The Fall of Rafael Nadal

[ClayDeath]

rafa should bring in Agassi as a part time advisor if he really wants another RG crown.


it is still not too late.

 

[ClayDeath]

who is ready for Rafa:

order of play for tomorrow is here:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/current/madrid/1536/daily-schedule

 

[Tennis Fan]

Jimmy stayed in top 20 for 2 decades.


Unbelievable longevity for those days.

General masterclass he was durable to be sure but he could could control the center of court better than the others.

He did not have to play from downtown Barcelona like Rafa.

He could take ball on the rise off both wings and he was confident at the net.



Santana says the djokovic is the favorite here.


lets put it this way: rafa has to beat him in rome and also capture the rome title.

that will start restoring his confidence. right now djokovic has destroyed him 11 out of last 12 matches. that cant be good for your confidence.

it would be better if somebody else can take down djokovic here in Madrid.

but he has to take down djokovic himself in rome.

I don't think that Rafa HAS to take down Djokovic. Why is he held to a higher standard than everyone else? No one said these things when Rafa used to routine Federer for most of their careers. They looked at it as an anomaly and kept it moving, but when it comes to Rafa the microscope is always poised for unnecessary scrutiny. No one gets analyzed or criticized as much as Rafa. I don't get it and Federer was in his prime. Everyone mourned this "oddity" and took absolutely no shine away from Federer. It's confusing to me.

 

[ClayDeath]

Rafa strikes again.

the grand prize is djokovic's scalp here or in rome or both places.

he has to have djokovic's scalp if he wants to arrive in paris with some confidence.

 

[Tennis Fan]

Rafa strikes again.

the grand prize is djokovic's scalp here or in rome or both places.

he has to have djokovic's scalp if he wants to arrive in paris with some confidence.

Ha ha ha. I think you want Djokovic's scalp more. Rafa isn't thinking about Novak; he's focusing on his game and on the upcoming French Open. He needs to get his groove back, if he does that when and if they meet it'll be a great match.

 

[ClayDeath]

I am not the one getting destroyed by djokovic 11 times in the last 12 tries.

I am not the one who is getting swatted aside like a hapless mosquito time and again by djokovic.

also it is not about me anyway. nobody talks more about djokovic than rafa and tony these days.

here is the deal tennis fan: if rafa is to win RG then he needs to score a win over djokovic in a lesser tournament.

you know what happened last year: rafa showed up in paris and started waving the white flag.


do you want to see him do that again.


now djokovic is playing some head games by saying that rafa is the favorite for RG. that is nonsense.

djokovic is not only the heaviest favorite ever for RG, he is the heavy favorite for all of the remaining slams this year and all of the slams next year.

why? because he is producing the focus, hunger, drive, and the willingness to outwork them all. djokovic is not idle and doing 1000 other things not related to tennis.

rafa's biggest goal has to be djokovic's scalp if he is to try to reverse the slide against djokovic.


now Rafa did that in 2013 and you know what happened. he went on to beat him in Canada and at the u.s. open also.


maybe now you will understand why rafa has to try to get djokovic's scalp.

it has to be in rome. rafa can sustain a loss to him in Madrid but he has to be able to get him in rome.

Santana has said that rafa is not the favorite for Madrid. what does that tell you?

 

[ClayDeath]

Tony cant stop talking about djokovic.

this is why a win over djokovic is absolutely critical if Rafa is to go into Paris with little more confidence.

they are all terrified of Djokovic in the Rafa camp.


For Toni, though only wins matter. According to him, 'What I want is to win. I know against Djokovic we have few chances than we (would) have with others, so why tempt fate? And I do not like playing against David Ferrer or Murray too. I like playing against players ranked lower than us. Training sessions are going very well, but we know how the sport is, you have a bad day and the opponent plays a good match. We are well prepared to face the tournament.'

 

[ClayDeath]

more from Tony:

Speaking about Djokovic's loss at Monte Carlo, Toni continued, 'It's a bump in the road because Djokovic showed during all this time that he was an almost unbeatable player who is on the way to become the best player in the history. It's only a loss, and it is not the same when when you are returning from many ones in a row. Unfortunately for the rest of his opponents it's a bump in the road. If he will lose here and then at Rome it will be a little drop, but he showed through all this time that he is the most dangerous opponent.'

Despite the last result, the Serb is still a favourite for Roland Garros at the moment, according to Toni.

 

[Moxie]

Rafa strikes again.

the grand prize is djokovic's scalp here or in rome or both places.

he has to have djokovic's scalp if he wants to arrive in paris with some confidence.

Now, CD, I'm going to call you out on one thing, and myself, also. We said that Rafa doesn't have to do much in Madrid, and that the real action is Rome and RG. Yet, you're back to calling for Rafa to go deep in Madrid and possibly take Djoker. And in my draw challenge I have Rafa winning. What are we like?

I want Rafa to keep the good forward momentum and form going, but, at the same time, I don't want him to blow too much energy and injury-risk before RG. His draw has opened up, so maybe going for Madrid isn't a bad idea, after all.

