WTF? Done & dusted
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images
Rafa was a dead man walking today in London – he had no chance of making the WTF semis. The match wasn’t totally without consequences, though: Djokovic needed to win in order to have a chance to make the semis and Rafa needed to protect his #2 ranking. The first set went to a tiebreaker with neither contestant playing that well. Rafa’s back stiffened up in the second set and a massage couldn’t keep him from being broken in the 4th game. It felt rather inevitable after that. Nole wins: 6-7(5), 3-6.
Stats:
| Nadal | Djokovic | |
|---|---|---|
| Statistics on Serve | ||
| Aces | 4 | 2 |
| Double Faults | 1 | 3 |
| 1st Serve % | 77% | 51% |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 33/55 (60%) | 29/37 (78%) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 8/16 (50%) | 19/36 (53%) |
| Break Points Saved | 2/5 (40%) | 4/6 (67%) |
| Service Games Played | 10 | 11 |
| Statistics on Return | ||
| 1st Return Points Won | 8/37 (22%) | 22/55 (40%) |
| Second Return Points Won | 17/36 (22%) | 8/16 (50%) |
| Break Points Won | 2/6 (33%) | 3/5 (60%) |
| Return Games Played | 11 | 10 |
| Statistics on Points | ||
| Total Service Points Won | 41/71 (58%) | 48/73 (66%) |
| Total Return Points Won | 25/73 (34%) | 30/71 (42%) |
| Total Points Won | 66/144 (46%) | 78/144 (54%) |
| Other Stats | ||
| Winners | 12 | 21 |
| Unforced errors | 35 | 37 |
| Net Approaches | 5/12 (42%) | 17/21 (81%) |
As it happened blatherings:
At work – yeah, the day after Thanksgiving *sigh*.
Rafa forgot the mascot – awww…poor kid. He does eventually notice him and give him a pat on the head.
Rafa won the toss and elects to serve. Shocking!
Blistering forehand winner from Djokovic to earn a break point. Rafa nets a ball and is broken.
Sloppy service game for Nole and he goes down triple break point. He saves one with a nice, crisp volley at the net. Another with an ace. Nole nets a ball and is broken.
Rafa double faults to give Nole another break.
Koenig reads a stat about how Rafa’s ground-stroke speed has dropped significantly since last year’s AO.
Break point for Rafa and a second serve from Nole, but Rafa’s return is well wide and it’s deuce. Beauty of a drop and lob follow-up takes Nole to game point. Rafa tries to be aggressive with a forehand down the line, but sends it just wide. Nole holds. 1-3
Pushed to deuce twice, but Rafa manages to hold: 2-3.
Stress-free hold for Rafa – he holds with his first ground stroke winner of the match.
Nole can’t seem to get a first serve in and he double faults to give Rafa a break point. Nole nets a ball and he’s broken. We are back on serve: 4-4.
Oooo! Nice backhand down the line winner from Rafa. He follows that with a service winner. Rafa holds. Nole to serve to stay in the set.
Rafa sticks close to the baseline for a change, bosses the point and ends up a winner. Nole holds for 5-5.
Nice and easy hold for Rafa: 6-5. Nole to serve to force a tiebreaker.
Nole holds. Tiebreak time.
One of Rafa’s shots is called long, but he wins on a challenge and they replay the point. He could have had a mini-break – instead it’s 1-1. Rafa totally flubs a shot and sends it way wide – mini-break to Nole. A very long rally with both players making good shots ends with an unforced error from Rafa…and I let out a sound that frightens my co-workers. Massive forehand winner from Nole: 2-5. Nole runs Rafa up and back and Rafa ends the point by netting a ball: 2-6. Nole sends a ball barely wide: 3-6. Another goes long: 4-6. Nole nets a drop shot: 5-6. Rafa sends an easy shot wide and Nole takes the set.
Rafa at least seems to be going for a bit more and not being 100% passive. He’s just making too many errors for that to work for him right now. 7 winners/ 20 UFEs from Rafa that set.
Nole holds to start set 2. Rafa holds: 1-1.
Whoever is sitting next to Uncle Toni is a gabber.
Easy hold for Nole: 1-2.
Rafa on the ground not looking happy. Trainer is working on his lower back.
Okay, Rafa’s back up and ready to serve. Shot out wide to Nole’s forehand followed by a angled volley out wide to the backhand – beautiful. But Nole breaks.
Nole holds and leads 4-1.
Pushed to a break point, Rafa manages to hold for 2-4.
Nole holds. Rafa will serve to stay in the match.
Rafa holds: 3-5. Nole to serve for the match.
