Rafa and Rog having a hit
Interesting. Rafa tends to hit flat in his practices…well, not here. I think he’s trying to hit the ceiling with those shots.
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Oops…Strange shots indeed. I hope he knows what he’s doing ;-)
Raising that eyebrow at :35 seemed a bit odd. Hope it was a nothing thought! I guess we’ll see.
For anyone who speaks Spanish – I’m hearing 6-3 in there some place. Are they talking about a score and, if so, what score?
Twitter friend said Rafa lost the set 6-3. Pfff does he ever win a practice set?? :)
6-3 is mentioned indeed and it’s the score of the practice set between them.
Thanks johanne and Ch F.
From another blog – This is a translation of the commentary:
“…(they’re used to) meeting each other in official tournaments, the last time 6 months ago here in Madrid, but this is the first time they’ve trained together. They even played a set, which, of course, Federer won, 6-3. They played on Center Court of the ATP Masters in London, that starts tomorrow, and which you can watch here on Radio-Television Española. Federer will be the first opponent of Fernando Verdasco, and Nadal will debut against Robin Soderling on Monday.”
_______
Also from the relatively short video, Rafa looks to be standing way behind the baseline. Which is surprising because he was standing closer (to the baseline) and being more aggressive in Paris. Hence the score.
Sorry the above translation is for this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPb6tI6ZGaA&feature=sub
PistolPete – this is going to be disastrous if he is gonna continue to do that. How many times have we heard him say himself I need to be more aggresive, inside the court to have chances of winning. Well you ain’t gonna do it the way from the practice session. Behind the baseline, he will give short returns back to be wiped away on the fast court. He just has to change his strategy – it’s not a claycourt and he has to get his mojo back and double quick time – otherwise I can see an “amazing disaster”. We need you to serve well, – out wide, come to the net and volley, short points. Good deep returns (stand inside the baseline) not so outside that you are nearer Liverpool than London! And flat fast returns not spinny wippy balls that from the practice session going to the roof. I know Fed can’t cope with those but the SOD, Davy and Novak will kill you. We know this is not your favourite surface and you have only one once indoor court but please please give yourself a chance and change your game to suit the fast court and hit everyone out of site. Vamos……
See you at 02 Mon afternoon xxx
I don’t know what Tio Toni is doing, but Rafa’s tactics haven’t changed much recently. He looked to be making some progress against Tsonga (in Paris), but was flat again in the Djokovic SF match.
I also notice how often he’s started to use his slice backhand.Earlier during 2008 and Australian Open 2009 he had such a solid flat backhand that used to penetrate through the court. Nadal was very good on both wings and it was hard to dominate him in neutral rallies. But these days his backhand is just a average shot and he’s usually on the defensive on that side. Other players see that and start attacking him there and they are helped by the faster surface. The problem is that Rafa cannot run down everything on a hardcourt, and the fastcourts further take time away from him. If he wants to slice as much, Nadal should learn to keep the ball low and give it lower net clearance. Slice could be a great weapon, If and when he learns to keep it lower, deeper, and more accurate. But it is not one now.
Nadal has played 3 good matches since his return(berdych,monfils,tsonga) and it’s no surprise that his backhand(and fh obviously) was solid in those matches. A solid Backhand + good old Forehand + decent serve should help Nadal in the future. But when the backhand breaks down and the serve goes missing, it’s tough to rely just on the forehand and the movement. That’s why he’s loosing control of the pts, standing far back and continually defending. If he plays like this it could get ugly against Soderling in WTF.
Thanks for your analysis and bringing over the translation, PistolPete.
It’s as if Rafa is training for a world that doesn’t exist, where every match is a 5-setter on clay. His game is regressing.
Sod must be licking his chops. :(
He usually practices all out aggressive with deep, flat shots and then plays the opposite. Maybe the same will happen now. Heh. Or maybe he’s just mucking with Fed’s mind – or backhand.
(I’m trying to be positive, but that loopy stuff has me worried too.)
That 15 feet+ elevated backhand return is one of it’s kind. That’s taking moonballing to a new level. WTF. Rafa please wake up. Fire Toni, get someone else if that’s what it takes. I would hate for him to go without a win @ WTF. The draw certainly hasn’t done any favors.
