RED ALERT!

[Moxie]

Everything that has a beginning has an end......

Rafa should go fishing during Madrid and comeback ready for Rome.

That's actually not so bad an idea. I know, huge points to defend but I hope he's not bean counting at the minute, I hope he's looking at a bigger picture. Maybe break the rut and the hype and the routine and try something that surprises everybody, including himself, take the heat off, enjoy, and then burst back in full of vengeance...

No, No I think it would be a bad idea.

Rafa is a confidence player. He needs wins and titles before going into RG.
If he had won Barcelona, it may be OK to skip Madrid. Not at this time.

Given that he went out in QFs on both occassions, he has only played a
grand total of six matches in the last two weeks. So, to get his form and
confidence back, he must play both Madrid and Rome.

Besidess he has a week of gap now to enjoy some fishing Mallorca.

I completely agree with this, GSM. Rafa IS a confidence player, and he doesn't have it going on. Madrid may not be his best tournament, but I don't see how sitting around in Mallorca and stewing over it is going to help. He needs to play to get himself into shape for RG, and Madrid will help.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Everything that has a beginning has an end......

Rafa should go fishing during Madrid and comeback ready for Rome.

That's actually not so bad an idea. I know, huge points to defend but I hope he's not bean counting at the minute, I hope he's looking at a bigger picture. Maybe break the rut and the hype and the routine and try something that surprises everybody, including himself, take the heat off, enjoy, and then burst back in full of vengeance...

No, No I think it would be a bad idea.

Rafa is a confidence player. He needs wins and titles before going into RG.
If he had won Barcelona, it may be OK to skip Madrid. Not at this time.

Given that he went out in QFs on both occassions, he has only played a
grand total of six matches in the last two weeks. So, to get his form and
confidence back, he must play both Madrid and Rome.

Besidess he has a week of gap now to enjoy some fishing Mallorca.

I completely agree with this, GSM. Rafa IS a confidence player, and he doesn't have it going on. Madrid may not be his best tournament, but I don't see how sitting around in Mallorca and stewing over it is going to help. He needs to play to get himself into shape for RG, and Madrid will help.

Yes I also agree Rafa is a confidence player....whatever is going on with Rafa at the present he needs to get back on court and figure out.....hopefully..................

 

[Kieran]

Whatever he needs, a break or more wins, he needs to get his appetite back. He's going through the motions. His fist-pumps look like he's trying to remind himself of what intensity is. A great director might say, "Cut! Wonderful, darling, but can you raise your knee a little higher next time, and remember, you're meant to be a bull! More Bullissimo, please! Wonderful, darling!"

 

[brokenshoelace]

Fortunately, it doesn't work like this, and Rafa and Roger are two totally different creatures...

Roger's cause of bad results was a decline in physical form and fitness caused by
aging body.

However, I believe that Rafa's cause of bad results is due to concentration issues
Of course, he is playing bad, not moving well etc. But, the cause of it is not physical
issues at all. Something is bothering him mentally.

This might be the reason behind these last two losses, but the there is a clear physical decline in Nadal (do not mistake "clear" with "significant") as he's gotten older and the wear and tear on his body started to show. He still moves great and is a physical beast. But he doesn't move as well as he used to and is certainly not the physical freak he was when he was younger. In moments where he's struggling with confidence or concentration, this matters a great deal, because in the past, he could rely on turning the match physical and outlasting his opponent (of course he still can to a large extent, but it's just not as reliable as before, and it's evident by how much more often he misses).

That's kinda why I thought it was ludicrous for someone to suggest that 2013 Nadal was a better player than 2010 Nadal. No way. Especially for a player who relies so much on physicality and movement.

 

[TsarMatt]

I actually think there is a lot of hyperbole about Nadal. I don't think these losses are indicative of where his career is going. As others have said, the man is down on confidence, and he needs to find his form and get himself together.