Down 0-30, Nole serves an ace, but it’s overruled on a challenge from Rafa. Rafa blows the second serve return and it’s 15-30. Nole hits a drop shot that ticks the top of the net, but manages to go over: 30-30. Second serve. Good length from Nole draws an error from Rafa: match point. Second serve. Massive backhand winner down the line from Rafa: deuce. Excellent serve from Nole: match point #2. Second serve. A series of fierce forehands from Rafa draws an error from Nole: deuce. Why does he only play this aggressive when it’s do or die? Nole sends a shot wide and Rafa has a break point. Beauty of a shot down the line – held to the last second – saves the break point. Rafa sends a return flying: match point #3. Nole wins.
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Way too many unforced errors …
I’m wondering why he is only playing agressive when it’s match point?
Something is going on in his head .
I know. If there was any match this week where he should have been able to come out swinging free, it was this one. Didn’t win? No worries – move on to the Davis Cup.
I’m just too empty to write anything sensible right now. I only wish he got at least one set this match, and he was so close!
I know I picked the “any finish is fine by me” answer in the poll, but I’m not sure if that’s right. It’s so painful to see Rafa’s name last in the group, with no matches won, and no set either…
I know! Spent a lot of time this week on airplanes again. Perfect excuse
to not write here till now. But I must confess that even if I have had all
the time in the world it would have been very difficult to think of proper
things to say.
I have a little blog of my own where I write in my mother tongue, and a
few entries lately mentioned my thoughts on Rafa. Someone who randomly dropped
by had a very nice conversation with me through exchange of comments in
the past few days. Somehow I felt it easier to say things in one’s mother
tongue without being cheesy :)
I hope Rafa’s lower back problem does not turn into anything serious; I
hope he will be able to carry out his plan of training hard after the Davis
Cup. Moving on!
I feel ya. It hurts to see this great champion at the bottom of the group. Not even a set taken is what makes it bit more painful. But think I wasn’t so disheartened after this match eventhough he was still playing it safe and making so many errors. Somehow felt like he was in this match more than the last.
I felt he was more in the previous match than this one. Somehow I think concentration and focus is still something he needs to work on.
My thought as well. I got a much better feeling after the Davydenko match and was hoping he could hold that spirit into this one.
I’m wondering lately if Rafa doesn’t need to do less thinking, it seems to make him more insecure of his game.
Same here – I felt better Wednesday. Nole was clearly exhausted and not firing on all cylinders and Rafa still couldn’t take him.
I totally agree about the less thinking thing. I think when he’s insecure, he second-guesses himself too much.
That’s actually one thing I talked about with my blog visitor. I said that I felt Rafa was a rather sensitive person, who takes everything to his heart and thinks about them all the time. It makes him more endearing but at the same time more vulnerable.
Yes i get the feeling that because he’s such a sensitive person, sometimes he is too hard on himself, over analyses and the more he wants to do better, the more the opposite happens.
Interesting. I got the impression he wasn’t much of a deep thinker (not insensitive, but not much given to reflection), but has become one this year. I remember a really funny interview moment from a few years ago, when someone asked him some question or other. Rafa’s response (complete and verbatim): “think too much”.
I think until recently, Rafa was very self-contained – everything he needed to be happy was tightly knit around him – and then this year things started to unravel and he’s been forced to re-examine everything. It’s a perfectly normal reaction to question yourself and others and to feel uncertain/insecure after going through something like that. The feeling I get is that this year he looked at his life and decided – I love tennis, but it’s my job, not my life, and I love my family more. There’s nothing wrong with that (in fact, there’s everything right about that) even if it’s not the ideal acktitude to win! He seems to be a very thoughtful person (in every possible sense), one of the many reasons we adore him, no?!
I agree it’s very painful and it hurts to see Rafa miss all those chances today when we know old Rafa would have converted all of them. But I still worry more about the back thing. We now know Rafa needs time to recover so another health problem would be disastrous. Hopefully it’s nothing.
I’m pleased Rafa didn’t go down without a fight. Odd thing though both Rafa & Nando lost their 3 matches. Now we can only hope Davy wins against Sod as this will knock any opportunity for Nole to grab a semi’s berth & the no. 2 spot if he wins this WTF!! Sod may not try very hard against Davy, as win or lose he is guaranteed a spot in the semi’s & if he plays hard against Davy he may exhaust his chances as the semi’s will be less than 24 hours after this match. We’ll just have to wait & see.
Also you were right on the mark miri when you mentioned about him having a sore back(strained muscle).
Waiting for the DC now. Rafa you are almost there!!!