I don’t really know that Toni can be blamed. It’s a familiar story, through Rafa’s slumps in the past –with Toni Toni even (I think in 07?) offering to quit & Rafa refusing to let him. To me, the fact that he usually practices more aggressively than he plays suggests that Toni is well aware of what needs to be done. That Rafa can’t implement this during matches seems to be a confidence thing –so I’m not sure what anyone else could do. I think it’s going to have to be a process –a painful one.
Scared by the passive practice & the WTF matchups. Maybe Rafa’s confidence against the top tier is so fragile that he just can’t play ‘his tennis’ even on the practice court :( I would really hate for him to lose all 3 matches –and it would be especially painful for him to lose to Sod.
Holding onto the, perhaps blind, hope that, because he’s so up and down at the moment and how he played last means nothing, he can find some form before the first match and maintain the missing Rafaintensity throughout the match.
HI GB I with you on this one. But like everyone says lets keep with positive aktitude. I know it sounds all doom and gloom – but then again we can only see and analyse what we see and be truthful. A A form thing comes and goes with confidence, but strategy you can implement. Let’s hope so. As for the Toni quit in ‘07 I heard that too. Does anyone know why he said that? Would love to know what they were discussing at the net and Rafa’s eyebrow – wow. It is usually a sign of OMG – perhaps he meant with his practice.
The loopy 15ft moonballing maybe that’s another strategy no? from when he returns the serves, coz he aint getting anywhere when he usually returns them – just short loopy on the forehand into the courtI don’t know why he doesn’t just step on it on the rise hit early and deep – if it goes out it goes out but just to return it in to get it wiped away is no go. mmmmm the 15ft up to the ceiling doesn’t sound like a bad idea after all.
I am starting to have positive vibes after all and yeah how guys Rafa we can all be sure will not want to lose agains the jerk SOD and I think he will try everything.
I’m with you miri … there is no need to be anything less than positive … we can only root for him and say DO your Best! Vamos Rafa!!
And Vamos Toni !!!
Rafa said that the court surface was “very fast” but allowed him to “play much more than Paris.”
Oh? Alright, then he clearly knows something we don’t.
I agree. Rafa’s game plan has becme very obvious. If I see one more sliced backhand I shall do my nut!! This shot does absolutely nothing. It’s slow, not deep and not that low. I look back at some of his earlier matches when he was the “gorgeous boy” and I don’t think he ever did a sliced backhand. I say take it out of the game and go for the fast deep backhand winners. When shots from the opponent come back deep fast to his backhand in the corner, he has o chance with the backhand slice. Please aggresive down the line forhands (I thinkwe have hardly seen these – only the whipy cross court) and hard flat backhands, aggressive, aggressive aggressive and then you’ll be a winner winner winner. Vamos vamos vamos xxx
They’re sweating like pigs. It must have been a good workout. It’s great they’r practicing with each other, especially for Fed bec he’ll be playing a lefty.
It’s good for Fed coz he faces Verdasco. Not so much for Nadal, who also lost the practice set.
Did you see the loopy backhand that Rafa hit? It must have been more than 15 feet high. Lucky it didn’t hit the ceiling.
Not encouraging… the most depressing part of this video was Roger looking at Rafa with something akin to sympathy. I’d much rather see that the other way round!
O.K. Let’s all just think positive and believe that Rafa did this purposefully to throw Fed off….
He’s be back. I hope…..
WTF?! You guys are writing Rafa off because of 28 seconds from a training vid and ONE weird shot?! That’s pretty severe. Could we at least give him the chance to play one match before we shred both him AND poor Soderling to pieces? Jeeesus.
Urm…yeah, I think I’m done here.
I totally agree. People are so quick to write Rafa off….I wish all the negativity would just stop.
We can do nothing here but to support him with all our hearts as we do usually.
He’s in a slump. We all know that. But he’s been in such a position before. Many times actually. Remember the near disastrous and down-right depressing 2007. He came back with a bang in 08. I have complete faith in Rafa. I know he’ll turn this around. If not now, then soon. He’s too much of a champ to go away quietly.
Why can’t people realise that!?!?
