Comments on: A little spark, but no fire

By: Susa

Susa — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:47:17 +0000

Babz!! Where have you been?? Please take up el toro de Rafa again, missed it!!

By: mary

mary — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 23:17:22 +0000

“Re the tie-break, I think Rafa isn’t being given credit. At 5-4, he ripped a phenomenally aggressive return which landed half-on the baseline and was incorrectly called out. It was a clear winner. He did exactly the right thing but was robbed of it. 5-5 is very different from 6-4…so let’s not batter him for not upping his game at the right time.”
My belief is that call changed the outcome of that match.

Rafa will bounce back. He’s far from quiting, infact I think we will see an immense improvement in Rafa’s game over the next few months, starting with the DC. Rafa’s only stumbling block is his head. He has all the right moves (coughs, chokes a little, he can make his moves on me anyday). :)
I’m hoping he will will finally say to himself, “fuck it, I’m gonna just do it”. Vamos me amigo, Vamos!!

By: Rafangel

Rafangel — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:54:43 +0000

We’re not in denial cos we all agree that Rafa is having major problems. Where we diverge is that we believe he will get over them. He’s bounced back quickly from injury before (the career-threatening foot, anyone?), but this is more complicated because there’s more head-stuff to resolve (due to the very different circumstances this time), so it’ll take longer. But he is adaptable, a fast learner and a fighter, and already knows how to play and how to win. It’ll take a while but he’ll get there.

I don’t think he’ll retire off the back of this because he knows it is a stage. He said he’d retire when he knows he can’t compete for titles any more – that sounds like it’d be a permanent state (i.e. no longer interested or physically able). He currently has both the motivation (in spades) and the fitness, and knows he just has to keep working. He’s said that. So don’t panic, we don’t have to face a Rafa-less landscape just yet.

Re the tie-break, I think Rafa isn’t being given credit. At 5-4, he ripped a phenomenally aggressive return which landed half-on the baseline and was incorrectly called out. It was a clear winner. He did exactly the right thing but was robbed of it. 5-5 is very different from 6-4…so let’s not batter him for not upping his game at the right time.

By: Ch F

Ch F — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:38:10 +0000

He’ll have to be even better than before, cause while he’s been recovering some top players have become even stronger. I’m sure he will keep that in mind while training for the next season.

By: Sammy

Sammy — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:01:46 +0000

Well Rafafan, we are NOT in denial if we choose to support our athlete and believe that he will get back to his usual form. We know he is not winning right now and we are not saying he is playing great, but we can hope and wait and expect that one day soon he will be on top again. That is what we are doing right now and I say again that is what he needs from us. If we talk about his losses and agree with what people are saying, than we are giving up on him.. I choose to support him and be patient until he gets over the slump he is in at the moment, and that does not make me in denial! I know there is always the chance he may never be what he once was, but there is the chance he will be again as well, and I choose to believe the latter. I will only say he is finished when/if he does not win again and choose to retire. Until that day happens, if it happens, I will look forward to the near bright future when he is biting trophies again instead of drowning myself in agony over his current losses and what he is going through right now.

By: Ch F

Ch F — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:00:18 +0000

Hi Rafafan. I understand your frustration, so I’ll try to help with some thoughts I’d like to share. The media were writing Federer off during bad times as well. They always wait to be proven right eventually. They were waiting for the person to outplay Roger and found him in Rafa, so when Rafa came they were shouting they had been right all along that Roger’s kingdom would fall. In Rafa’s case they had been saying he plays a very physical therefore unsustainable game and now it’s like they had predicted that as well. It’s their job, so don’t rely on them more than you should, even if they seem to echo your worst fears. Trust your own gut feeling about Rafa’s future more than theirs, I think it’s more genuine.

By: Ch F

Ch F — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:38:55 +0000

My thoughts exactly, obviously.

By: Rafafan

Rafafan — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:02:11 +0000

Hi Sammy. Listen I am like every Rafa fan with positive aktitude no? But there comes a time when we are in denial. Rafa is gonna be confident in his interviews of course – he doesn’t want to say too much to the press and he has DC coming up. But you got to be totally honest 1 win in 9 against the top 10? Lost 2 matches, eliminated etc. I go to London everyday and got all the papers – Rafa a broken man, Rafa in denial, Rafa flops, Rafa quetion mark on the future. I was so stressed at seeing the match and what everyone is saying about his demise. He has gotta prove them and some of us fans wrong. It may happen on clay or grass but if he wants to be an all rounder its gotta happen on the hard courts – and he has won won indoor hardcourt and that was in 2005. What does that say?

By: dutchgirl

dutchgirl — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:30:14 +0000

I’m with Mary on the Sod. I think he played well, I think his attitude really is changing and I would like the idea of him ending as the champion. Not only because Rafa would still be at #2, but because it would mean that besides Rafa and Nole, Fed would be beaten by him as well.

By: dutchgirl

dutchgirl — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:24:45 +0000

Sorry Emma, I posted my comment before I read yours. Apparently we think alike…