Haha indeed shocking serving first. Looks like he took the advice of his fans on the blog or FB I can’t remember. At least he tried something new since that hasn’t been working for him lately. Oh rafa dearest, so tough to see you go out but you tried. Yeah so many unforced errors today, what up? Anyway, it’s all good. Go home and recharge and come back pumped for Davis cup. Still sweet as apple pie after the match, smiling so nicely with nole and then to his fans and signing autographs. He is a class act. What a gorgeous sweetheart.
I noticed he took a warming to the towel as well. Did anyone notice if he left with towels on any of his previous matches?
Hey Mary you and I are up super late huh. This week has been so tough to squeeze rafa in, but I’d do that for him anytime :D
nah didn’t notice any towel theft. Maybe too bleary eyed.
Sorry I couldn’t join you guys. Was exhausted and just couldn’t keep myself awake. Did I hear you say previously you’re not going to be at AO Nic?
I’m even crazier as I got up early to watch Davy v Sod. And I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo HAPPY, Rafa keeps his 2nd spot. Davy knocked Nole out of the semi’s by winning against Sod. Now I’m hoping Sod will win this WFT, or Davy. Now I’ve had little sleep & it was worth it to see Rafa’s spot protected!! :)
No, I have tix for the finals and I don’t want to see either of them. It’ll have to be a Fed-Delpo final. That would be very good.
Well Rafangel, you will get to see Delpo v Davy. I know who we want to win, but if Delpo wins he takes Murrays spot (4), if Davy wins nothing changes. I like the ‘nothing changes’ idea. I’m not a huge Murray fan but I think he has worked hard to earn his spot this year & it would be totally unfair if Delpo pinched at the end of the year especially when Murray has won I believe more tourneys than anyone else this year.
I have got a ticket for the final as well – was on the edge of my seat thinking Soderling was going to get through, thank goodness Delpo did it! Hope he wins tomorrow – vamos!
I am just so glad this WTF is over. We can just move on from here. For the first set, it was hard to say if Rafa had improved from the last match as both nole and him were playing quite erratically.
Second set was only so-so from Rafa’s end. There were some sporadic winners which were good but he seemed to conjure them up either when he’s up (ie 30-0 lead, 40-0 lead on serve) or when he’s really in jeopardy (ie match points or break points in Nole’s penultimate service game). Again I think it’s still the issue of consistency. To beat the top players, I think the crux is always to find the ability to string a couple of decent points together so that you secure a game, seal a break etc. And I seemed to get the feeling he was sometimes reverting to his comfortable defensive style or maybe he’s just forced into a defensive position by nole. Or maybe the stiff back didn’t allow him to play aggressively.
But in any case, I think there was enough moments of brilliance reminiscent of vintage rafa – so it’s still positive! At least it was enough to convince me Rafa still has it in him!!
Yeah I kinda got that feeling too. Somehow eventhough many things could be better I still felt his old self came back a bit. Strange dunno how to explain it. Really hope his back is ok too. Poor dear. Btw I felt so bad for actually enjoying looking at rafa’s lower back during the massage. Poor deary, he’s just too hot to ignore.
*Whispers to nic*
I think I caught a glimpse of the butt crack …..LOL
Hahaha naughty naughty. Just seeing his lower back and the shorts being lowered down to expose just a little bum was enough for me. So sexy rafa :)
And did you seem him doing up his shorts when he got up? That alone is worth the cost of the tickets!
Hahaha yes omg. That really caught me by surprise! Too hot whatever he does.
I came back from the kitchen and the visual caught me by surprise. Rafa from behind, his ass is going up and down as he adjusts his lying position. Then his pants are pulled down and I thought, should I be looking at where I am looking?
Sexyyyyyyyyyy or what! I admit I had to get close to the TV when the shorts were pulled down and saw the crack to! This was the best part of the match. Also noticed how he was laying there with those god dam come to me eyes staring in the camera. The camera just didn’t want to go away from him. And when he got up wowwwww doing up his shorts right in front of the camera – he is just one big charasmatic sexy tease and he just doesn’t know it no? Thank God I had this taped too to see over and over again.
As for the match I would like to forget that one. In fact afterwards I watched the taped Sod v Rafa to see how compared and compared when I saw it at the 02. I have to say today’s match was poor – and if any chance it was today that Rafa could beat Noel who was so weary but he couldn’t even do that – and what does 35 UNFORCED ERRORS tell you. Yes aggresive or just playing badly? I was glad he decided to serve first! I think that was a very interesting move and shoudl do that everytime. Important to be ahead of the game!! I think he was better in the first 2. Is he improving – I am not sure – perhaps it gets worse before it gets better. I was actually hiding behind the pillow as his backhands were eratic and wondering whether his forehand were gonna go over the net. Maybe something to do with the niggle he had. Thank God Davis Cup is coming next week so he doesn’t (or we) have to dwell on this “amazing disaster” – but if he loses both matches at DC on clay then we should be very worried and quite frankly I am getting nervous already. If he rips the guys apart, we know with plenty of match practice etc. he will get the confidence to be back to his best.
