The Fall of Rafael Nadal

[Moxie]

He did hang up his racquets.

Negative. There is fight left in the bull yet. You'll see.

 

[Carol]

One can't put oneself in the position to win if one doesn't participate.

It seems that Rafa is not going to defend his Hamburg title on clay next week.

Uncle Toni said the plan is that Rafa will be ready for Toronto in 18 days.

"The plan is to go to Toronto, which I think will be very good for us. If Rafael goes there will mean that you are in perfect conditions to play. Will be a great preparation for the Olympics too, practicing with top players there. Until Rio, we have a month and a half so Rafael will have very good 20 days to get ready."​

Here he is a week ago recovering and vacationing with friends and family:

Thanking his 10 million followers on Twitter:

We will see if he plays in Toronto.
Hopefully this is not a repeat of 2012.

Respectfully,
masterclass

P.S. Looking at the pics above, what happened to Nadal's famous bicep?

First it depends the pictures, the ones that I posted before he looks better. Second, he has been with the wrist immobilized for a while, he has not been able to lift any weights so by logic he has lost muscles but when he will be ready he will can do again though I'm sure that he is doing a lot of exercises with his legs which is as important as the arms

 

[ClayDeath]

when is his next vacation?

or is he selling tommy Hilfiger suits on the sidewalks of Paris?

 

[ClayDeath]

Negative. There is fight left in the bull yet. You'll see.

you need to lay off that cheap liquor.

 

[Moxie]

you need to lay off that cheap liquor.

And you need to remember who brought you to the dance. I'll be Susie Sunshine if I like, and you go ahead and be some notorious nabob of negativity if it suits you. :whistle: To each her own.

 

[ClayDeath]

And you need to remember who brought you to the dance. I'll be Susie Sunshine if I like, and you go ahead and be some notorious nabob of negativity if it suits you. :whistle: To each her own.

I am a positive dude.

you on the other hand are just a cheap drunk who is lovesick.

can you even spell the word "reality"?

lot of lovesick fools are terrified of this word anyway so we may just have to give you a pass.

it is a 3 day pass.

 

[ClayDeath]

Negative. There is fight left in the bull yet. You'll see.

just look at what serena is achieving and she is pushing 35.

or how about Federer? he will be 35 in august.


nothing seems to motivate rafa.

there is still some time left but I am afraid he has wasted another year.

the trend is not good. the projections cant be good going into 2017 at this rate.

 

[Ricardo]

be as negative as you like, but what's new except along the lines of 'Rafa is done'?

but you are right Moxie is 'lovesick', she is a woman....wired to hormones quite a bit.

 

[masterclass]

Bull: "Happy to be with the kids at my Rafa Nadal Academy!"

44 days after his exit at Roland Garros, today this morning, Rafa returned to practice under Uncle Toni's guidance on one of the hard courts at his academy.

Rumor has it that Rafa may play doubles with Marc Lopez in Toronto prior to Olympics...

Respectfully,
masterclass

 

[Tennis Fan]

Thanks to the Heaven that Rafa is not reading your comments, otherwise he would have hunged his rackets a long time ego.....

Negative. There is fight left in the bull yet. You'll see.

It's bizarre. How many times have people predicted Nadal's demise, only for him to make them eat crow every time, and yet the negativity continues. I don't get it.

 

[Tennis Fan]

First it depends the pictures, the ones that I posted before he looks better. Second, he has been with the wrist immobilized for a while, he has not been able to lift any weights so by logic he has lost muscles but when he will be ready he will can do again though I'm sure that he is doing a lot of exercises with his legs which is as important as the arms

That's exactly what I thought, Carol. Why would he have muscle mass in a wrist that's been healing for several months? It's pretty obvious that he can't do anything with that left bicep while he's recuperating.

 

[Ricardo]

agreed, if you are injured you take a rest....thats not being lazy. otherwise Del Potro or Soderling might be the laziest guy ever.

 

[Tennis Fan]

be as negative as you like, but what's new except along the lines of 'Rafa is done'?

but you are right Moxie is 'lovesick', she is a woman....wired to hormones quite a bit.

I don't know about being lovesick just because you're a woman. The reality is that we've heard the naysayers since he was 19 years old. Every injury has been predicted to be his downfall and thus far he has proven the Negative Nancy's wrong every single time. But, no one who has ever played the game, with the number of injuries that Rafa has had can boast 14 majors, having missed that many majors? No one.

 

[Ricardo]

I don't know about being lovesick just because you're a woman. The reality is that we've heard the naysayers since he was 19 years old. Every injury has been predicted to be his downfall and thus far he has proven the Negative Nancy's wrong every single time. But, no one who has ever played the game, with the number of injuries that Rafa has had can boast 14 majors, having missed that many majors? No one.

there is no doubt about the fact that he is one of the greatest ever, nobody is debating about that. Naysayers have been onto everyone really, Djoker, Fed, Rafa and Murray included. Remember when Djoker became a double fault machine under Martin's guidance? people said he was done.

 

[Tennis Fan]

agreed, if you are injured you take a rest....thats not being lazy. otherwise Del Potro or Soderling might be the laziest guy ever.