 

[ClayDeath]

Now, CD, I'm going to call you out on one thing, and myself, also. We said that Rafa doesn't have to do much in Madrid, and that the real action is Rome and RG. Yet, you're back to calling for Rafa to go deep in Madrid and possibly take Djoker. And in my draw challenge I have Rafa winning. What are we like?

I want Rafa to keep the good forward momentum and form going, but, at the same time, I don't want him to blow too much energy and injury-risk before RG. His draw has opened up, so maybe going for Madrid isn't a bad idea, after all.

there is not much we can do about it. looks like he wants to roll the dice here.

all we can do is sit by and see how it plays out.

in my estimation 2 straight losses to djokovic would not be good right now.

we have had enough losses. we need to let djokovic do his thing here and then see if we can ambush him in rome.

you saw what tony said also: he said we just want to win and we don't want djokovic.


you and I are in the same camp: I would take 3 matches here and run. take a tactical loss.

he did say he was tired. so rafa could use a little break to refresh and recharge his batteries and then go run over everybody that gets in his way there.

an injury at this point would end his career.

so I am worried about it.

more later.

 

[ClayDeath]

I don't want Madrid. I want rome and I want rafa to run over djokovic in the final in rome.

and that is how he starts setting the table for himself in paris.

 

[Moxie]

there is not much we can do about it. looks like he wants to roll the dice here.

all we can do is sit by and see how it plays out.

in my estimation 2 straight losses to djokovic would not be good right now.

we have had enough losses. we need to let djokovic do his thing here and then see if we can ambush him in rome.

you saw what tony said also: he said we just want to win and we don't want djokovic.


you and I are in the same camp: I would take 3 matches here and run. take a tactical loss.

he did say he was tired. so rafa could use a little break to refresh and recharge his batteries and then go run over everybody that gets in his way there.

an injury at this point would end his career.

so I am worried about it.

more later.

Here's the thing: there is no getting around the fact that Djokovic is the man to beat. And Rafa's chances of beating him don't get better by avoiding him, but only by sharpening his game. If they meet in Madrid, I don't fancy Rafa for the win. However, it could be a measure of his improvement, so that might be a benefit. In any case, into the fire. It's the only way forward. But, no matter what happens in Madrid or Rome, between them, if Rafa continues to play well and gain confidence, I fancy his chances at RG against the Djoker or anyone. He tends to be the sturdier and craftier between the two of them in Majors. And Novak has the pressure again at RG, including of the Nole-Slam. Best if they meet at SF or Fs at the FO, however, I think.

 

[ClayDeath]

in a RG final I take Rafa every single time.

he cannot be defeated in a final there. he just has to find a way to get there.

 

[Moxie]

in a RG final I take Rafa every single time.

he cannot be defeated in a final there. he just has to find a way to get there.

I think he's working on it.

 

[Ricardo]

in a RG final I take Rafa every single time.

he cannot be defeated in a final there. he just has to find a way to get there.

but isn't he done? like a million times before...

 

[ClayDeath]

I can see why tony is terrified of ferru too:

it tires his player out. it takes a while for rafa to get rid of ferru.

 

[britbox]

I can see why tony is terrified of ferru too:

it tires his player out. it takes a while for rafa to get rid of ferru.

Nah, Ferru is terrified of Rafa.

 

[Tennis Fan]

I am not the one getting destroyed by djokovic 11 times in the last 12 tries.

I am not the one who is getting swatted aside like a hapless mosquito time and again by djokovic.

also it is not about me anyway. nobody talks more about djokovic than rafa and tony these days.

here is the deal tennis fan: if rafa is to win RG then he needs to score a win over djokovic in a lesser tournament.

you know what happened last year: rafa showed up in paris and started waving the white flag.


do you want to see him do that again.


now djokovic is playing some head games by saying that rafa is the favorite for RG. that is nonsense.

djokovic is not only the heaviest favorite ever for RG, he is the heavy favorite for all of the remaining slams this year and all of the slams next year.

why? because he is producing the focus, hunger, drive, and the willingness to outwork them all. djokovic is not idle and doing 1000 other things not related to tennis.

rafa's biggest goal has to be djokovic's scalp if he is to try to reverse the slide against djokovic.


now Rafa did that in 2013 and you know what happened. he went on to beat him in Canada and at the u.s. open also.


maybe now you will understand why rafa has to try to get djokovic's scalp.

it has to be in rome. rafa can sustain a loss to him in Madrid but he has to be able to get him in rome.

Santana has said that rafa is not the favorite for Madrid. what does that tell you?

I could care less what people say or think. That has nothing to do with reality or the future. In the scheme of the universe winning a match, a tournament, or over a certain person means nothing to me. Rafa only has to be Rafa. That's good enough for me.

 

[ClayDeath]

Rafa going for his 12th win in a row:

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/current/madrid/1536/daily-schedule

 

[ClayDeath]

First set goes to the clay warrior.