Anyway the good news for our Rafa is he will remain no2. Djok is out thanks to Davy winning against the Sod (and I have to say it was a great match) – much better than what we saw with Rafa and Novak (well it couldn’t have been worse). Vamos for DC Rafa. Please don’t read all the press on the internet getting the daggers out for you. It won’t do your confidence any good and I hear you are a bit of a sensitive sole, so please please enjoy your practice and the Real Madrid Barc match on Sunday. I will be enjoying Liverpool v Everton!
Vamos we all love you (if you happen to be reading Miri’s site) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Oh I’m happy to, “SHOUT OUT LOUD, BUTT CRACK!!!!!!!” Oh I almost went into meltdown. Had to turn my fan up!!!! ;) ;)
Also do you guys feel rafa’s shots seem to have a lot of bounce that plays right into the big tall hitters. I mean it’s like the bounce is there for the kill and it plays right into their heavy hitting ways.
Is the high bounce due to the topspin he puts in? My personal opinion is that the height of the bounce from his shots might trouble someone who’s about the same height as he is as it’s difficult to get into the right position for the return but against the tall tall hitters, it’s actually helping them to go for the jugular.
I am not a technical guru when it comes to such techniques. Can someone please shed some light on this?
Exactly. The topspin is making the ball bounce high, which is a weapon against average height players (especially ones with a one-handed backhand *cough* Fed *cough*), but a liability against the tall ones. It’s made worse because the ball is landing short and giving players plenty of time to track it down and tee-up for a winner. He’s not rushing them at all.
I see. He needs to change this then! Don’t give the tall tall guys such an easy time. They must feel it’s hey day everytime they need to play against Rafa. Like come on, time to spray forehand winners all over.
That’s why he keeps playing that backhand slice, he says – ball stays low. Except it’s been crap! He knows how to flatten out his forehand – he did it at the AO this year – but he hasn’t the confidence to pull it off right now. Gee up, Rafa.
I think the sliced backhand is alittle too defensive. I am not sure how he can incoporate this into his game effectively but I think he needs more aggression in his game. or maybe he needs to tweak the sliced backhand alittle bit more. But I have faith that Rafa knows best and let’s just see. Team nadal should perhaps spend whatever remains of the off season before his new season starts again to look at slow motion videos of all of his shots and the others’ shots. Dissect all these shots.
Yeah it is, tho once or twice recently I’ve seen him pull off a cracker (why does that sound dirty in Rafa’s context? – maybe cos most things do) – really deep and beautifully placed, which earned him the point in the end.
Yeah, I’ve been surprised at how much he’s played it lately. Not that it can’t be effective, but the element of suprise might help a bit. Is it as effective if you’re playing it every other shot? I think a bit of practice with Fer on hitting good flat forehands wouldn’t go amiss. I wouldn’t want to see him give up on that wonderful topspin though. Even though it might seem to play into the hands of taller players, don’t forget that they’re not used to returning the ball from the higher bounce when few other players can send it up there! Maybe just mix things up a bit more.
Agree. He seems to do it in practice all flat shots but when it comes to the real thing he just goes back to the whippy short balls. What is the point in not putting stuff into practice to the real thing – even if you lose.
My thoughts exactly!!! I kept thinking right throughout the match, Rafa you putting way too much topspin on that ball cause you’re making it bloody easy for Nole to whack it back hard as it is coming up short & slow. Perfect practicing shots for Nole.
God I really think Rafa hates this surface.
Also, even if he hit so many unforced errors, only means he was going for it!!! I’m not dissappointed, as I believe everything is coming together for him. It’s now just the timing & placement of his balls. Even his 1st serve is improving.
Now just hoping foxtel will show the Davis cup, but I have my doubts.
I’m worried about Rafa’s injury, hope it isn’t serious.. or, hope it isn’t injury at all.
I hope it’s nothing serious. I hope it’s just a slight strain. Please please keep rafa healthy!!
The fact that he chose to serve to start his match almost came as a shock but I thought at last, probably an effort to mix things up and surprise the opponent? It was a statement of different mood at least. And at last, he tried his down the line shots and the angles even if he missed quite a few. Some more risk than in his other matches. I’d rather see him try something that doesn’t work than see him not try at all. So bravo on that one Rafa!
