this year at the AO next year due to the pandemic,it will be up to the selection panel to give out wild cards,though I think he has done enough to receive a wild card.
Moxie..it's the feel of the ball..Fiero knows what I am talking about. It's all about gaining confidence and trusting your strokes. Rafa's is not a pure ball striker and it takes these types of players a tab bit longer. Remember when Samson aka Clay Death would Always say that Rafa needs to go spend a few weeks on the Clay even before a hard court tournament practice. It's just my opinion from watching him all these years.
I understand, but I don't think that's as true anymore...I said, it's the confidence and it comes also with maturity.
No .it's not about a maturation process. Novak's not more mature than Rafa but it takes him less time to get his trust confidence to where it needs to be tournament match tough. Fiero maybe you can pipe in and add something to it .
Exactly 100 percent correct..he is playing with his "off"hand . Good post Fiero!You covered it! I believe even in Rafa's advanced years and supposed maturity, he still needs a lot of practice and matches to feel confident competing at his highest level! I think a lot of it has to do with him playing left-handed even though he's a natural righty! I'm surprised more shots don't go wayward due to this forced way of playing the game!