That's the thing, Ricardo. The analyses are flawed because they only "apply" to Rafa. Haas, Tsonga, del Potro, Soderling, Monfils, et al get a complete pass. It's the most flawed premise I've ever seen. Look at what he's done with these injuries and give him credit for that, instead of trying to constantly kick him when he's down. That's not being lovesick, that's called having faith in a warrior who has battled throughout the years and prevailed. 2015 is the only year that Rafa hasn't won a major since his debut, so what are some people talking about?

The first part of the faulty premise is comparing players with no, or relatively few injuries, to an oft injured player. No one compares the others players to healthy players. Only Rafa, it's total BS if you ask me. I don't buy one word of it. Heck, Rafa's won more majors in the last five years, with significant time off than the other Big Four combined.

Some people have the scales unfairly weighted. Look at all of the factors involved instead of cherry picking to fit an argument.

 

[Tennis Fan]

there is no doubt about the fact that he is one of the greatest ever, nobody is debating about that. Naysayers have been onto everyone really, Djoker, Fed, Rafa and Murray included. Remember when Djoker became a double fault machine under Martin's guidance? people said he was done.

I know. I try to be careful in predicting someone else's demise prematurely, because no one knows what makes each person tick. And while there have been naysayers regarding the others, it's never been these prolonged attacks that are leveled at Rafa. Last year I heard that Serena was done. How so? She's been in three consecutive major finals and tied the record. Now that the pressure's off who knows what she might do? I tend to block those Negative Nancy's out, because no one can accurately predict when someone else is done. It's just noise, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Carol]

It's bizarre. How many times have people predicted Nadal's demise, only for him to make them eat crow every time, and yet the negativity continues. I don't get it.

Moya said a few days ego; "Rafa's injury is not serious and he will be ok, some people have said for 10 years that his career will finish "soon" and he is still there and will be longer than those people think"

 

[Carol]

That's the thing, Ricardo. The analyses are flawed because they only "apply" to Rafa. Haas, Tsonga, del Potro, Soderling, Monfils, et al get a complete pass. It's the most flawed premise I've ever seen. Look at what he's done with these injuries and give him credit for that, instead of trying to constantly kick him when he's down. That's not being lovesick, that's called having faith in a warrior who has battled throughout the years and prevailed. 2015 is the only year that Rafa hasn't won a major since his debut, so what are some people talking about?

The first part of the faulty premise is comparing players with no, or relatively few injuries, to an oft injured player. No one compares the others players to healthy players. Only Rafa, it's total BS if you ask me. I don't buy one word of it. Heck, Rafa's won more majors in the last five years, with significant time off than the other Big Four combined.

Some people have the scales unfairly weighted. Look at all of the factors involved instead of cherry
picking to fit an argument.

The problem is Rafa gets more attention than the others players that you has named (you forgot Nishi) if he wins his detractors always have something to say, if he loses even more, if he has an injury then he "gets" more injuries tan anyone else or "it's fake". It doesn't matter what he does, he always gets critics.....pathetic

 

[ClayDeath]

Bull: "Happy to be with the kids at my Rafa Nadal Academy!"

44 days after his exit at Roland Garros, today this morning, Rafa returned to practice under Uncle Toni's guidance on one of the hard courts at his academy.

Rumor has it that Rafa may play doubles with Marc Lopez in Toronto prior to Olympics...

Respectfully,
masterclass

he is not lost general. and he is no idiot either but that is exactly what the world has to be wondering.

this is not rocket science. you can just about count the days until the next injury.

he cant even win a 2nd rate clay event and yet he thinks he can make progress on the hard courts.

he is wasting time while engaging in maximum lip service until it is time to exit.

it is clay or nothing. and that too is nearly out of reach unless he gets off these damn hard courts.

absolutely nothing is going to happen in Toronto, cincy, and flushing meadows. they are all licking their chops. they will get their easy wins against him.

he is as close to being a dinosaur right now as there has ever been.

there is absolutely nothing about his game and his fitness that can allow him to compete effectively on the tour.

about all he can do his kill some more time until the next injury.

he has to go get on clay.

 

[masterclass]

General, there is simply no place to hide for Rafa.
He attracts the spotlight wherever he goes.
Agassi's old slogan says it all: "Image Is Everything"
Rafa's PR machine has a package to sell.
If it means showing Rafa getting ready for the next event, they will hype it, even if he knows nothing will happen.

It's all for the believers, the sponsors. the hopeful and worshipers.
Recall how in 2012, they kept saying how Rafa would play the next event...and withdraw, then the next, and withdraw.
From Toronto all the way to the Australian Open they told stories about his progress to keep the faithful hooked.
After 7 months, after recharging his passion to play, he finally surfaced on clay in 2013 in the ancient lands of the Incas, for one more big run that year.

This year he'll show up in RIo to carry the flag in the Olympics.
He'll be worshiped. He'll be photographed. He'll be interviewed.
And all his sponsors will get richer and so will he.
Rafa is set for life. He seems happy at his new Academy.

Tennis? He's accomplished everything except win the indoor Year End Championship where he has always had a disadvantage.
What else is there? The body can only do what the mind commands.
Every human that rises must eventually fall.
Time is the victor of us all.

Respectfully,
masterclass