On the other hand, this match shows how much ground Rafa has to cover, given that he couldn’t make it even when Djoko almost handed it to him for a while! I was furious at that point. After Djoko won the first set he played a little better, but still, this was a golden opportunity for Rafa to beat him or at least take it to three sets. And he could have.
I’m now praying to the tennis gods that Rafa is still healthy and that the back thing is nothing to worry about. He seemed to struggle in the end. I guess back problems are quite common and I’m hoping it’s just not going to be there tomorrow.
And all the hype about the Davis Cup is making me feel alittle nervous. All the expectations and pressure seem to be weighing on Rafa’s shoulders.
It’s got me worried too. Everyone keeps declaring Spain a winner, but the team is hobbled with injuries. Today’s there’s word that Verdasco might not be able to play.
Again I am not holding my breath for anyting. I am just hoping that rafa continues to improve, continues to do his best, stay healthy and we can only hope for the best. Whatever the outcome, we will just need to accept it with calm.
Yeah, Fer hinted at that in an interview the other day. I still can’t understand why Costa isn’t playing Tommy. He’s healthy, consistent, doesn’t spend all his time infront of the mirror (sorry, not too keen on Feli ;) – does he not get on with teh team or something?
I’m with you aRafaelite, why they didn’t pick Tommy is mind boggling! He emo should be enough to be the logical choice over Feli anyday. Well they made their choice & now with Nando at risk of not playing Tommy most likely will get to play. But then again Nando being injured (has been for some time now) he still could run rings around Feli, so hang in there Nando & Rafa. Spain needs you both.
Curious, I thought you were talking about Hott Sauce with that comment about mirrors. I don’t like him, I don’t get why everyone else does… And he ain’t pretty either!
Isn’t Ferrero the first reserve? I think Tommy isn’t as tough as Ferrero and Ferrero has proven himself a good singles player for Spain.
You’re probably correct, but why pick Feli?
These are the current stats on the players. According to this, Feli should not have been picked, Ferrero should have been.
http://www.daviscup.com/teams/team.asp?btnStatus=submitted&team=ESP
Doubles.
BTW, there’s a better topic for discussing the DC team: here. I should have pointed that out earlier.
Lo siento miri. We do get carried away sometimes!
I thought Feli was only there for the doubles. I agree he shouldn’t be playing singles.
Is the pressure weighing on him? Hope not.
It’d be nice to see Ferrero play. And he’s been on form this year (tho less so on clay, strangely).
I think Spain will pull thru but it will be tighter than we expect. And I don’t want to see Stepanek do the Worm dance or to take off his shirt which he does after his wins.
Yuk yuk keep it on Radek :-S
I could do without seeing shirtless Step do the worm on clay. :P
Oh I’m gonna have to see some shirtless Rafa pics now, that made me feel ill!!!
well i am so sad abaut this match…call me silly but even more than the previous two matches….HE HAD HIS CHANCES djokovic clearly SO TIRED….i hate to say it BUT RAFA OF OLD won that first set and make djoko suffer in the second probably win the match 76 61….i am so down you cant imagine…..it is sad to see him so weak out there MENTALLY…it was a huge oppurtinity to put djokovic on to his place like soderling did…..but no he did make some silly mistakes in the tiebreak as usual….he is losing the matches because of this lost the tie break against davy shangai and here lost to tiebreak against djoko ….LOST SO MANY RIEBREAKS SINCE HIS COMEBACK….when it matter the most HE IS THE ONE WHO COMES UP SHORT…….i have tears in my eyes i am seriously CRYING because i am so worried…
Could you please use the same username/email combo more frequently so I don’t have to keep moderating your post?
Also…punctuation or at least carriage returns are your friend. Your posts are unreadable as is.
Lastly: please stop yelling.
Emir, just continue to believe in rafa. He’s improving from match to match. He will get there eventually. He just needs to work on that heavily top-spunned (if there is such a word) against the tall hitters.
i meant the heavily top-spunned shots.
I kind of hate to ask this question because I feel really superficial, but I’m also curious- what about his #2 ranking?
i have no idea and honestly i am past caring about the ranking. If he continues to improve, play well, the ranking is just a function of all these things.
I think Djokovic has to win the final in order to get the #2 ranking, but I don’t care too much either. I’d rather see him win important matches.
Yes my sentiments exactly. And I think Rafa really meant it when he said he ranking is the last thing on his mind. I think the most important thing is still to improve and stay positive, and once his game clicks, he will win important matches and go up the ranking again. The only thing the ranking means for me is how he’s seeded at tournaments and that might affect if he’s in the top or bottom half of any draws. But again, I still think this is still trivial compared to the ground he needs to cover now.
