Though I have seen Rafa today in the gym in a pink tee shirt posing with a young fan
probably a youngster doing a training block at his academy
I think you can book your trip to MC, though can you wait a little while just to see how Rafa is in practice
Rafa hasn’t been himself since he withdrew from Wimbledon. There’s a clearheaded scenario here that says he’s reading the last few paragraphs of the book. I don’t think he’s going to be hugely competitive this year at all. That seems negative, I know, but he’s 37 in a while and has played exactly 13 matches since the 6th July of last year - losing 8 of them…
Agree he hasnt been himself since he had to withdraw from Wimbledon, due to another injury, I think the clay season will show us if he is able to be competitive, both physically and mentally.
That’s it, and it’s now 8 months since he was match fit. When will he be back on court? And what condition will he be in? Most likely he won’t return until April. That’s 13 matches in over 9 months. Then we expect he’s going to rev the engine on clay and be able to rise above the field? Can’t see it, personally speaking…
Rafa is entered to play MC which begins April 8th, I dont think we can expect him to suddenly 'fire up' and find his clay legs at the start of the clay season, I expect he will play Barcelona, I hope he dosent play Madrid, then Rome before RG all going well, last year he didnt have a good clay preparation for RG, though when he gets to RG he seems like a different player, I know that was last year, still all we can do is wait to see what unfolds in the clay season., though I see your point of view
Depends upon what you're hoping for. If you're hoping to see him have a vintage Rafa clay season in which he wins four or five titles, that seems unlikely. But if you're hoping that he plays himself into form so he's "Slam ready" by Roland Garros, I think that is more possible. I'm guessing that Rafa and his team are primary concerned with Roland Garros this year, and see the rest of the season as mostly being about preparation.
It wont be a Rafa Vintage clay season by any means, hopefully he can play himself into form for RG, I feel that has been the plan by his team for the last couple of years quite frankly going on results before RG
That certainly fits the numbers above, with 2018 being the last truly dominant season with 4 clay titles, though 2019 was pretty dominant as he won RG and a Masters.
I think you’re right, brother. He’s going to play on clay and should be fit by then. Looking at them stats, he’s been extraordinary. Two seasons of the last 3 he’s only won RG? That’s remarkable given that he dispatched Novak both times. His ability to turn it on in Paris is the great heroic stand in modern tennis. He gets very jealous there, so there’s always hope.