*Sigh*
Here we go again…
It was a practice session, practice sessions are meant for trying out how things in youre game work out or don’t work out…
But i’m going to try another tactic from now on, i’m not gonna defend Rafa here annymore! You guys have all the right to youre own opinions… but i’m getting tyred over the negativity.
So next time iff it turns into that i’m gonna stop reading and instead i’m going to fully focus on giving Rafa all my positive, on supporting him and believing in him.
RAFA, VAMOS!
I agree with you An. Most of the times I don’t even bother to comment when there is so much panic and negativity about Rafa’s level or chances. It is what it is, and we all know he’ll give nothing less than his best, so let’s just leave it at that, and think happy thoughts!!
Exactly! Thanks:)
Although I refrained from extensively commenting on this one in order not to be negative ;-), I think calling a spade a spade doesn’t mean one’s negative. It’s not just 28 secs, it’s 28 secs of a practice set that Rafa lost. Analysing his game doesn’t mean one doesn’t support him. But we aren’t blind either, we can clearly see something is wrong. Nobody is writing Rafa off, I will be supporting him no matter what, but I can’t pretend the problems are not there just to sound positive. What I can do is hope his natural game will be back and try to see the bigger picture. I refuse to believe that he will be like that from now on, but now, in the short term, it is true that if he plays like that tomorrow it won’t look pretty. It will click for him eventually but it might take some time. I hope that’s not very negative and I’m sorry if it reads like that. As for positive energy, I’m all for that and try to do the best wherever I am.
Well put.
Hi Ch F – Well put indeedo. I couldn’t have summarised this up better.
My comment to GB above was trying to be with positive aktitude but, we are also not blind, but realistic – we c what we can c and for sure it doesn’t look great and something is wrong – even the gesture with Rafa’s eyebrow says it all! It might be one of those days – he just got out “the wrong side of bed” and nothing was working – who knows, like a bad day at the office but it’s a practice court (thank god). He knows what to do and we all know what he should do – just a case of implementing it. We, as Rafa fans are not negative – we are trying to help our gorgeous, handsome, hunky sexy man get through this and win. So any of you please don’t think when we comment we are being negative. When he is on the court we will have all positive aktitude – ok hiding behing the pillow and settee, althouth I will be at the 02 and dunno where I am gonna hide my nerves.
I haven’t got a problem with people criticising Rafa as such. Believe me, I’m often one of the first to jump on him when I think he’s played badly and of course we must be able to discuss things.
However, for people to start criticising after watching 28 seconds of a practise is to me a bit much. I also feel that all negativities that have been said about Rafa’s game (moving too far behind the base line, slicing, too much spin, too little spin etc. etc.) have been chewed so much that it becomes rather…boring, especially when it’s not in the context of a match.
The atmosfera here used to be great and it used to really cheer me up! Now I often feel that I have to wade through comments about Rafa being doomed and how “great” it will be when he finally gets “revenge” on “the toad”.
Doesn’t make my day. Never has and never will.
VAMOS RAFA for WTF!
I’m with you CC … vamos Rafa !!!
But you are way behind the times in terms of Robin nicknames … he is now (just as endearingly) known as ‘Sodemort’.
I totally understand. Not all criticism is the same. Some of it is useful when you keep it constructive and positive and some people might actually be able to do that and know where to draw the line, that’s all I’m saying. I try to be among those. I agree some comments are too negative and ruminating the same things all the time but commenting on Rafa’s game isn’t a synonym of gloom and doom in all cases.
Some people also express their views without attacking Soderling or using…derogatory nicknames. I think I’ve never done that so please do not let me be thrown away with the bathwater ;-)
Honestly, I do not think criticizing over the internet can help Rafa. It
can help vent out one’s own nervousness, frustration and is a way to comfort
one’s own mind, that is all. It is like your parents keep telling you if
you quit being this lazy (or whatever else you do wrong), you could have
been a rocket scientist and won the Nobel prize in physics.
I am not saying that criticism is going to do any harm to Rafa either. Tennis
is a lonely sport. In the end it is the player who has to go out there on
court all by himself, and face and overcome his own vulnerability.
So if people have the need to criticize to feel better, I would say go ahead.
For me, I just look forward to enjoying Rafa’s match on Monday.