Thanks, guys. I agree with you all- there are other things going on with his play that are much more important than that. There are so many things I could be nervous about right now…this back thing, upcoming Davis Cup, etc. but I’m going to try to take Emma’s approach and accepting these outcomes with calm.
If Djokovic wins the WTF, he gets the No2 spot. If I’ve got my maths right, the difference between the players will only be 5 points then, so if Rafa wins one DC match he gets the No2 again.
But who cares indeed. Please no more injuries.
I don’t think one DC win will give him enough points to take the place of one of his 500s. I think (not sure) he has to win 2 in order to have more points than he does with his existing 500s.
Yeah, I think he has to win 2 (to add 2 x 70; plus his existing 80) to gain 40 points over his lowest 500 (180 from Beijing). But (a) that’s not exactly a certainty, I for one am terrified about DC now because it’d be disastrous for his confidence if he doesn’t win both his matches; (b) even if he did, it’s not entirely on his racquet because they have to be live rubbers (meaning that, if Spain goes 3-0, he wouldn’t get points for his second match).
But I don’t care about rankings anymore (I do to the extent that it might upset Rafa since he declared no 2 as his end year goal). I think chasing the ‘top positions’ isn’t good for his body (it interrupts it’s ability to be ‘perfect physically speaking’, but not ‘other way’ :) ).
I just want Rafa to be healthy (that’s what’s upset me most right now — even if it is just a temporary ache and pain, how friggin frustrating/worrying for him that his body keeps breaking body in little ways). And happy – vamosing, strutting and fist pumping his way through matches; and smiling/snorting out it. And to play like he can.
Rafa parents looked like I felt today :((((((
Yep, I’m care much more about his mental and physical state than the rankings as well.
…. well now at least he doesn’t need to worry about Djokovic overtaking the #2.
He is safe for now. Nole is out so there is no threat. Hoping come next year Rafa will have his game face on like my son says, “That killer look”. Rafa needs the practice, but he also needs some R&R.
Well the Davis Cup is what I have to look forward to. I don’t think he played God awful but in some moments he did. Not doing enough when returning Djokovic’s second serves. Broke my heart when he was getting work done though.
Next year should be a much better year. As a great man in Paris once said: “You need a defeat to give value to your victories.”
2010 Rafa<3
I thought I was watching 2 zombies battling it out on court. The challenge being who could get the most unforced errors.
Rafa’s wide serves were working well and he was trying to change the directions of the shots more, and more down the lines. Keep trying it Rafa and it’ll be perfected soon.
The Net Gods were not on our side today.
After seeing Rafa twitch/bend after the net point, I was just hoping for Rafa to retire. Pleading that Uncle Toni will signal ‘stop’. The only time where I was cheering for Nole to break and win the damn match. Don’t further the injury bec we have DC and that’s next Fri. For the love all sacred things, please retire Rafa. Hope it’s just me being paranoid.
If someone asks Rafa about his back massage in the presser, u think he’s gonna give us a direct answer abt what it’s really about?
Luv that Nole’s Dad gave Rafa a pat on the back when he was walking out and signing autographs.
I agree about Nole’s dad, plus the whole Nole crew clapped him out! Floved it! And the crowd again rocked!
No I don’t think he’s going give a direct answer: elite athletes kinda can’t when they still have to play on. Reminds me of his presser immediately before the US Open when he was all ‘you want me to say I’m 100%’, ‘I wanna be 100%’, am ‘100% no’, even though he had the ab issues at that point.
So, if he says it’s nothing serious, I’ll hope like hell it isn’t (and I do take heart from the fact he kept playing cause, as much as he never gives up, I believe he would have gotten off that court if he thought it’d ruin DC), but I won’t stop worrying.
Wow, they must have gotten their meds straightened out. [/cattiness]
ha ha…that’s funny :)
lol!!! ;) ;)
Meow LOL
If Rafa continues to play this bad streak, DC will be a big disappointment. I am beginning to fear that there is a major issue that Rafa cannot conquer. How do you explain what happened in the WTF and then expect him to bounce back in good form for DC by next week? What is going on in Rafa is something he himself cannot put his finger on? Or does he?
Good to hear he was trying to be aggressive and make the right play, even if he wasn’t pulling it off. I remember a lovely story in one of best article I ever read about Rafa: that at the USO he’d come in to the net, promptly smack the ball into it, and look round in agony at Uncle T, who would smile and applaud. You’re doing the right thing; keep practising it and it’ll come right in the end. And it did. Also, his hard-court play took a long time to transfer from practice sessions to matches, but it did – so it will again.