Personally, I think he has too much of an arduous schedule, and needs some time off to recuperate. Even a mental giant like Nadal can fall into these slumps and stay there for a while. There is probably much more to it than we know, as well. Nadal probably thinks more tennis and more tournaments will escort him into good form, but I think it is doing the opposite.

I'd like to see him take some time off. Hell, skip Madrid and/or Rome if you need to. I think this is purely a mental thing, and something most players experience in their careers.

 

[Moxie]

Fortunately, it doesn't work like this, and Rafa and Roger are two totally different creatures...

Roger's cause of bad results was a decline in physical form and fitness caused by
aging body.

However, I believe that Rafa's cause of bad results is due to concentration issues
Of course, he is playing bad, not moving well etc. But, the cause of it is not physical
issues at all. Something is bothering him mentally.

This might be the reason behind these last two losses, but the there is a clear physical decline in Nadal (do not mistake "clear" with "significant") as he's gotten older and the wear and tear on his body started to show. He still moves great and is a physical beast. But he doesn't move as well as he used to and is certainly not the physical freak he was when he was younger. In moments where he's struggling with confidence or concentration, this matters a great deal, because in the past, he could rely on turning the match physical and outlasting his opponent (of course he still can to a large extent, but it's just not as reliable as before, and it's evident by how much more often he misses).

That's kinda why I thought it was ludicrous for someone to suggest that 2013 Nadal was a better player than 2010 Nadal. No way. Especially for a player who relies so much on physicality and movement.

I agree. Nadal in 2013 was motivated to win, and found his way via more aggression and a better serve, as additions to the arsenal. But in his other great years, '08 and '10, he tended to do it more on his own terms, with both of those still being different. It's been an evolution. I still think '08 was his best year in terms of playing within his own tennis. From there, he's had to get out of his comfort zone, though he's often done it superlatively.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

Rafa has fallen in the quarters of both Monte Carlo and Barcelona. Is this a true crisis?

Or is he glad of the rest? :snigger

Personally, I always have faith in Rafa and there's plenty of time before Paris to get this right, but the urgency is absent, and he's drifting away from matches in a way he never did. The concentration is not so tight.

His hitting isn't clean and he has no consistency at all on his serve.

The clay season is officially wide open...

Let's not please lose sight of the fact that Almagro, and Ferrer, played exceptional, nerve free tennis.

Almagro's hitting was a thing of wonder. The fact his he threw caution to the wind and was very accurate for the majority of the match.


The way he brutalized Verdasco made me sure this was not going to be a routine match with Rafa.

 

[I.Haychew]

Too much damn golph is my guess!

 

[Moxie]

Too much damn golph is my guess!

Aw, come on…we haven't had that complaint for several years. :snigger

 

[herios]

Too much damn golph is my guess!

Aw, come on…we haven't had that complaint for several years. :snigger

I saw pictures with him in MC, while sailing. Maybe he has a new passion

 

[Moxie]

Too much damn golph is my guess!

Aw, come on…we haven't had that complaint for several years. :snigger

I saw pictures with him in MC, while sailing. Maybe he has a new passion

Oh, even Roger admits the sea is an old passion:

(Sorry, I couldn't find the photo without Roger in it. )

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Tennis.com ranks Rafa's losses on clay since 2005. It looks like the article was written before today's loss.

 

[nehmeth]

Everything that has a beginning has an end......

Rafa should go fishing during Madrid and comeback ready for Rome.

Busy all week and didn't see any tennis... hearing Ralf lost in Barcelona to Almagro was a shocker. His imminent decline has been declared for at least 5 years now. Like Rasputin, no one should ever count him out. We don't know why there's been a dip in his levels, but if anyone knows how to regroup, it's Rafa.

Personally, I think he and Nole should go fishing together and plan on meeting in the final of Rome.

 

[herios]

Everything that has a beginning has an end......

Rafa should go fishing during Madrid and comeback ready for Rome.