Not sure where to post this. It is 5pm English time and have been watching Del Port and Murray. Got a bit tense in the third set and guess what! All of a sudden they pointed the camera to our very own Rafa! watching right beside the court! They then said he was playing the Sod and the shock of the FO is still a shock today etc. etc. Back to the match…. then five mins later again the camera was on the gorgeous Rafa in the green zip up with the black V. He was then chewing his fingers and yes they were all taped up. The commentators said he was itching to get on the practice court afterwards. mmmmmmmmmm I wonder why? Perhaps he read all our comments… Go Rafa do your strut. (PS Murray won)
Watched it on Sky if anyone else did – wasn’t it the most gorgeous shot of Rafa on the camera. It so through me I lost track fo the match for a while
That was him Rafafan, right off the practise court, he did somewhat cause a distraction, no?
Is there free live match?
It was on BBC2 as well. I think it was after his training.
I saw that too! Sooooo happy. Definitely got my money’s worth of watching that match (well streaming actually, but time is money). The camera just didn’t want to let go of Rafa. I noticed the spectators were all dim, only the court was lit up, but for some reason when they showed Rafa it was all bright and clear. BTW it wasn’t a bad match to watch – seeing DP fought back with his full-on power attacks and then Murray turned the match around again with consistency, variety and great serve. Well worth Rafa to pick up a tip or 2 to fight again big hitters. Well of course Rafa knows how too, just a matter of getting back into rhythm.
Noticed that as well – the camera just diddn’t want to let go, or was it us willing the camera not to let go!! Yes he was as bright as a button. Did you know 10 mins later the camera was focussed on him again.
God I was in melt down and not sure whether he had practiced or was about to but by god he was as good looking as I have ever seen him
Was it 10 mins? I thought it was shorter than that. As if the cameraman thought he was more interesting than the match :P
HI kayM, can you help me with the match link> thanks
http://www.fromsport.com/
http://www.atdhe.net/
http://www.bet365.com/ -> live streaming
bet365 is usually quite stable but draw back is small window and no full screen. Last night I discovered when I output to TV I could actually use a zooming on my TV, that solves the problem.
The betting site won’t work in the US.
I know some are filled with apprehension, no? Mostly because the mind is concentrating on his defeats, vs. his “V”’s, have to be w/mental mindset, come on that is one of the many talents Rafa has ; ) ahem…… as Mary, Miri or CC would say. LOL! 2 words, AO! Granted it may not be as fast as the 02 but still a hard court and his “V” vs. Monfils at USO, when he “broke his abdomen”. All is well, as well as can be anyway, so “be with colm” and enjoy all NN’s!
Last year Rafa couldn’t even play this tournament and retired from Paris in the QF AND lost to Giles Simon in Madrid in the SF … so he has already improved by reaching the semis in Paris and playing the final in Shanghai (sort of equivilant to Madrid). He has traditionally not played his best at the WTF. 2007 he won 2RR and lost in the SF, same in 2006 so let’s let him play first and then judge how he is doing instead of basing all our hopes on a bit of a practice session. I think more than anything we just want to see him happy and smiling after his matches … and maybe see him kick a little swedish ass (and a little russian and serb ass too).
Yes, swedish, russian and seb butt!
I am making my banner up (well from a card board box with Rafa articles – from his loss in paris, the latest interview and Rafa shirtless. Look out for it on Sky TV. I will hold it up but I am in the Gods. I will put with a black marker pen – Rafa we all love you from the Nadal news website (Hope that’s OK Miri). Can’t wait. I am counting down the seconds. God how am I gonna cope at work in the morning with the boss then knocking off at 1pm to be in my seat by 2.15pm
To be honest, both sides annoy me: the gloom and doomers and the happy rainbowers. I’m in the middle. I know Rafa can pull of anything on the right day and when in the right mood. I just don’t know if he’s there yet. Since that’s beyond my control, I’m doing my best to not worry about it.
And yes, talking trash talk about other players puts me off too.
Wel said! Its nice to see Rafa and Rog practising, its great that Rafa is in London, and of course i WANT
I want him to win against a good top ten player for the confidence but maybe he isn’t ready yet, its his worst surface and always hard for him to improve in these tournaments.