*with colm*
I thought his presser after RR2 was really promising. He’s def in the right frame of mind and being positive, which is nice. He’ll get there with work and time. Vamos!
Very good words Rafangel. I am hoping for the longest time now since Bercy that these are all adjustment and improvement mechanisms which come to fruition in time when fully mastered. I also hope though that physically Rafa can cope up with the rigors this long term plan entails.
I think it was a strange match. Rafa looked like it was a practice session – winning or losing not important. Nole looked dead on his feet. Now he needs Kolya to lose to Sod to advance. Perhaps not advancing might be the best thing for his body. He looks exhausted.
This is a great blog to Rafanatics, from a Fed Fan. I think it’s really good.
http://allineedisapicketfence.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/wtf-to-rafanatics/
Miri, feel free to edit if u think it’s not on post or for whatever reason.
Thanks for the link! That’s a fantastic piece. Expresses our sentiments exactly. She mentioned about it getting worse before it gets better – I think we can see light at the end of the tunnel for our rafa very soon.
The media always try to cause sensation and love to appear to be proven right. It’s their job. So we should trust our gut feeling about Rafa’s future more than theirs, ours is definitely more genuine.
That really was a very nice piece and did show empathy for all us fanatics! If Rafa can be positive then we owe it to him to be positive as well. :-)
This is an amazing link, thanks. Miri, is it at all possible to publicise it more on the site? It’d do a lot for the psychological well-being of many of us here!
I love one of the comments: “You know the reason why we react so intensely to all his losses is selfish, we are scared that *the one thing of pure and perfect beauty in our lives* will end leaving us wallowing in an existence so drab that it is difficult to find reasons to get up from bed.”
And this sums it up: “Rafa is a guy who has too much game to go anywhere. Mentality, intuition, natural physical talents, good work ethics – all the elements that make up a great player, Rafa still has it, even if he’s far from being player du jour at the moment.”
Amen.
Thanks for the link. It is so nice to see someone on the opposing camp give recognition to our man & tell us not to lose perspective & hope. She may rue the day she posted that blogg especially if our man gets his mojo back & his ranking one! Just as long as Rafa continues to enjoy his tennis. That is the most important. A few wins, well a lot of wins would go down great as well!! ;)
Thank you so much for the link, it’s a great piece and very heartwarming. Good to hear from a Fed fan who’s been where we are now. I have been thinking the same – that Fed went through similar stuff and has bounced back, but it’s even better hearing it from another perspective!
Wow thanks for that Atch 2 I needed to hear or say read! somethin possitive about Rafa, I got to watch him practice live at the O2 and could see how down he was but he still managed a smile for me! I got to see his match against Djokovic live and was beside myself watching him during the tie-break! when he had a medical time out I left to get drinks it was too much and when I returned I somehow knew that it was going to be another straight set loss for Rafa on his worst surface! I am grateful I got to see him though, when I booked the tickets for the finals it wasn’t a guarantee to get to see him play a match so it was awsome anyway just to watch him spank the ball is so different from any other player, just hope he is back to winning ways for Wimby next year so I can enjoy it even more!
I agree Patzin. Nole looked very exhausted. It was a strange match indeed.
Yes it was a very strange match. You would have put your money on it for Rafa to win and then he seemed to go walkabout in the important moments again.
Atach 2 – that link was a very heartwarming piece about our Rafa. This has given me a light relief and yes we are all nuts for Rafa.
Loved the piece in Rafanatics!!!! Thanks for posting it…,I sat there reading it, with tears streaming down my face…looking forward to Friday…red clay, lots of loud fans, many beautiful boys!!! Vamos!!
Miri, I’ve been looking for the presser transcript for this match but can’t find it anywhere. I read some good quotes from his official website though.
Surprised WTF people haven’t made this easily avail on their site. The slams are better at it.
Didn’t watch the match, work, and after driving home in verry rainy weather with terrible traffic jams i came home having a migraine): so couldnt share my toughts here with you earlier..
I do think that Rafa came to this WTF having no illusion off winning it, that doesnt mean he didn’t fight, no way, thats not our Rafa, but i do think that for winning on this level off play, apart from the obvious tennis skills off course, its all about simply wanting to winn that match and that iff you do not have the illusion to winn you automaticly already do not want to winn bad enough…
It will be intresting to see how Rafa does in DC final wich he does want to winn…
I believe we will see a completly different Rafa!
VAMOS!
* praying that youre back doesnt bother you*
Thank you for summing that up so nicely, An. Sorry to hear you weren’t feeling too good.
