MONTE CARLO ROLEX MASTERS - Apr. 12-20 - 2014.

[brokenshoelace]

I cannot believe Rafa would do this just to avoid Stan! :snigger

Joking aside, I woke up at 7-6-5-2 and Rafa was breaking serve and coming back, sort of, but Ferrer closed it out. In the games I saw, David's tactics were clear, just pummel Rafa backhand, look for the opening on the forehand. How was the first set? The way matches go between these two, the first tight set goes to Rafa, the second one is a routine one for Rafa. Apparently not today...

Congrats to David. Very extraordinary to say the least. uzzled

Nadal's tactic was clearer: Miss first serve. Spin second serve in. Make backhand/forehand unforced error.

Alternatively, when really playing better: Spin weak first serve in, drop a short backhand, enjoy watching a Ferrer winner.

Finally, when REALLY REALLY confident in a key point: Get on top of the rally, move your opponent around, make a mess of the drop shot.

 

[the AntiPusher]

All Rafa's pigeons are taking advantage of Rafa's disinterest in his tennis game. This is the absolutely the worst tennis he has ever produced!

 

[Front242]

Whoa. Got up a bit late 'cos I figured no point watching Ferrer v Nadal. Very unexpected win for Ferret.

Are you liking him just a bit more than usual today?

No But I guess it makes the tournament more interesting. Roger has a shot at winning it now.

Of course he does. Haven't you heard? He's the new Ferrer

I can't click like there.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

I cannot believe Rafa would do this just to avoid Stan! :snigger

Joking aside, I woke up at 7-6-5-2 and Rafa was breaking serve and coming back, sort of, but Ferrer closed it out. In the games I saw, David's tactics were clear, just pummel Rafa backhand, look for the opening on the forehand. How was the first set? The way matches go between these two, the first tight set goes to Rafa, the second one is a routine one for Rafa. Apparently not today...

Congrats to David. Very extraordinary to say the least. uzzled

Nadal's tactic was clearer: Miss first serve. Spin second serve in. Make backhand/forehand unforced error.

Alternatively, when really playing better: Spin weak first serve in, drop a short backhand, enjoy watching a Ferrer winner.

Finally, when REALLY REALLY confident in a key point: Get on top of the rally, move your opponent around, make a mess of the drop shot.

Since I have not watched most of this match, I will take your word for it that it was a case of bad day at the office for Rafa rather than David playing lights out .

 

[Front242]

Must say I expected not even the reverse score but something like 7-5 6-2 or 7-5 6-3 to Rafa.

 

[Front242]

Big enough rankings impact now if Djokovic wins it. Either way the bookies are scratching their heads now with Rafa's odds for RG. Still the favourite obviously but it'll make them adjust the odds.

 

[bobvance]

So Nadal's serve has been garbage since the AO. Not sure if the back injury messed up the rhythm and he has yet to find it back but it's pretty putrid to be honest.

I was going to ask you Rafa fanatics about this. What's wrong with Rafa lately? I agree that his serve has been off, but do you think there's some bigger issue going on like lack of motivation, or just age slowly catching up to Rafa? He just seems less rock solid these days even when he wins.

 

[Kieran]

He was super-motivated last summer, Bob, and he noticeably dipped after winning the US Open. The intensity wasn't the same. I felt he should have rested after the season but he went to South America on cash-fuelled love-in with Nole. Neither of them was great in Oz, with the added kicker of Rafa's back snapping in the final, meaning he couldn't compete.

Since then, he's been labouring heavily. I think it's a motivation issue. There seems to be a lack of urgency about him. I'm not fatalistic about him, because I think this match might be the kicking he needs, but it's not a promising start to the clay season...

 

[shawnbm]

David played well and, more importantly, during big moments when he might miss. Nadal was off, but I always believed he would win pints at the big moments and come back. He didn't today and David had to battle his own excitement towards the end. Nadal on clay is the closest thing (along with Borg) to being superhuman, but he's still human.

 

[Front242]

He was super-motivated last summer, Bob, and he noticeably dipped after winning the US Ppen. The intensity wasn't the same. I felt he should have rested after the season but he went to South America on cash-fuelled love-in with Nole. Neither of them was great in Oz, with the added kicker of Rafa's back snapping in the final, meaning he couldn't compete.

Since then, he's been labouring heavily. I think it's a motivation issue. There seems to be a lack if urgency about him...

Djokovic was the same till recently. Pretty much no intensity for 2 years.

 

[Front242]

Maybe it's a Samson thing? By that I mean the more hair Rafa loses the worse his game gets.

 

[Kieran]

I think his comeback was huge, to race back to the summit of the game. He's probably dipping after that...

 

[Moxie]

He was super-motivated last summer, Bob, and he noticeably dipped after winning the US Ppen. The intensity wasn't the same. I felt he should have rested after the season but he went to South America on cash-fuelled love-in with Nole. Neither of them was great in Oz, with the added kicker of Rafa's back snapping in the final, meaning he couldn't compete.

Since then, he's been labouring heavily. I think it's a motivation issue. There seems to be a lack if urgency about him...

I pretty much agree with that, though I don't think a quick visit to S. America made that much difference. Fire in the belly a bit missing, but there was a lot of fire in it from last Feb - Sept, which was a long run and a big push. I think Djokovic's lapses in motivation are more mysterious, frankly. He's younger and hasn't spent as much time at the top.

 

[Kieran]

Well, I'm speculating about South America, but Federer went there in 2012 and said he was glad to skip it last year. Rafa and Nole went instead. I think had he hung his racket up and rested, he'd have served his appetite for the sport well. Heaven knows why he signed up for some gammy exo tourney this December... :nono

 

[Front242]

I think his comeback was huge, to race back to the summit of the game. He's probably dipping after that...

No doubt last year zapped a lot of his energy too winning everything in sight. Same with Novak post 2011. Makes sense really. If you train like a beast in the gym for months on end, eventually there comes a time when you look back and wonder how you did it and you're never quite like that again, except sporadically.

 

[shawnbm]

To follow up on Kieran's point, how could Nadal not lose that sense of urgency at some point? It happens to all the great ones. Rafa may snap out of it before Paris, but even off says have mostly been winning days for him at the office these last nine years in clay. He just came off one of if not his best year result-wise. Motivation at these levels so many years into a hall of fame career is bound to pop up some time.

 

[Moxie]

Yeah, I know. Seems dumb…especially since he'd gone to S. America to play tournaments last year, and this one. That should be enough ambassadorship for the sport.

 

[shawnbm]

Now it's the Swiss-French battle. What do folks think?

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2D2hEowQco[/video]

 

[Kieran]

Now it's the Swiss-French battle. What do folks think?

I think Daveed has a good shot. I'm sure he's going to be diligent and throw everything at Stan. I fancy Ferrer, in three...