Busy all week and didn't see any tennis... hearing Ralf lost in Barcelona to Almagro was a shocker. His imminent decline has been declared for at least 5 years now. Like Rasputin, no one should ever count him out. We don't know why there's been a dip in his levels, but if anyone knows how to regroup, it's Rafa.

Personally, I think he and Nole should go fishing together and plan on meeting in the final of Rome.

I personally think he is entering into the zone of inconsistency. He will have more peaks and valleys from here on.
The awful match with Ramos should have been the real alert, he is a player outside of the top 100 and Rafa struggled to pass by him.

 

[Moxie]

Tennis.com ranks Rafa's losses on clay since 2005. It looks like the article was written before today's loss.

Yes, it needs to be updated as of today, but I also have qualms with where they rate the losses.

1. Soderling at RG…anyone would put this one first.

2. Djokovic in MC 2013…they put this #8. (really?)

3. Federer in Hamburg (ended the streak…also their #3)

4. (They put Zeballos in Chile, which I would put much lower.) My pick: Ferrer in MC 2014

5. Djokovic 2011 in Rome (their #6…you could also put this at #4, but I'd still put Ferrer's one then at #5)

6. Djokovic 2011 in Madrid (their #2)

*7. Almagro in Barcelona 2014 (this is where I'd put today's one)

8. Federer in Madrid '09 (their #5)

9. Verdasco in Madrid '12 (their #7)

Putting Zeballos below these, I could live with their order for those rated lesser than the ones I said.

___________________________________

And all that said, it is something that there are so few losses that Nadal has on clay that we can basically give them names and rankings.

 

[tented]

Tennis.com ranks Rafa's losses on clay since 2005. It looks like the article was written before today's loss.

They use the words "magnitude" and "shock" -- two very different words, ultimately -- to describe their list, so I'll do the same. Some are clearly the former, some the latter, and some both.

1. '09 Roland Garros - Soderling

2. '07 Hamburg - Federer

3. '11 Rome - Djokovic

4. '13 Monte Carlo - Djokovic

5. '14 Monte Carlo - Ferrer

6. '12 Madrid - Verdasco

7. '14 Barcelona - Almagro

8. '13 Vina del Mar - Zeballos

As for the rest, I don't find them particularly surprising or of noteworthy magnitude.

The '09 Madrid final -- please, he was exhausted from the then-longest three-set match ever the day before.

The '11 Madrid final -- never been Rafa's best surface anyway, so it wasn't surprising that Djokovic got him, especially in that period when Novak was playing at an inhuman level.

The '08 Rome loss to Ferrero: I don't know why Rafa even played that match. His feet looked like he had walked on glass for 30 minutes immediately before taking court.

The Gaudio and Andreev matches: too long ago to register.

 

[Federberg]

He wasn't exhausted in the Ao final though, despite his semi against Verdasco.. Never sure if it's a legitimate explanation for the loss in Madrid

 

[isabelle]

I'm not really suprised about his loss vs Nico, he's not more unbeatable on clay and maybe his body's not as strong as before. Don't know if it's too soon to talk about decline but something has changed, it's obvious

 

[tented]

He wasn't exhausted in the Ao final though, despite his semi against Verdasco.. Never sure if it's a legitimate explanation for the loss in Madrid

He had more time to recuperate in Australia than in Madrid (remember it's a Masters, so you play every day, with no time off, unlike a Grand Slam).

 

[brokenshoelace]

Rafa has fallen in the quarters of both Monte Carlo and Barcelona. Is this a true crisis?

Or is he glad of the rest? :snigger

Personally, I always have faith in Rafa and there's plenty of time before Paris to get this right, but the urgency is absent, and he's drifting away from matches in a way he never did. The concentration is not so tight.

His hitting isn't clean and he has no consistency at all on his serve.

The clay season is officially wide open...

Let's not please lose sight of the fact that Almagro, and Ferrer, played exceptional, nerve free tennis.

.

If what Ferrer played was exceptional tennis, this is a pretty boring sport. Ferrer played good. Nothing more, nothing less.