I didn’t watch the game either, had to leave for the O2 to watch the evening game. I have Rafa’s game taped, but don’t really fancy watching it.
VAMOS for Copa Davis, Rafa!
Ah, you went to the O2… shame Rafa didn’t play the night match, or not?
Lets just say this week wasn’t the best week i ever experienced… the migraine couldnt stay away after such a week…
but feeling better now and next week is a new one with new chances for Rafa too:)
Yeah, I would obviously have preferred to see Rafa, even if he’s not playing great. :(
Tought so… of course…
“I do think that Rafa came to this WTF having no illusion off winning it…”
I do agree An, and I think he said as much. Despite the injury time out earlier this year, it’s the end of the (too)long & hard season, plus on what must be Rafa’s least favourite surface and one which is not the best for his style. He’s never really sparkled at the back end of the year anyway.
I’m not sniping, but Roger took time out this year, firstly to be with Mirka and the babies (fair enough – I’d have totally despised him if he hadn’t) and then pulled out of the Asian swing through tiredness.
Maybe its us and the press unintentionally raising the bar for Rafa?
We mustn’t forget those sparkling wins pre-Garros…
I never wanted him to force himself too much on this tournament anyway. Winning this tournament may require a lot of energy (as it is not his favourite surface, so he has to work really hard), which he will need for Grand Slams. There is not much time left till Australian Open, the first think he should consider his health and keeping his energy i guess. Many of the players are too tired and they will take time off on December. But Rafa didn’t tire himself that much in the latest weeks so he will start practising earlier, which i think is an advantage for him.
Does anyone know how the back is? And also Ferdasco is limping
Nando has something wrong with a toe. He was going to get it operated on I believe either at the end of the year or earlier. Thats what I heard. Not sure if that is correct.
I thought that was what Nando was out of the DC semis for – a foot op? But if he went to play WTF, can’t have been that bad?
I dunno… just don’t jeopardise the Armarda’s chances Nando, pleese?
I also think he came into this as he say with not full confidence and really to see how is level is for improvement. However it is a mental thing which he is still not there – if you think your not gonna win, well then you then wont win! Also of course he never sparkles on an indoor fast court – it doesn’t and I don’t think will ever match up to his game. 1 indoor event success on hc was in 2005. So really this has to be taken into consideration. He has only be to the end of year finals twice – OK went to semis, but didn’t have the problems this year and the total lack of confidence. The other 2 years was injured. So I think we have to put it into context and not get too worried. Rafa for sure doesn’t seem to be coz he knows its always a tall order on this surface for his game – but I guess he was hoping for a little better.
Let him shine brightly in DC and come back full of intensity and power.
I can’t help but think that either Rafa needs to re-model his game or that he needs to figure out what exactly is wrong with him. Otherwise, his days of playing tennis good enough to beat top 10 players are over…
He knows what’s wrong. He’s said it and he’s honest. No confidence. When he hits a couple of his typical shots it all comes back immediately. But then it goes away again, the mind boggles because of the bad year he’s had. I agree hard courts aren’t his area of excellence and that he has to do something about it cause he still has to play them. I think he needs to find his own game first. Then he keeps what’s good about it and tries to change what isn’t. You can’t do everything at the same time, cause what gives you confidence is your natural game so you need to build on that to adjust it. No player will change entirely, but every player adjusts to stay on top. I’m sure Rafa knows all that.
It seems that his loss to Soderling was the confidence breaker. The thing about Soderling is that he is a slower mover than most of the top 10 players so clay gives him more time to get to the ball. Roger takes the ball early and so he was able to break down Soderling; this was evident from the French Open final.
So, Rafa needs to regain his quickness, confidence and his rhythm. Sounds like he may not be back in full force for a while. May the force be with him.
Thanks for your reply! Apart from Davydenko who has been playing well consistently, the match against Soderling could have gone Rafa’s way, cause it was Soderling’s first match and he was not playing great. Rafa knows that. He knows that had he been calmer he would have converted the important points. Same with Djokovic, it was a bad day for him and Rafa could have won easily. So indeed, it must have been a blow confidence wise, given that he lost to two top guys who weren’t at their best on the day when they played him. He’ll bounce back as long as he’s healthy and that’s my greatest concern for the moment.
Thanks for your reply.
I wonder if Rafa’s health will never be normal again, which means that he’ll never be able to play like he did, say, at the Australian Open? This might be it for him… :-(
I will only start worrying about that if it turns out he is prone to injury. That could be decisive cause he needs a lot of time to regain his game and confidence. “They don’t come tougher than Nadal”, the commentator said yesterday. Perhaps he’s right. He’ll be fine, it will just take a while ;-)